Doggie rigging

[Sam Owen]

Hey guys

I'm off to Fiji in 2wks n aside from poppin. I'd love to have a jig for a doggie so my question is how to rig for doggies? Should I use a wire assist? Is there a need to run a length of wire above the jig connected to the leader. Sorry if this question has being asked before any advice would appreciated.

Cheers in advance.

[Brandon Khoo]

Sam, I wouldn't bother with a wire trace or wire assist. It's rare for a doggie to go through kevlar but if you're worried, you can use zylon

[Sam Owen]

No worries I'll do that. Any recommendation on min pd kevlar to use for tying the assists? Don't normally tie my own when jiggin Jb kings jus use the pre tied pink owner ones(more outta laziness than liking them.)

Thanks for the advice.

[Mark Harris]

Scott, I suggest you use the Varivas SS Kevlar. I normally use size 60 (260 lbs) or 50 (240 lbs). The larger size 80 is too thick I think, but that might be a personal foible.

Details here (for example): http://www.saltywatertackle.com/product_info.php?proID=1086

While I have no experience of Doggies in Fiji, I would agree with Brandon that Doggies rarely bite through Kevlar assists. The leader is more of a problem, but wire is a no-no there for me as the bites will just dry up. You might want to take some local advice from Fiji about which leaders work best for them there but a short,  heavy bite leader may be wise.

[Andre van Wyk]

Hey Sam,

You could try tying up some of these mate, using regular red Kevlar you should be able to source locally from your tackle stores, or on the web ( we stock it, but I'm sure someone closer has it too ). This method basically uses 4 strands rather than just 2 for the Assist giving you extra bite protection:

http://www.gtpopping.com/forum/index.php?topic=2098.0

Alternatively, as suggested by Brandon in the thread posed above, you could use the Split Ring-Swivel-Split ring method as shown below, pic courtesy of Matusani San, and is his preferred rigging method for Doggies.



As for the leader set up.... seems most widely avoid wire, and rather go with heavy flouro....
I think, much like with GT fishing, chasing big Doggies, or landing them should I say, involves a large amount of luck..... I hope you have a bunch!