*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: Bigger they are the more mess they make.
I basically have come to rig ballyhoo one of two ways. Either I use a conical spring when I rig with hooks protruding out of the belly, or a rubber band, with hooks in the hoo for weedless rigging.
I usually dress them up with a sea witch, a homemade attractor, or when I feel rich, an Islander.
I have rigged with copper wire, chin weights, and even hoonose and ballyhood.
It seems that the rubber band or cone spring is the fastest when it comes to rerigging on the go. The cone spring with an attractor lets me troll up to 7 kts. After that it is washout city within 10 minutes.
I have also learned that cutting off the pectoral fins goes a long way to keep them from spinning - even with hooks perfectly placed, bowels squeezed out and back flexed. I tend to leave the beaks on, and simply slide the attractor weight over it to make the presentation larger. Lots of people snap them off, but I leave mine on for trolling.
Comments? Suggestions? Other methods? Lets hear it and see some pics!
We use small chin weights (1/4-1/2 ounce) and a pin with a small rubber band...this method allows you to rig em' naked or with any kind of "dress" bait...we use a mix of Islanders (all flavors), sea witches, Zukers, Small soft top plungers, Aliens, etc...some times the smoking lures like plungers and the Islanders (sailure and Seastar) turn the trick. If the bill will fit up inside the lure, we leave it on, if it will not fit properly, we break it off. Limber em' up, poke the eyes and away you go.
I thread the mono through the crimp, then through the sinker. make an offshore loop around the eye of the hook, then back through the sinker and back through the crimp. I place the end of about 12" of monel wire in the crimp and crimp the mono and rigging wire in place.
prepare bait by salting, milking, cutting off bill, separating the flesh of the fish from the spine, etc...
when i rig the bait i put the point of the hook into the mouth of the ballyhoo and out the gills. pull the sinker, wire and crimp through the gills along with some extra mono. basically at this point the ballyhoo is hanging off the mono leader and can slide up and down. i insert the hook underneath the gillplate and bring it out the belly of the bait. the idea here is to hide the hook. instead of having the weight outside or below the chin, i tuck the weight in between the two gill plates. then thread the rigging wire through the eye and around the chin(below the gills and egg sinker) and tightly make several wraps. then wrap forward making sure to tightly wrap over the mouth.
you shouldn't see any sign of the 1/4 oz. sinker, although it's tough to use 1/2 oz. sinkers in this manner in anything but mackeral and horse ballyhoo. with the skirt in front of the bait i've been able to troll this rig at 8.5 knots for quite a while. keep in mind, with the egg sinker and a 2 oz. skirt it makes a 2 1/4 ounce lure, and the heavier it is, the more likely it is to stay under water and swim.
that's just the way i do it, but i'd just clip the loop off your naked hoo rig, add a skirt and then crimp a loop back in the end you're pulling it from. anything will do to add a little movement and weight.
Tidster: I seem to have the same hoo rigging style as you described above. Mono pin rigs with either a nose spring/rubber band and an Islander for a skirt and on occasion run it naked.
However, just went back and looked at my fishing log and there was one other way that we USED to rig but haven't in the last few years. Hoo on "piano wire". We used 6' of 100+# piano wire, haywire twists instead of crimps, no skirts and the biggest and freshest hoo available. Not only that but the BIGGEST Blue Marlin we've ever hooked up [est 400-500#'s] hit that piano wire rigged hoo! Maybe I'll have to try some of those again this year.
Rigging Ballyhoo - Different ways? 
