Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) > Tackle & Techniques

Assist hook on popper more effective than I thought

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Patrick Naslund:
Just came back from a trip and though I'd share some experience.

I brought 3  Heru Cubera 150 gr with me.. 2 was taken by sharks and the last one got the belly swivel broken on a 15-20kg G't ( quality issues or just bad luck ?  )

The Cubera produced so well though so I decided to try putting an assist  hook ( SJ41 11/0) in the front on the broken one ( a bit longer than the one Brandon has in his rigging thread ) http://www.gtpopping.com/forum/index.php?topic=1397.0 ) and kept my Jobu 9/0 in the back 

I was supriced how well this works.. I actually think I got better hookup ratio than with the Baker rig
Even got a 12-14 kg Dogtoth on this popper with this rig  :)

Any one else with experience on this rig ?

Patrick

Jay Burgess:
We use this alot when fishing with Nomad. It works quite effectively although I'd still prefer trebles in most situations. Regarding the busted belly swivel, whilst this isn't that common it does happen from time to time on the Heru lures  :-\

Brandon Khoo:
As Patrick has experienced, the rig works very well even if it looks a bit unusual. The only thing I have found is that some poppers don't swim as well as they've been designed with trebles off the belly and the weight off the head can have a detrimental effect on the action, particularly in less agreeable conditions. The Cubera is a popper that works well with this rig though.

I agree with Patrick that a slightly longer assist than what I have in the photo is desirable.

In terms of weaknesses on this rig, I have mentioned the potential balance issue above. The only other thing I would mention is just an observation more than anything else and that is that I have seen a number of occasions where the hooks have been straightened out. I suspect what is happening is that the GT is hooked with both the head and tail hook and the fish is able to work the hooks against each other. I think you can compensate on this to a degree by adding a second split ring to the tail hook. I know Glanville Heydenrych from Nomad who I regard as one of the best GT guides on the planet suggest using only the assist hook - yep, one hook!

On your comment about the belly swivel being compromised on the Heru, this is a rare but unfortunately not unheard of issue with the Herus. If however you buy your Herus from the Kaiser Pro Shop, you mitigate this issue as from what I can see, their lures are specially made with what look to be Sasame swivels. Of course, if you use this rig, the belly swivel is redundant.

Mark Harris:
Do Kaiser use Sasame or NT swivels on their own branded lures?  The advertising says NT I think.

Or indeed are Sasame and NT swivels the same thing with different branding? They look very similar.

Good to hear you caught some fish Patrick and that the assist off the front rigging worked for you. 

Patrick Naslund:
Brandon.

I didn't know Heru's had different swivels depending where you bought them from.. always though they where the same ( color/patterns aside )

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