The Paternoster Rig

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

A paternoster rig puts the weight at the bottom of the line and the hook or hooks above it, on droppers, snoods or booms. The lead anchors the rig while the bait sits up off the bottom, clear of weed and snags.

The same principle works for coarse, pike and sea fishing, in three main builds: the fixed paternoster (dropper loops or booms), the running paternoster and the sunk-float paternoster. This guide shows you how to tie the three used most in the UK: a basic dropper version, a sunk-float paternoster for perch and pike, and a three-boom sea paternoster.

Start by picking the right one.

Step 1: Choose Fixed, Running or Sunk-Float Paternoster

A bait buried in soft weed or wedged into a snaggy bottom is a bait the fish can’t find. Lifting it above the lead is the whole point of a paternoster rig.

Variant	How it works	Best for	Watch out for
Fixed dropper-loop paternoster	Hooks on widely spaced dropper loops, weight at the bottom	Cheap, simple sea and general bottom fishing with less weed fouling	Traces are as thick as the leader and twist with fish baits
Three-boom sea paternoster	Booms hold the snoods away from the rig body	Several bottom species at once, lighter snoods, slack water	More components to buy and tie
Sunk-float paternoster	A buoyant popper holds the hooklength up at a depth you set	Perch and pike over weed	Needs a wire trace wherever pike are present
Running paternoster	The line can run through the boom or swivel	Wary fish, as a taking fish feels less of it than on a fixed rig	A refinement to add once you can tie a fixed version

Match the variant to what you fish for:

Coarse perch and pike: use the sunk-float paternoster.
Sea bottom species such as whiting, pouting, rockling, dogfish and bream: use the fixed dropper or three-boom sea paternoster.

If you want the bait hard on the bottom beside the lead, use one of the ledger rigs instead. The full range sits in our fishing rigs hub.

If your bait keeps coming back covered in weed, start with a paternoster. Step 2 shows the simplest one.

Step 2: Tie a Basic Fixed Paternoster with Dropper Loops

You can tie this on the bank with a length of line, two or three hooks and a lead. No booms, beads or crimps. Learn it first, because the boom version in Step 4 is built on the same layout.

Cut the rig body. For sea use, Planet Sea Fishing gives a 1500 to 2000mm body for its three-boom rig, which makes a sensible starting length here too.
Tie a swivel to the top. Your main line or shock leader attaches here.
Tie two or three dropper loops. Space them widely so the hooks can’t reach each other. A simple rule: keep the gap between loops longer than two snoods laid end to end.
Make the snoods. Cut each loop on one side to leave a single strand and tie a hook to it, or loop a separate snood on.
Add a link or clip at the bottom. This takes the weight, so you can change leads without retying.

With the hooks above the weight, this fixed paternoster stays out of the weed and snags that foul a bait lying next to the lead.

Its weakness is the droppers. They are as thick as the leader, and fish strip baits twirl and twist them round the rig body. Booms solve that in Step 4.

This guide gives no line strengths or hook sizes for the dropper version, because none could be checked against a published source. Steps 3 and 4 carry sourced specs.

The flapper rig is a close sea-fishing relation worth comparing.

Step 3: Build a Sunk-Float Paternoster for Perch and Pike

One measurement decides whether this rig tangles. James Furness, writing in Angling Times, sets the distance from the popper down to the swivel at twice the length of the hooklength. Get that right and the hooklength can’t wrap round the main line.

This version holds a small fish or lobworm at a set depth for perch, on stillwaters and rivers. You need:

8lb reel line
6lb fluorocarbon for the hooklength
a size 10 hook
a 1.5oz flat pear lead
a foam popper (the sunk float)
a micro swivel
rig stops

Build it to the Angling Times set-up:

Slide a rig stop onto the main line about 1.5m from the end.
Thread on the micro swivel, then a second rig stop, leaving a small gap between the two stops.
Trap the foam popper between two more stops about 1m above the end of the line.
Tie the 1.5oz flat pear lead to the end.
Tie the size 10 hook to 30cm of 6lb fluorocarbon and attach it to the swivel. Once tied, it finishes at about 15cm.

On snaggy venues, tie a 4lb weak link above the lead. If the lead snags, you lose it rather than the whole rig.

To turn this into a paternoster rig for pike, keep the build and make one change that is not optional: use a wire trace instead of fluorocarbon wherever pike are present. For trace set-ups, see our pike rigs guide.

On Windermere I deadbait and float fish for pike and perch, and around the weedy margins and drop-offs I’ve found that lifting the bait off the bottom is worth the extra few minutes of tying.

Best for: perch and pike over weed, at a fixed depth. Skip it if fish are feeding hard on the bottom. A ledger rig does that job better.

Step 4: Rig a Three-Boom Sea Paternoster

Reel in a dropper rig baited with fish strip and the snoods are often twisted round the leader. Booms are the fix. Lindsay Green explains in Sea Angler that shorter booms and swivels hold the traces out from the rig body and resist tangling, which lets you use lighter snoods.

Planet Sea Fishing gives these specs for a three-boom sea paternoster:

Rig body: 30 to 50lb line, 1500 to 2000mm long
Booms: three
Snoods: 150 to 300mm of 10 to 30lb line
Hooks: size 6 to 2/0
Best fished: at slack water

To build it:

Tie a swivel to the top of the rig body.
Thread on a crimp, a bead, a boom, a bead and a crimp. Repeat until you have three booms on the line.
Tie a lead link to the bottom.
Space the booms out and crimp them in place. Keep each gap longer than the snoods so neighbouring hooks can’t meet, the same spacing logic as the dropper loops in Step 2.
Tie a snood to each boom and add the hooks.

This sea paternoster suits bottom feeders such as whiting, pouting, rockling, dogfish and bream. Three hooks let you fish three different baits at once.

The running paternoster from Step 1 is the alternative when you want less resistance on the take. Our sea fishing rigs guide covers the wider set of shore and boat set-ups.

Fit the booms when strip baits keep tangling. If tangles aren’t a problem, the dropper version from Step 2 does the job for less.

Step 5: Stop Tangles and Fish It Safely

If your paternoster rig comes back as a bird’s nest, the fault is usually a length, not the knot. Check these before you retie anything.

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Hooklength wrapped round the main line	Popper-to-swivel distance too short	Make it twice the hooklength (Step 3)
Snoods twisted round the body	Fish strip baits twirling	Switch to short booms with swivels (Step 4)
Hooks caught on each other	Droppers or booms too close together	Space them wider than the snoods are long
Whole rig lost in snags	No weak link	Add a weak link to the lead, such as 4lb on snaggy venues

Then check your leads. The Control of Pollution (Anglers’ Lead Weights) Regulations 1986 ban the import and supply of lead fishing weights above 0.06g and up to and including 28.35g (1oz). They have applied across the UK since 1 January 1987, and they cover import and supply, not use.

Leads heavier than 1oz, such as the 1.5oz flat pear in Step 3, fall outside that range. Check your fishery’s own rules and the current legislation on legislation.gov.uk before you fish.

A weak link also matters for the fish. A fish that snaps you off isn’t left towing a lead, and a wire trace prevents the pike bite-offs that leave hooks behind.

For freshwater, you also need a rod licence. See our fishing licence guide.

If you change one thing, measure your lengths.

Frequently asked questions

Why is it called a paternoster rig?

Nobody knows for certain. According to Lindsay Green in Sea Angler, the rig appears in Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler (1653), and the story of monks inventing it is likely folklore. One theory is that hooks set above a weight look like rosary beads on a string.

What is the difference between a fixed and a running paternoster?

On a fixed paternoster, the hooklengths are fixed in place on the line. On a running paternoster, the line can pass through the boom or swivel, so a taking fish feels less resistance. A fixed version is simpler to tie, so learn that first. Step 1 compares all four variants side by side.

Can you use a paternoster rig for pike?

Yes. Use the sunk-float version from Step 3 and swap the fluorocarbon hooklength for a wire trace, which Angling Times says is needed wherever pike are present. Our pike rigs guide covers trace set-ups in full.

Can I still use lead weights on a paternoster?

The 1986 regulations restrict the import and supply of lead fishing weights above 0.06g and up to and including 28.35g (1oz), and they don't directly address use. Leads over 1oz fall outside that range. Check your fishery's rules and the current legislation on legislation.gov.uk before you fish. Step 5 has the detail.