rigging trail hooks

[Springtides]

on 9" sluggos. I rig them now with a single hook with thread and glue. How about some ideas on the trail hook. Thanks

[Nebe]

Steve mckenna taught me how he rigs his.. basicly, its a riged eel. He uses gamie live bait hooks size 4/0 if i remember right and then he slides a lunker city pencilweight in its belly.. he uses power pro or dacron to tie it all together.

[rizzo]

http://www.striped-bass.com/StriperT...hlight=mckenna



here is a link to what has been discussed before

[Chris in Mass]

SM has one with a trail hook hanging up at Quaker Lane, along with free home made rigging needles! Don't know if they are still there.

Like Eban said, he would slip one or two pencil weights in the belly. He said he was going to try one in the tail as well. Never ran into him at the shop after that, so I don't know how he made out.

I tried a couple of trail hooks and was never happy with how my knot to the front hook came out (too bulky with dacron). Would love to see a step-by-step.

[bart]

i have one he rigged right in front of me and rizzo got it right. he uses two slug-go weights in the head and then another in the tail. he uses those gami live bait hooks like eben mentioned. i could be wrong but i think the head hook is samller than an 8/0, more like a 5 or 6/0.

does anyone notice a difference with a stinger hook? i rig them like said before with just an 8/0 o'shaugnessy hook and thread. i would think you'd get smaller fish on the stinger.

[rwilhelm]

I don't understand what the tail hook is for either? Most bass will hit the front hook.

[rizzo]

The front hook is a gami live bait 8/0 hd, which is thicker than a 5/0 octopus but around the same size. The stinger helps with short strikes, lets you catch bluefish that go to chop the sluggo in half, and help the sluggo stay on the hook when you go to realy launch a cast out there. Its really important to wrap the hooks with thread and super glue the sluggo on.

I tried fishing these this past year. You need a lighter pole and lighter line than what im used to fishing. The bait was not heavy enough to use with braid on a bigger setup and i kept getting windknots. To properly retrieve it you gotta keep twitching it, sometimes very aggressivly like a rigged eel. It helps to have a shorter pole with a shorter butt to do this, something around 8 feet or so.

I didnt end up using it too long though as i prefer eels and have all the confidence in the world in them. Stevie claims that the sluggo will hold its own fished side by side with an eel though.

[bart]

i believe him. i watched him slam bass one night them. you're right about the short rod. i think he uses an 8ft loomis with a short butt. he twitches them in fast too, not slow. he shined his light on the water and showed me the nasty action he got with them . looked just like a big juicy live eel dancing through the water. the way he rigs them they hold well in current too.

if i had a digi camera i'd post pick of the one he gave me