There is nothing quite like the scream from the drag on the reel when a smoothhound hits your bait. It’s a sound that marks the true beginning of the summer fishing calendar. As water temperatures climb, these hard-fighting, sleek mini-sharks make their annual pilgrimage into the shallows.
If you want to feel the raw, muscular power of a fish that doesn’t know the meaning of the word “quit,” now is the time to gear up. Here is everything you need to know to bend a rod this season.
Where can I catch a smoothound: The Hounds’ Hunting Grounds
Smoothhounds love sandy, shingle, or mixed-ground seabeds, particularly areas with a healthy population of crabs. They are pack animals, meaning if you find one, you will usually find a dozen more patrolling the same stretch.
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The South Coast Shingle: Legendary marks like Chesil Beach and Slapton Sands in South Devon, where deep water close to the shingle allows you to target massive hounds without needing a mega-cast.
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The Wild Atlantic Surf (North Cornwall and Devon): Rugged surf beaches like Widemouth Bay and the mixed-ground reefs of Sandymouth or Watergate Bay are absolute sleeper marks. As the massive tides flood over the rocky scars and sandy gullies, packs of smoothhounds move right into the shallows to gorge on crabs. Fished at dusk or into the night, these marks produce some of the biggest specimen hounds in the county.
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The Heavy Tides: The Bristol Channel, Sandpoint, and the rocky low-water scars of the North Devon coast (like Westward Ho! and the Ilfracombe stretch)—famed for raging currents and hard-fighting double-figure fish.
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The Tides: Focus your efforts on the stronger spring tides. Smoothhounds love a bit of movement. The last two hours of the flooding tide and the first two hours of the ebb are prime time. Dusk and dawn sessions often provide the most confident, rod-slamming bites.
Gear Up: The Right Tackle for the Job
Smoothhounds are pure muscle, and when they hit, they hit hard. You cannot afford to bring undergunned freshwater gear or flimsy beachcasters to a hound fight. Your tackle needs to be robust, reliable, and capable of stopping a powerful run in heavy surf or strong tides.
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The Rods: You want a powerful beachcaster in the 13ft to 15ft range, capable of casting 4–7oz leads plus bait. Look for a rod with a stiff mid-section and butt to give you the lifting power needed to pump a stubborn double-figure fish through the surf, but with a responsive enough tip to register bites and absorb the violent lunges under the rod tip.
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The Reels:
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Multipliers: A classic 6500-sized multiplier (like an Akios Shuttle or Penn Fathom II) with a reliable, smooth drag system is the traditional choice for maximum control.
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Fixed Spool: If you prefer continental-style fishing, a heavy-duty 7000 to 14000 size big-pit or long cast fixed spool reel with a fast drag is ideal for quick line retrieval. My current favourite is the Penn Tidal longcast, expect to see a review of that one soon.
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Mainlines & Shockleaders:
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Mono: If you’re fishing the clean shingle or sand of Widemouth or Slapton, a good quality 15lb to 18lb monofilament main line gives you great casting distance and excellent shock absorption when a hound runs.
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Braid: For the mixed, snaggy ground around Sandymouth or the heavy currents of the Bristol Channel, switching to 40lb to 65lb direct braid cuts through the tide perfectly and gives you the brute strength to pull through kelp.
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Shockleader: Essential for safety and abrasion resistance. Always use a 60lb to 80lb tapered or standard mono shockleader. Smoothhounds have incredibly rough, sandpaper-like skin; a heavy leader ensures that if the fish rolls and wraps itself in the line during the fight, you won’t suffer a heartbreaking snap.
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The Menu: Best Baits for Smoothhound
Smoothhounds don’t have the typical slicing teeth of other sharks; instead, they sport hard, crushing plates designed specifically for breaking shells. Because of this, oily fish baits like mackerel or sandeel are mostly ignored. If you want to catch hounds, you need to think like a crab.
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Peeler Crab: The undisputed king of smoothhound baits. Whether live or frozen, a juicy peeler crab bound tightly to the hook with bait elastic is an irresistible scent trail they cannot ignore. Peeler crab are undoubtedly the most expensive bait to buy, but if you have the time, you can collect your own, check out our post on how to collect peeler crab and if you are unsure how to rig a peeler crab, we have a guide for that too: How to rig a peeler crab
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Hardback & Softback Crabs: Don’t rule out ordinary shore crabs. Anglers often crack the back shells of hardbacks slightly to let the juices leak out, creating a fantastic, budget-friendly bait that pesky bait-snatchers can’t easily steal.
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Squid and Prawns: An excellent backup or “cocktail” addition, especially when fished following a storm when the water carries a bit of color.
Tying Up: The Rigs to Use
Because smoothhounds hit like a freight train and run hard, your terminal tackle needs to be robust. Standard setups include:
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The Pulley Rig: Tied with a heavy 80lb–100lb rig body and a 40lb–60lb snood to combat both the fish’s abrasive skin and rough sea beds. The pulley design lifts the lead out of harm’s way once a fish is hooked—essential for the reefy ground around Sandymouth or North Devon. Guess what we also have a guide on how to tie a pulley rig
- Up and Over rig: This is another great rig that is similar to the one above, but gives an even longer flowing trace, which helps to catch the more hesitant fish. In this case we don’t yet have a guide on how to tie one, but that will be coming soon.
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Running Ledger: Simple and highly effective for boat anglers or smoother sandy beaches like Widemouth, letting the fish run without feeling the immediate resistance of the lead.
The Game Changer: The Rise of the Dongle Rig
If you’ve been on the beaches or browsing the forums recently, you’ll know there is one massive talking point this season: The Dongle Rig.
Traditionally used by heavy-ground cod and ray anglers, the dongle rig has skyrocketed in popularity among smoothhound specialists—and for good reason.
Instead of threading your peeler crab directly onto the hook (which clogs up the gape) or using a clumsy two-hook Pennel setup, the bait is tied to a separate, short piece of heavy braid or coated wire (the “dongle”) hanging directly beneath the bend of the hook.
Why it’s a must-have in your tackle box:
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Flawless Hook-Ups: Because the bait sits completely separate from the hook, the hook itself remains entirely naked and exposed. When a hound vacuums up the crab, there is zero bait in the way to mask the point. The hook almost exclusively finds the corner of the mouth, making it perfect for safe catch-and-release.
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Streamlined Casting: The dongle features a small metal ring at the bottom that clips directly into your lead’s bait release system (like a Gemini Splashdown). During a powerful cast, all the immense force travels through the heavy dongle rather than pulling and ripping your soft peeler crab apart. Your bait hits the water looking exactly how it did on the beach.
Final Tip: Set Your Drag!
Before you cast out into the surf, make sure your reel’s drag is set correctly. A double-figure smoothhound hitting a bait in a fast tide does not tap gently—they melt line instantly. If your drag is locked solid, you can kiss your expensive rod and tripod goodbye!
The season is officially underway. Grab some fresh peelers, tie up some dongles, and get out there. Tight lines!
A lovely smoothound for Hazel Tipping from Hookers Baits.
If you want more detailed explanations or videos of any of the points in the post or would like to see other subjects covered, then let us know in the comments.
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