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I want to set up to do some drift fishing and I want to learn how to troll live bait. I need tips on how to rig these things. Hook size, knots, and how to bait/rig the bait to the hook. All I use right now to troll is ballyhoo, tearsers, plugs, ect. Thanks in advance for the help!
not sure what your fishing for but i use a 5/0 or 6/0 hook on 50lb power pro with a penn 750 ar shimano 6500 baitrunner.i hook the live bait in the back whether it be pinfish,cigar minnows or threadfin and live line them out the back of the boat.letting a little more line out every few minutes.i have got kings,grouper.dolphin,and cobia this way as i bottom fish.
Slper,
There are several methods but this I learned this from the NC boys’ in early 80’s. These guys used to win most of the KF tourneys when folks in N FL still used the dead ballyhoo and two big single hooks with heavy wire as many to this day use them in S FL with the pre rigged ballyhoo.
Well one simple and extremely effective live bait rig is two #6 or #4 treble hooks (a little bigger but my preference is #6), tied a few inches apart depending on the size of your live bait. I rig a few 3 to 6 inches apart so I can accommodate various size live bait. I use #4 or #6 wire (depending on cut off ratio) for the connection of the 2 treble hooks and #3 wire for the long part ( #2 wire is the secret ingredient, if I have too many cutoff then I go to #3). The light wire and line will produces much more hit rate. You need to measure and adjust your drag accordingly, plus your spool must be able to handle min of 300+ yards as all I had mentioned is for light drag and line. I use 12 & 15 lbs and on heavy side I go to 17, the heaviest line I use is 20.
Hook the live bait thru its nose and let the trailer be free. The direction of hook into the nose will affect the swim (left vs. right). With the 1st bait in, the slow troll begins. I have 1 eng, so I just engage it in gear (the least possible rpm). If I am running against the current it works fine but without current or down current I deploy two 5 gal buckets (cheap method) on each side of the front/mid rails to slow and balance the boat steering. I used to deploy my sea anchor but one just does not work well and it becomes a constant adjustment of the steering.
Since the circle hooks had great reputation for hookup and release, I switched over to circle hooks about 3 years ago. Down here in S FL the sails are all over (near shore in 90 to 200 feet), and removal of a circle hook is much easier than treble.
Just as you would troll with dead, you need to cover various depths, so use the downrigger and place the rigs depending on the FF sightings. I also add a ¾ oz or 1 oz weight where the snap swivel attaches to the swivel for the flat line or with out. I am a firm believer in Live vs. Dead, but you cannot always get/find LB, so the Dead ballyhoo is always in the cooler. Good Luck & tight lines.
Good info Chilloutfishing. I had some live threadfins yesterday that i was trolling right off the Steeple. I only had one rig that had the two trebble hooks. The other 2 rigs I had in the water had only 1 trebble hook-BIG MISTAKE!. I got slammed one time and didnt get hooked up and another time I got my threadfin cut right in half. If I would have had that trailing 2nd trebble hook I would have been golden.
I have a Q for ya: Do you ever use this tactic with dead ballyhoo? Also, you suggest putting the egg sinker above the swivel? Doesnt it make the bait turn in big circles while you're slow trolling? Thanks
If you are going to troll live bait I would suggest you learn how to tie a head bridle. Its fast and effective (generally used on larger baits). As far as trolling is concerned take your time and pay attention to the way the bait is swimming in the pattern. If your baits don't make you want to jump in and take a bite of one, you need to make some adjustments, speed of boat, distance from the stern...... After that experiment and have a great time
Bigbiteboyee,
The trailer hook is the winning ticket to nailing the king or Wahoo. I also troll the Steeple area and close in (80 to 160 feet) is loaded with kings. So if you want to play there have the 2nd hook as trailer. You will get your limit within the first hour with live bait, vs dead will take 3X to 4X the time.
The little sinker (1/2, 3/4 oz or 1 oz) above the swivel snap is just a simple method to keep the bait just under the wave/water, and NO it does not spin the rig. If it does your snap swivel or swivel is worn; try changing it and examine it again. I fish 2 flat lines 100 & 130 yards with weight and w/o weight (90% of the time without the outriggers) and 1 downrigger at 50 to 80, and two #1 plainer. As long as the boat is moving or barely moving the weights, downrigger and plainer will perform flawlessly. If you stop then you the rigs can start to mess up, so the key point is to keep moving.
To answer your other ? on dead ballyhoo using the same rig, the answer is yes. But out of laziness I do so. These rigs are terrible around sea weed as they constantly pick up weed, in those areas I use the typical 2 J hooks together, but half the size of 7 & 8. Also I reverse the hooks so the sharp end is in the ballyhoo and not outside, then you can troll almost weed free or as best as it gets. IMO, the pre-rigged ballyhoo hooks are too big and my believe and experience over 21 years is: Less visible the better. Besides for a pkg of 3 or 4 pre-rig you can have a dozen and rig them as you wish.
Just a note on kings: be careful of the mercury content (another words, do not eat too many kings regularly)! I keep one or 2 only and the rest always go back, best to keep the smaller size for eating. Also not sure if you know this, but in that area there is stink hole (some sort of discharge pipe) which I avoid, just thinking about it makes me sick!
Feel free to call me on 72 on weekends out of FTL, I may be out there this Sat or Sun if I can get a way from home duties!
Tight lines & good luck.
Here is the NOAA forecast for This weekend (5-10 knots and 2 feet or less) http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtb.../am/amz651.txt
Chilout: Thanks for the response. Do you normally catch your own bait or do you buy them? Its a little tough to catch these threadfins unless you head north. I leave out of PE so its a little far for me to head all the way up there for bait. Also, trying to catch goggle eyes is almost impossible. I use sabiki's normally, and its tough. No wonder they go for $80/dozen.
Dave @ Ft. Lauderdale Marina told me the dolphin bite has picked up-someone caught a few 30 pouders 13.5 miles off the port yesterday. I might give that a shot and then head in for a few kings. I am really looking for a nice wahoo but have been unable to grab one as of yet. I'll be out either Sat or Sunday and I am always on 72. My boat is KINGFISHER II so give me a buzz.
Same here, as long as Mahi are known to be out there my plan-A is offshore for Mahi and after 2 hours of nothing then I head in for Kings just to satisfy the day.
If I get to the PE turning basin before 6AM I will try to catch LB just to the south by the anchor balls in front of John Lloyd Park. Most of the time I buy a dozen pilchards from Ray’s (just next to the CG station) for $25. I figure I have limited time to fish and ditching $25 is more efficient than spending an hour chasing and catching LB with sabiki and chumming. Again major laziness too, 10 years ago I always caught my own bait with 8 foot cast net or sabiki, all day fishing and no family. Now I have limited time, so I am OTD at 5AM, in water before 6 and out by 12 noon while going out 15 to 25 miles out depending on seas. My boat is Chill Out.
There were 2 diff pilot reports earlier this week that spotted big patches of weed at 10 or 15, so it may pay off to venture for Mahi (my favorite). Look on the FS forum if you do not have it here is the link, then check the South (FTL and below) and Southeast (boca & above). http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zeromain?id=1
I use a piece of dacron to make the bridle, cut a piece about 7 inches and double it over and tie a overhand knot to form a circle. Put the knot end over the bend of the leading hook and pull the loop through under the knot so it fits snuggly on the hook, no need to tie knots to secure. When you are ready to put your bait on have a open ended needle, put the end of the bridle away from the hook in the needle and feed it through the eye socket of the bait, remove the needle and put the bridle over the hook point, give it a couple of twist and feed the hook point through the bridle again to lock it in place. Make sure before you put the stinger hook in place you measure so that the leading hook with the bridle has all the pressure and the bait can swim properly.
Man do I have a lot to learn! I have a hard learning this stuff. I'm more visual. I guess I have to find someone to go on my boat and show me this or I'm looking for a book that is VERY easy to learn from with pictures. Thank you all for all your help!
Rigging live bait 
#2 wire is the secret ingredient, if I have too many cutoff then I go to #3). The light wire and line will produces much more hit rate. You need to measure and adjust your drag accordingly, plus your spool must be able to handle min of 300+ yards as all I had mentioned is for light drag and line. I use 12 & 15 lbs and on heavy side I go to 17, the heaviest line I use is 20.
