rigging live bait

[srick 0]

just thort id post somethin on live bait rigging. (for fish)i have been using them for years in the port and over time have found ways to keep them alive longer, i would like to share it with you guys. :wink: when suspending a bait off the bottom i use a two hook rig with hooks spaced at around half the size of my live fish. then with the hook closest to the rod tip place it in the upper sholder of the fish about 4mm down for trout or 2mm for gar making sure not to hit the backbone or latrel line. then with the second hook i place it behind the dorsil spine. i have brought this up because i have know people to place the hooks the other way around eg furthest hook in the sholder. this method when suspended off the bottom causes the fish to be facing the bottom and hence drowning it over time. it may also cause the blood to run to its head which is also not good.in saying this i do use the hooks backwards when ancoring the fish to the bottom eg for snapper surf mullies etc. as this allows him to run away from my easy rig easyer and keeps him from tangling my main line as often. :wink: hope this helps you next time your out live baiting as livies could be the difference in a wopper or nothin. i also rig my squid different than most which gets me more hookups so might share that next time.

[ospray 1]

Thats a good tip srick, I have never fished with live baits, only dead ones, when I have used fish as bait I would put one hook, up near the top somewhere,and the other hook somewhere near the tail hoping it would be in a spot that was hard enough to hold the hooks and keep the fish looking like they would be tempting enough to bite on, they always did look a bit dodgy as I casted them out, a good enough reason why I never caught anything that way.Thats what I like about us blokes on this site, we aren't afraid to share our knowledge[/color:3s73r990] (what little we have)[/color:3s73r990]

[bennyboy 0]

cheers for that mate,If i'm baiting the lake for mullies ( and almost always using poddy or jumper mullet ) i use and unweighted one hook set-up. 4/0 or 5/0 is plenty big enough.Turn the mullet upside down, and gently with your fingers you should be able to spread one side of the gills open, so as you can see a tunnel appearing through the gills and out through the mouth.Be careful not to hit the gills with the hook point on your way in but basically follow the hook through this gap and out the mouth.The hook point then sits curved around the fishes mouth, with the rest of the hook inside of its gob, and the trace line coming out the back of the gills.The fish is able to swim around freely facing forward and not tangling any of the mainline, and because the hook point is hanging out of the mouth, reduces the chance of fouling with weed etc.And the other pro for this method is that the hook point is in the strike zone of the bait being in the head area.Depending on how well you rig it will depend on the life of your bait, but in saying that the place where i gather my livies from is also the place i fish with them so they are always on tap if the bait keeps sh*tting itself...just something else to think about... {SMILIES_PATH}/cheesy.gif

[freddyboy 5]

this is how i do livies on squid for kingfishing ,,taken with a underwater camera hooks were 2 6/0 .... cheers freddyboy http://www.fishyorkepeninsula.com/images/attachments/cQb67Unl__sq.jpg[/img]

[Guest Butters]

Hey freddyboy.. that hook at the squids head.. is that pointing all the way through to expose the whole hook at a right angle to the squid? or is that just a weird angle?Cheers

[freddyboy 5]

weird angle mate its in the mantle behind the head,, that squid stayed alive all day but was eaten by me when i got home {SMILIES_PATH}/cheesy.gif ,,, cheers freddyboy