I was fishing The Baltic over in Northern Germany recently where I was introduced to a range of tackle items and gadgets that I hadn't seen or used before. Many of these were specifically designed for the main approach to the local offshore fishing scene, which for the most part was trolling for sea run Salmon and Sea Trout, and are therefore probably of limited interest here. But one particular items stood out very clearly as something with huge potential for the UK on a number of fronts, this being a simple but effective little gadget manufactured in Denmark known as the Flexi-Diver. An ingenious clamp on the line weight with a shaped head to facilitate getting it down in the water column either when trolled, or in our case say for pollack or bass fishing over shallow reef marks, cast and slowly would back to work a lure. A hinged plastic quill opens up to clamp the line and is then inserted into the weighted head to hold it in position. This also has a long tail with a line clip to help prevent twisting or tangling, which works very well for trolling, though for casting it pays to flick the reel back in to gear the instant the lure hits the water to keep the orientation tangle free on the drop.

When it's in the water behind a moving boat, the shape of the head and distribution of the weight causes it to dive as well as sink. Some experimental work I did years ago pulling leads with hooks attached in conjunction with an echo sounder suggest that 1 ounce of lead at a typical 1½ to 2 mph trolling speed will work a lure at depth of around 15 feet. So from a slow running boat, it should be possible to get more out of the Flexi-Diver than a conventionally weighted soft lure such as a lead head or drilled bullet worked over shallow holding areas where in clear shallow water, pollack and bass are usually quite happy to move up from the bottom to intercept a meal passing overhead. Why more people don't try slow trolling over shallow reels and around inshore marks is probably down to custom and practise here in the UK. Elsewhere it can work a treat. And with this gadget, which incidentally comes in a range of sizes and weights, offering a greater measure of flexibility, then I for one will most certainly giving it a go over the coming months.

Flexi Divers are available from Anders Søndergaard Larsen