Drift or troll with 3-way swivel rig

For active drifting and trolling, there’s nothing better, according to guides David Cutler and Mark Dickson, than a rig featuring a three-way swivel, a short leader and weight tied to one eye of the swivel and a longer leader and hook tied to the other eye.

“If you drift or troll, you need to use a 3-way swivel,” said Cutler, who tries to get away with as light a sinker as possible. He likes to use a 1-ounce teardrop sinker, especially around the jetties. “A pyramid sinker will get hung up too much. You want to use as light a sinker as possible, so you’ll get a better roll in the current.”

Dickson likes a similar rig when he’s power drifting along the edges of the jetties.

“I like to fish a 1- to 1 ½-ounce bank sinker a couple of inches below the swivel on 6- to 8-pound mono, so you can pop it off if you get hung up, then 18 to 20 inches of fluorocarbon leader to the hook, a 2/0 Owner 5180 — a mosquito-style offset hook. “It will stay needle-sharp for a week. Some of the other kahle-style hooks, you have to cut them off at the end of the day.”