Steelhead "Pier Rig", Has anyone heard of this rig?

[stealhead]

I have only been targeting steelhead for a couple of years so I'm always looking to try new rigs and get into fish in different locations. Recently I stumbled across a Youtube channel with some guys fishing piers on Lake Michigan and they were catching tons of steelhead using a crazy rig I've never seen before. Basically they had a barrel swivel above a slip float above a pyramid sinker. The swivel is fed onto the mainline and you attach a 4'-8'+ leader to the other end with a shrimp on a hook. Fire it out into the lake - sinker goes to the bottom, slip float goes to the surface, swivel / leader also goes to the surface because it's on top of the float - and the bait sinks back down to whatever length the leader is.

Has anyone ever tried something like this? I realize that some fishing youtubers edit the sh*t out of their videos to make themselves appear more effective than they really are but these guys did seem to be having good success. I also realize that Lake Michigan is a totally different scenario than Georgian Bay (where I would probably be trying this rig) - lots of fish stocking, warmer temps, crazy long piers, etc. etc.

I'm probably going to try this rig out on the long weekend so I'll post with my results. But I do wonder if anyone has any experience with this kind of fishing. 

[Knuguy]

Sounds like an interesting variation but I am having trouble picturing it. Do you have a pic or sketch? thx

[Krawler]

Also having trouble picturing is. Can you post the youtube link?

[stealhead]

Yeah this rig is a bit hard to visualize just with a description. Here is a quick sketch - you can see that the barrel swivel is fed onto the mainline and is ABOVE the slip float. So when the float goes to the surface, the swivel also goes to the surface.

Here is a link to the video where the guys describe the rig themselves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XIwzSXyTKQ

You can also look at some of their fishing vids and judge for yourself if their success is legit.

[Krawler]

I’m intrigued. I don’t fish piers though. The bows I’m after are always near bottom in shallow water. I’ll try this but might add a few splitshot on the lead to keep the bait near bottom. Also I think this rig will perform better on windier days, at least where I fish. more movement the better. No shrimp for me!

[Winterfisher]

I used to use a similar rig rock fishing in Australia. Minus the slip bobber. We would put in a yucca baitfish and it could swim freely up and down the mainline. Worked amazing because you could huck the weight way out there. Caught yellowtail, Bonito and aussie salmon. Wouldn't need the bobber anyway, when you had a hit, the rod would nearly rip out of your hands. Man, I miss saltwater fishing.

[stealhead]

For anyone curious about how my little experiment went: it was mildly successful. The winds were howling all weekend so I spent most of my time fishing in the river but I did manage to find an hour or so to test out this rig. I tossed it in off the breakwall opposite the harbour but the waves were pushing my float back to shore. The idea is to cast to a good spot and leave it but the wind and waves made it necessary to reposition every 10 min. Anyways, I had one very strong hit that peeled a good bit of line before I got my rod out of the holder but the fish was gone almost immediately. I count that as small success and I'm excited to try it again with tamer weather!

[Winterfisher]

I used to fish this rig in some real heavy swells. Use a heavier pyramid sinker and keep your main line tight. Should stay put.

[Krawler]

You could try a bobber stop and bead to prevent the float from riding up the line. also a large live minnow might be a good bait for this rig off a break wall, no need to casr far if its deep along the wall.