Between them, the running sinker and the paternoster account for almost every bait caught in Australia. They are not interchangeable, and the choice usually decides your session before you make a cast.
What each rig physically does
In a running sinker rig the lead slides on the mainline above a swivel, and the bait trails behind it on a leader lying along the bottom. The fish can pick the bait up and move without dragging weight.
In a paternoster the lead sits at the very bottom of the trace and the hooks stand out on droppers above it. The bait is held off the bottom in the water column, and the fish feels the sinker almost immediately.
When the running sinker wins
Clean sand and mud: bream, whiting, flathead and mulloway all pick baits off the bottom and move. The sliding lead is what stops them dropping it.
Shallow estuaries and beaches where you want your bait to roll naturally with the current into a gutter or hole.
Any time you are using circle hooks and letting fish load up on their own.
When the paternoster wins
Reef, rubble and weed: keeping baits above the snags is the entire point, and it halves your tackle losses.
Deep water with drift: you can hold bottom in 60 m with a single heavy lead and still present two baits cleanly.
Anywhere you want two different baits working at once to work out what the fish want — squid on one dropper, pilchard on the other.
Small changes that lift both rigs
Keep paternoster droppers short and stiff so they stand out instead of wrapping the trace on the drop.
Extend running sinker leaders to 60–80 cm in clear water and shorten them to 30 cm in a strong run.
Use circle hooks on both. In Australian estuary and reef fishing they hook more fish in the jaw corner and release far better.
Key takeaways
- ▸Running sinker for clean bottom and fish that move with a bait.
- ▸Paternoster for structure, depth and drift.
- ▸Short stiff droppers stop tangles on paternosters.
- ▸Circle hooks improve hook-up and release rates on both rigs.
This guide is general information only. Fishing regulations differ by state and change regularly — confirm current rules with your fisheries authority before you fish.