# How to make pilchard rings



## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

To All,

When I was growing up in South Florida, I used Pilchard Rings ( aka - "Ribbon Rigs" ) to catch baitfish ( Pilchards / Menhaden ) from the fishing piers . Recently, I discovered that they have been declared to be a "gill net", theoretically "illegal", and not available in stores anymore. I always used to make my own, as a kid.

So, for purely "historical value" . . .

"HOW TO MAKE PILCHARD RINGS"

MATERIALS :

6 ft. of #7 Dark-Colored, Solid Leader Wire

1 Barrel Swivel

1 Snap Swivel ( to allow weight changes )

Cardboard Toilet Paper or Paper Towel Tube

3 ft. of Bright Red Ribbon ( 3/8" - 1/2" wide )

Pyramid, Bank, or Dipsey/ Bass Sinker ( 3/4oz - 1 1/2oz +/- )

CONSTRUCTION :

(1) Start with a six-foot length of No. 7 dark leader wire.

(2) Bend it in half and slide on a barrel swivel.

(3) Tie a LOOSE, TWO-TURN, overhand knot in the wire near the bend to "capture" the swivel

(4) Form a loop, using a the toilet paper or paper towel tube as a "mandrel" ( you may need to vary the loop size depending on baitfish sizes in your area) and make a SINGLE-TURN Overhand Knot,

(5) ALTERNATE the direction of the Overhand Knots each time to help the rig hang straighter

(6) Repeat until you have a series of loops, leaving a couple of inches of wire free at the bottom

(7) Slip on the Snap Swivel and connect the loose ends of the wire, using a SHORT Haywire Twist

(8) Hold the rig at each end and pull on it to stretch the loops out into an oval shape

(9) Attach the bright red ribbon at one end by knotting it to the Swivel loop

(10) Pass the ribbon through rings one-third and two-thirds of the way up the rig

(11) Attach the ribbon to the other Swivel, leaving some slack in the ribbon when fully extended

(12) Attach the Sinker to the Snap Swivel and the rig is complete

HOW TO USE:

Tie the rig to a light spinning rod and lower or cast it into a baitfish school and let it sink. You will feel baitfish hitting the rig. Keep the line tight and wait for the rod to bend. When it does, wait a few seconds and reel up. Remove baitfish and repeat, as desired !

Dave F


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## crazyfish77 (Mar 26, 2008)

This is very interesting, could you post pictures?


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

I find I am unable to upload photo's to the forum. 

However, if you contact me via e-mail at [email protected] I will send you a pic of one I made, just to be sure I remembered how. 

I will shoot a series of pics during construction of another one in the next few days and try to find a way to post them.

Dave


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

Link to a PIC of the PILCHARD RINGS I made a couple of days ago.

http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/album.php?albumid=704&pictureid=2871

Dave


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Pretty cool


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

looks interesting, do u think it could work for larger mullet?


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## ReelKingin (Aug 3, 2009)

is this easy ti store in the tackle box or best made the day of fishing?


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## johnfl (Dec 16, 2009)

Ha we use to use those back in the day off the piers (25-30 years ago) ,before the days of sabiki rigs.Sabiki rigs work much better..but you don't have to worry about hooks in the hands with the ribbons.


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## robc22 (Oct 20, 2009)

nice.......I have never heard of these rigs before .....I will try one this spring.....


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## 757 Fire (Jan 22, 2010)

Some of these replies have me laughing so hard. Im guessing all of you that are going to make and use these illegal rigs also blame commercial fisherman for ALL the decline in bunker and predator species??

Nice description and rig but illegal


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## Rockfish1 (Apr 8, 2005)

legal here in NC... and just how many bunker you think you're gonna get in a set of rings anyways?... certainly not enough to affect the population... lighten up...


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## panhandler (Jan 2, 2009)

Sorry guys but ribbon rigs wont catch menhaden, or bunker. They are used for catching scaled sardines, which are called pilchards or LYs in Florida and the gulf coast. The LY are attracted to the red ribbon, and then gill in the rings. They are illegal in Fl. due only to the wording of the gill net ban. As far as I know they are still legal everywhere else.They will often catch LY even when they wont bite a sabiki, and you can choose the size baits you want to catch by varying the size of the rings. They can also be made by using pieces of old castnet mesh cut into strips 3" wide by as long as you want to make them, usually around 2'. Just string the red ribbon thru the mesh in the direction so that the weight of the sinker holds the mesh open. You can usually pick up scrap castnet mesh at net shops for little cost. Make up a variety of different sizes from 1/2" up to 1 1/4" for various sized baits.


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## 757 Fire (Jan 22, 2010)

My understanding is that the pilchard rings is a form of gill net which may not be illegal in north carolina like i posted earlier but you would have to purchase a gill net license right? 
http://www.mrc.state.va.us/regulations/gillnetrules.shtm -Nc State source


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## Rockfish1 (Apr 8, 2005)

thats in Fl where the wording precludes using them legally... 

we always used them at night... put a lantern down on a rope just above water level and attract up bait schools... drop the rings down and the bait would swim thru and get caught up... the only problem arose when a snook or big blue would come up and hit a bait caught in the rings... stretch the he77 outta them...


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## rivercat (Nov 24, 2010)

quit being such a pharisee.


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

ReelKingin said:


> is this easy ti store in the tackle box or best made the day of fishing?


It can be made to be stored . . . If you want to be able to fold it up, construct it in separate sections, 6"-8" long, joined together as you are making it, so that it will fold up easily.

I feel it is a good idea to keep the "how to" information alive and openly available, where people can see it and refer to it, as they wish.

Naturally, it is only for "historical" purposes and I do not endorse making or using them ( disclaimer ) . . . ;-)

Dave F.


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

bluefish1928 said:


> looks interesting, do u think it could work for larger mullet?


I have never tried one on mullet. The secret is that the Pilchards / Menhaden are attracted to the red ribbon. I don't know if mullet would be attracted or not. The rings would, most likely need to be a different size, also.

I feel it is a good idea to keep the "how to" information alive and openly available, where people can see it and refer to it, as they wish.

Naturally, it is only for "historical" purposes and I do not endorse making or using them ( disclaimer ) . . . ;-)

Dave


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

757 Fire said:


> Some of these replies have me laughing so hard. Im guessing all of you that are going to make and use these illegal rigs also blame commercial fisherman for ALL the decline in bunker and predator species??
> 
> Nice description and rig but illegal


I feel it is a good idea to keep the "how to" information alive and openly available, where people can see it and refer to it, as they wish.

Naturally, it is only for "historical" purposes and I do not endorse making or using them ( disclaimer ) . . . ;-)

Dave


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Not saying go break the law, but how exactly would this rape the baitfish population when people cast net whole schools of baitfish in one throw? If you want to protect our fisheries, be proactive getting rid of the boats that follow the fish all season long instead of fighting with a weekend fisherman catching a dozen baits to fish with.


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

SmoothLures said:


> Not saying go break the law, but how exactly would this rape the baitfish population when people cast net whole schools of baitfish in one throw? If you want to protect our fisheries, be proactive getting rid of the boats that follow the fish all season long instead of fighting with a weekend fisherman catching a dozen baits to fish with.


8 foot cast net+ bunker school+accurate throw= about 10-30 dozen menhaden


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

ez2cdave said:


> Link to a PIC of the PILCHARD RINGS I made a couple of days ago.
> 
> http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/album.php?albumid=704&pictureid=2871
> 
> Dave


 New one on me... Haven't seen one before,but it definatly looks like it would work on threadfins,small jacks,pinfish,maybe even small bluefish and other small baitfish.. Don't see where it would be any different in the way squidrigs,multihook rigs (like sabiki) and other rigs are used for the catching of bait.. May even do less harm to the bait you catch and want to release than having a small sabiki hook stuck deep in the fish or in it's eyeball.. Imo it's a very interesting rig that would be "old but new" to livebaiting in NC.. Thanks for the post... JMO..


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## robc22 (Oct 20, 2009)

*neat.......*

Thought I knew all the tricks to catching hookbaits but this is a new one on me......also this rig is not illegal in Massachusetts.........thank you ez2cdave

robc22


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## dahut (Dec 30, 2010)

It doesnt appear they are illegal in South Carolina, either. I can find no mention of them in the regulations. There is a lot on gillnetting and seining, but those are distinguished as netting practices, not something done with rod and line.
Cast netting is also allowed with the standard salt water fishing license.


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## dahut (Dec 30, 2010)

=================================================== 

On a personal note, this whole thing seems kinda moot - a few fishermen using some loops of wire to catch a bit of bait. But that's MY opinion. Lets face it, criminals arent the only one's who can be petty. My brother the cop has often said, "Any LEO worth the name can find something to nail you on if he wants to." 

Down in Florida, the Tallahassee desk jockeys at FWC may consider them as 'ensnaring or entangling' devices... which is how they got lumped in with the net bans. By the same token, the field agents seem spotty in terms of their willingness to enforce against them.


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## panhandler (Jan 2, 2009)

Theres no mention of them in the Fl regulations either. They were later interpreted to be a form of entangling device and therefore illegal under the gillnet ban. They are still commonly used at times on the piers in the panhandle, and I have never seen a ticket written. They are no longer for sale in Fl. stores but can be bought just across the line in Alabama where they are still legal. BTW the "modern" versions are usually made of strips of net mesh instead of wire loops.They are used to catch what we call LYs, or scaled sardines. They will NOT work on any other types of bait, not even on similar baits like menhaden or threadfins.


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