I would like to know who is or has tried Sabiki rigs for bait and what kind of baits can you catch with them? I know some of you guys up Boston way have said in the past that you use them and I would like to do more live bait drifting this year so should I be looking at this as a better way to get bait in the tank? Has anyone ever tried them for scup? Thanks for any info you may be able to give on this. GB

Ps I will be going by the Basspro shop in N.Y. this weekend and would like to pick up a few and maybe a rod for them if you think it is worth my while?

I've had good luck catching scup on them.

We use Sabiki rigs to get scup. Sometimes we put little peices of squid on a few of the hooks so it works a little better, jig it up and down slowly.

gatta run i'm at school

-Jr Link

Herring, and Macks get the smaller ones, and if you ge a bait rod you can reel it right into the ro other wise they get all tangle, and those hooks are sharp.

Thanks guys think I will get a rig this weekend. Bill thats what I was thinking of getting the rod for the rigs so there will be no mess with the rig in the boat and easy to store. By the way Bill I am going to N.Y. for a few days for wild boar with the bow with a few of my customers. Its a tought job but someone has to do it:D

Nice, you hiring???? :D

We'd use a light 6ft stick. With the sabiki on there we'd add a 2/2.5 oz bucktail to the bottom. This is what we would use when going after shad to live line to stripers. Gotta get them in the tank quick though as they are not very hardy fish, stripers love em though. jig slow and smooth ie. not jerky and many times you can pick up 3-4 or more at a time, a good "net man" is imperative.

To live line them, we'd use 4/0 4x trebles on 40lb mono leader, attached to the shads mouth. 1 treble for the shad 2 for the stripers :D

Hey Greg Mike's Dad has a homemade rig that outfish's the Sabiki for Macks in the canal. If he like's yah he'll show you how to make it/fish it, if not....

Wild Boar huh? Just don't get LOST.

The bonus inshore keeper cod are aways a welcome treat too ... :D

Greg... make sure you get the sabiki rig with the right strength#line - You don't want anything too weak,, Scup will eventually break the lesser test line ... Like Chris said, your better off making the rig yourself.......but being that your so busy chasing Boars...:laughs: .............

crazyassbastard -

I belive those rigs will be for sale shortly @ M&D's in short supply will go very fast.
link sr::cool:
ps: I'm gonna buy all of them:laughs:

They have caught or have seen them catch mackeral, herring, sardines, anchovies, silversides, blue runners, harbor pollack, snapper blues, scup, shad, and even fluke and albies.

Thanks for the replies guys looks like I need to keep an eye out for them at Mike's.

GB Just a suggestion as we use bait often as it is the best.

If you are going for mackerel, Pollock, scup use a #8 hook.

If you go for herring us a #6, you will catch more herring on a #6 than a #8. Trust me!!!!

One other thing, If you do not get alot of bait in a vertical presentation, try trolling the rig with a 1-2 0z Crippled herring or any other metal on the back as slow as you can, when you hook up put the boat in neutral and reel them in slowly. You will end up with mre bait this way as you are covering more water, especially for macks or Pollock.

:cool:

I have caught every thing with them. I like to use a small spoon on the bottom instead of a weight. It gives you that extra (you never know what your going to catch theory) The problem with the sabikis is what do you do with them afterwards they like to hook on to every thing. So be carefull. I got a sabiki rod last year for real cheap under $40 from a friend of mine. They are great but they take the fun out of having bait put up a fight.

One other thing to mention, we got 2 sabiki rods last year and they work great, a little pricey so shop around.

If you don't get the rods, one thing you can do with one you have used to keep them from tangling is to get some small paint rollers or foam pipe insulation and stick the little hookes in the material as your roll it around the brush or tube of insulation. Then we just keep them in a little eel bucket till we use them again.

Originally posted by Fisherwoman
GB Just a suggestion as we use bait often as it is the best.



how true

I will be getting a bait rod for the Sabiki if just to keep the boat safe. Thanks for the info F.W.

last year I made one and it hasn't broke yet. sabiki rod - pvc pipe/hose clamps/ small conventional reel.

Just drill a hole above the reel, and sand it smooth, same with the top of the pvc. the hooks do sometimes get caught when being reeled all the way in (not out), but thats what get for saving $50+.

Whats up with the sabiki rod? Couldn't a fresh water type rod work for shad or herrin and then you need another heavier rod for macks or pollack? This rod (http://www.captharry.com/plr-bait-rigs-bpro.html) doesn't look very sensitive for a sabiki rigs? Whats a good sabiki rod? store bought or custom.....is it even worth custom:confused: I still like the KISS theory.

Cheapo 6' shimano set up with a plastic reel, $30 at Benny's, it's what I've used for three years and never had problem. Some people use those 10' poles with no reel, just the line attatched. Way too much of a hastle for bait IMO.

The rod they are talking about is hollow - so the rig reels into the rod. If you don't mind the hassle of all the little hooks hanging out any POS rod is fine.

foam swim/pool noodles are great for holding sabiki's .

Goose, I understand the thinking about these sabiki rods, but believe it or not even though it is a little bigger bland and kidda stiff you can feel even little silver sides and sperling when they hit the rig.
There was an article in Saltwater Sportsman a few months ago on how to make one yourself, very similar to the one fishsmith built. I will look and see if I still have the magazine and If I do I will post what is says.

All it is, is an Inverted rod so you have what normally is the tip as the handle and the butt section is the tip. It has a cap that won't snag the hooks so when you real it in all the hooks store inside the blank it self. You can buy them for $60 if you shop around. but like I said before they take the fun out of the fight, but you can feel the bites even on small bait.

Tie your own, size six or eight hooks, crystal flash, and some red thread from your wifes sewing kit. Hit the head with nail polish hardener, and put them on your own leaders. This way you can just cut them all off when you're done, without the tangle mess, also, it gives you something to do while its snowing, and blowing...

Arrrgh sabiki rigs!.. I think sabiki means "tar baby" in Japanese. No one else has mentioned this, so I will. I got no shame anyway. Catching bait was no problem, keeping those microscopic hooks out of my fingers was. Those around me found it quite entertaining, I was not amused. The little tiny hooks are really sharp and bury themselves past the barb with no effort at all. When that happens ya just have to jerk 'em back out without sticking yourself with all the rest. Not really painfull, but kind of annoying with 3 or 4 of them stuck in your hand. The real problem started after I loaded the rig and managed to clear a few hooks. The remaining baits were still wiggling and thrashing, filling the air around my hand with a $hitstorm of them sharp little hooks. Well, you get the picture. After hooking, unhooking, and rehooking myself, Idonknow how many times, I finally put the last two baits on deck and stepped on 'em. It was clear, before I put that rig back in the water, I needed a plan. There was one of those extra large paper clips close by, so I unwound it except for the last loop(this was to be the handle) and bent a small J-hook on the straight end. That worked real well for shaking bait off. Maybe before you go, you might want to put one of those clips, or something similar in your pocket. Hope you don't need it.:smash:

the biggest problem with the sabiki rig (other than hooking myself about a thousand times) is they are to long , what i do is shorten them at both ends then put them on an old spinning rod and just leave it set up