Lets take a look at a relatively new fish to British waters and they are gradually spreading further afield around the UK resulting in them being caught in larger numbers every year making them a good target to search for in the summer months.
Trigger fish are not the biggest of fish going up to around 6lb in weight, I think the shore record is 5LBand some small change, but they certainly give a very good account of themselves and are fantastic sport on lighter gear!
As well as being a great fish to catch triggers are also a great tasting fish that you can put on your table (please check minimum take home sizes first) so where will you find these great fish?… Lots of triggers will be found in deeper water from the shore, rock marks and piers that lead onto rough or broken mixed ground is ideal, they tend to arrive in numbers around the July mark.
So fishing for triggers how do you get them? Trigger fish mainly eat crustaceans and shellfish, so peeler is certainly a top bait but hardbacks work well too, but trigger they also tend to scavenge anything around the area taking squid, worm and fish baits equally as well with good old mackerel strips working wonders.
You can put your baits on the seabed with a pulley dropper rig or running ledger, or if it’s particularly rough ground a pulley rig with a rotten bottom, which will fetch the best results. With the top baits being peeler, mussel and mackerel you will want a good strong hook no larger than a 1/0 as their mouths are not massive and strong because triggers are well known for their powerful bite and teeth snapping/biting off thin or inferior hooks couple this up with a hook length of mono/flouro not less than 30-40lb for abrasion resistance around the rough marks.
A good tactic when fishing really rough ground is to float over it with a set up similar to last month’s piece and fish it just off the bottom reducing snags and allowing the waters currents to let the bait drift around naturally which finds fish holding spots. when handling and unhooking Triggers beware as they do have a spine in the dorsal fin as well as a good nip with those teeth should you let your fingers wander a little too near! Tight lines and good luck
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