How do you rig the hooks on your poppers?

[Luke Wyrsta]

Re fish falling off, I think you just get days like that. No idea why though. We had days in Seychelles last year where we were dropping them 4 times for each capture. And that is dropping after a big run against a decent drag suggesting that the fish was well and truely on. All the other geets I've hooked have stayed on. I've only lost them from reefing.

I think it might be some behavioural thing where sometimes they just grip the bait and run rather than eating it.. Or something like that!

Happens with other fish species as well. Then you go out the next day and smack them. One of those things.

GT activity and willingness to strike obviously change due to certain factors. I have a few theories beyond the obvious and accepted, but nothing sound. Still a few things I have yet to work out - ah...the art of fishing...

Timid strikes, where barely a nose touches the lure or a tail-slap/turning AWAY side swipe is involved almost always results in shallow outside the mouth hook-ups, often meaning that hooks will pull very easily. Even after a big initial run where hooks *feel* like they are rock-solid can work loose or rip from the flesh.

On the other hand, GTs rearing their backs from 10 metres away, or complete several second mauling(s) of the lure on the surface are often sucked well into the mouth resulting in solid hook-ups. Although, such high activity and willingness to destroy a lure can make them susceptible to body and side hook-ups due to the amount of movement and thrashing involved during these strikes.

[Warwick Joyce]

I agree with your theory's Luke. I have had a few experiences of strikes very close to the boat on stick baits where the fish grabs the lure and almost hangs in the water motionless then just spits it out. I suspect they are very smart fish and were just checking to see if it was edible . Other days they are simply fired up and smash anything no messing around.
My mate Gav mentioned to me on the last day of his recent Nomad trip that he was running assist off the front and single off the rear (poppers) and the hookup rate was terrible, then he switched to a baker on the belly and first strike he hooked up.
So yet another variable in the game of fishing Sometimes they crash tackle the lure, sometimes swipe halfheartedly, sometimes tailing the lure just to see the frustration of the angler

For me I use baker and single. I have been toying with the idea of running an assist as well but I think it is one of those backup plans if fish are hitting but the hookup rate is not there. I have ruled out trebles simply because of the damage they sometimes cause, although I like the idea of the treble on the belly and single on the rear. Ha basically my views are always changing! The more you know the less you know

[Nicholas Moore]

Hi Travis,

Yip Im with you on this one. We have had more damaged fish on trebles. Although it does sometimes happen on singles. Generally our whole group now fish baker rigs on centre with larger singles on rear all with crushed barbs for poppers and stickbaits, for some of the larger stickbaits we are still sourcing some larger 13/0 for the front bakers - every now and then a lure gets chucked with a treble dangling off it. The damage generally occurs around the pectoral fins most times. We haven't noticed a remarkable difference in hookups but fish are sometimes dropped. We figured far better droppin a fish now and again than damaging one.

I have noticed that most fish are generally caught in the scissors by one of the bakers. Haven't experimented too much with assists - will do as soon as the weather clears.

Whats the general consensus on fishing singles tight up against the back of the stickbait or extended via swivel? this is where we have differeing opinions.

Nick

[Chuen Fan]

Nick, 13/0 SJ41's are available locally. I've bought them at my local tackleshop. Nomad sell them through their online shop as well as a bunch of other online shops.

[Travis Heaps]

Whats the general consensus on fishing singles tight up against the back of the stickbait or extended via swivel? this is where we have differeing opinions.
Nick

Not sure Nick - I generally fish it just with a single split ring with the hook gape facing up rather than down.  The swivel will add some extra length which could be handy on occasions.  I'm not sold on assist hooks on poppers but that's because I like to keep Spaniards if we are lucky enough to get one and we don't have issues with sharks on poppers where we fish.


Warwick and I were having a conversation the other day about this thread.  A mate recently went on a trip and head rigged assists were the rage - problem was on the last day he kept missing hookup after hookup.  He changed to a conventional belly/tail hook rig and bam - hooked up first cast.  You're never going to be able to tell what will work when you wake up on any given day, having a standard rig that you use to start out or that makes a particular lure swim well is a good thing but a good fisherman is one who can identify what is happening on any given day and be willing to change their rig to an option that will give them the best chance on that day.  Which is why this forum is great - half the rigging options I would never have thought of myself. 

Maybe a better question is how do you rig your stickbaits or poppers in different situations?  Or what situation a particular hook rig the best for?

[Dave Foyle]

Hi guys,

Here's a snap of a few hooks I've used for rigging stick baits and poppers- just for comparison.

Left to right - Fisherman Shiden 13/0, Owner SJ41 13/0, Owner SJ51 11/0, Mustad 10874BLN, Owner Jobu 9/0.



For bakers I now tend to use the Mustad - the eye takes an 11H owner split ring and the wire is looks about the same gauge as an SJ51.  The Mustad has about the same gape as the 13/0 SJ41 also.  I stumbled on the Mustad by accident - I'm not generally a big fan of Mustad hooks....but this ones the exception!!  The Mustad also works well head rigged or as a single on the tail.  I also like the shape of the hook....kind of looks right for holding fish better when the barb is removed.....that might just be between my ears though 

The SJ41 is also nice for Bakers as it has a big enough eye -  lighter wire than the Mustad though.  The SJ51 is nice for tail hooks on stickbaits or poppers or for head rigging.

Tight lines   Dave