Hi Hingol,

How are things going? I hope all is well with you.

I am a fan of using round or ball sinkers. Because they are round or ball shaped, any hole they go in they can also come out of.

I am also a big fan of "matching the hatch". I am sure you have seen me talk about matching the hatch on the Forum before.

You are fishing in big waters. Big heavy, rough waters. Water slamming into rocks and breaking things off the rocks...and that is what the fish expect...the fish expect the hatch to be broken off the rocks.

So try not using any sinkers. Time your cast with the waves...drop your bait in right on the out going surge. The fish expect things to be washed in. You might need to use some weight and even though the waves and wash are strong, don't be fooled by using heavy weights...If you have to, use just enough sinker weight to be able to cast to the target spot.

Unfortunately, snags are par for the course of rock fishing.

nice catch!

Personally I fish freshwater and target small fish. When im getting hung up i switch to a dropshot rig with a slight modification. Instead of tying a hook directly to the main line (palomar method) i use a small dropper loop just big enough to get a 'handcuff' style connection to my hook as well as use a large bb split shot. That way if my weight gets hung up, i can pull and the splitshot slides off. Coupple that with a weedless hook and youre on your way to alot less hang ups. Again, i fish small game in freshwater but this idea could work the same for any fishing with larger tackle.

A knot is your weakest link. So tie a good one. Unless youre tying a bell sinker and want it to break off at the weight, such as in this case. A simple over hand knot weakens the line by roughly 50 percent. So if youre using 30# line, 15 pounds of force will drop your weight. This might hurt someone who cast a long distance such as surf casters, in which case they would need a heavier leader. 50# main line with good knots to an 80# leader (overhand right by the weight) would require about 40 pounds of force to break the weight loose...

In my case im targeting small catfish, bream, perch and crappie with 6# line. We have hooked 5# fish and not been broke off. One of our biggest carp was foul hooked (known to fight harder that way) and we still landed that fish on an ultralight and a #10 salmon egg hook.

It can be done.