Bottom Fishing would probably be the most widespread type of fishing done in the Philippines. Whether you are casting from the shore, a jetty or pier or you’re out at sea in a bangka, bottom fishing provides a relaxed but effective means of fishing.

To start off, what to you need?  For inshore fishing, you will need a light to medium tackle rod and reel, size 6, 10, 14 hooks,  1/2, 3/4 to 1 oz sinkers (egg and bell sinkers)  and bait.  Commonly used baits are sand worms, peeled shrimp, but squid, clam meat and sometimes fish doughs or even chicken skin.

There are basically two types of rig used, one is the sliding egg sinker or carolina rig.  And the other would be a paternoster rig.

sliding egg sinker

With the sliding egg sinker, an egg sinker in inserted on the main line before tying the line to the leader.  On the other end of the leader would be the hook and the bait. A sliding egg sinker provides a great presentation specially if you are using live bait. This rig give the  most sensitivity and any nibble or strike on the bait will clearly be felt by the angler.  One disadvantage of this rig is that, it is prone to snags and hang ups on rocks and corals specially if there is a strong current.

Paternoster Rig

The second most common rig is the paternoster rig.  The basic Paternoster rig consists of a sinker tied to the end of a line, often with a loop which allows the sinker to be removed or changed easily. Hooks are attached to short droppers knots or tag ends tied via double loop on the main line. Variations of the Paternoster rig include tying the hook at the end of the main line with the sinker attached to a dropper loop. The use of a dropper loop to attach hooks and sinkers is an easy rig to prepare and is adequately strong for most fishing situations. The use of a swivel or a ring as a tie off point results in the strongest possible rig of this type. This is definitely an that is preferred by most anglers.

Although sensitivity may not be as as good as that of the sliding egg sinker, the paternoster rig can easily avoid snags by lenghtening the distance between the sinker and the last dropper loop.   Moreso, multiple droppers means there are more bait in the water and more fishes will come around and investigate if not gobble up on the bait.

Most inshore fishermen leaves their tackle to rest on a rod holder  once they casts a bait in the water so they doing other things like read a book or exchange stories with other anglers.   Very much relaxed isn’t it?

Off shore fishermen, on the other hand, constantly feathers the line to know if there are fishes nibbling on the bait or to detect at once when a fish strikes.

The Philippines have numerous fishing spots that you can simply dip your line and catch fish.  In Manila, for example, you will find a number of fishermen lined up on the sea wall along Roxas Boulevard, which is merely a stone throw away from hotels and inns in Ermita or Malate.  Offshore fishermen also rely on bottom fishing to catch thier gamefish or their next meal.  :)

Next time you go out fishing, don’t forget those sinkers and fresh bait.  You might get bored or exhausted by trolling or jigging and want to relax for a while and try bottom fishing.