Rigged eels & rubber eels, Slug-gos, etc.

[Skitterpop]

#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&/Steve or ~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking at old rigged rubber I see many had hooks up as if you were rigging a live eel but see now that many rig hooks down.

Anyone have any thoughts as to how this effects ballast of the bait, hook up ability, how and where the bass gets hooked, how this effects how to play the fish ,and if the bass can rub or use rocks etc. to cut himself free more easily with the two different hook placements?

Hope this isn`t a too all over the place question.

Thanks,
Mike

[tlapinski]

I assume you are referencing rigged rubber with a tin squid. The tin is going to keep the eel properly oriented by design. On a slug-go, the lure will swim with hooks down, acting like a keel. My guess is this is due to the weight of the hook bend being greater on the portruding side. Heavier things want to sink. Just my theory, though.

[eelman]

When I rig an eel , both hooks are down. If you use a swimplate such as PT.Jude joe sells the hook is up and has to be because thats the only way you get the action out of the plate, these do work very good and my largest bass this year came to a riggie with the swimplate.

But overall I prefer a rigged eel the old fashioned way,with both the anal hook and the mouth hook down, acually this is really the only way to rig an eel right unless you are using a swimplate. I use big siwash hooks and rig with 80lb dacron. Fishing a rigged eel this way and fishing it right takes alot of work, the action is critical and there is only one right way to do it, you "pump the rod sharply up and let the riggie fall back down, keeping the rod under your arm ( and you better because the hits are vicious!) Even when I fish the swimplate version I still pump the rod somewhat but not as much because the swimplate gives it action, the hook being up on the swimplate really doesnt hurt the action in any way, its just a different action and way to fish.Rmember also that before you rig an eel no matter which method you use , you have to break every bone in the eels body to get the wild action you need, I do this by kind of bending it and kneeding it with my hands and you can hear ot pop and break as you go.

As far as rubber eels go, I wont even go there, I think they are terrible and would chose a sluggo 100% of the time because a 9 inch sluggo fished right is the closest thing I have ever seen in my life to imitating a live eel. You have to fish it fast and that because its up to you to bring it to life.

So the short answer is to keep your hooks down unless you go with a swimplate.

When I fish a live eel I also keep my hook down as many of you know and , toby is right, I see a big difference in the action because of the keel effect, when the eel is hooked up thougth the head Your bait has a tendency to "turn over" and come back belly up, I dont want that, I want it to swim rightside up and look natural. Most times I just fish live eels now because I am sick of rigging eels, every once in awhile I feel like fishing them and will rig a couple up.

I dont think that the hook being up or down makes much diffence in how the fish "fights" What affects that more is where the fish is hooked, hook them in the lips and you have quite a fight, hook them in the throat and they tend to follow your lead more.... Fish do what they do out of instinc, we will never know but I dont think the fish uses there brain and says let me rub on this rock, they always head for the bottom , thats where the safety is, they will wrap around boulders and try to get rid of what it is pulling on them. This whay I advocate heavy tackle, I cant stand to see these light setups especially around boulders...its stupidity and just plain not going to put a decent fish on the beach, get them out as fast as you can. To the fish it isnt a game its a matter of life or death, and getting a fish in fast means less stress on the fish and an easier release if thats what you want to do.

I use heavy leaders and my leaders are 12 feet long, I use fluro but not becasue the fsih cant see it, they could care less at night what leader material you are using, I use flouro simply for the abrasion resistance and the overall strength, For years I used ande 60lb mono and still do sometimes... makes no difference in how many fish I hook.

If your using a rigged eel with conventional gear, tie direct, if your a spinnner you need heavy duty snap swivel with a large barrel ahead of it, dont use small wimpy stuff ! use heavy duty. Dont use the spin tackle without it or your line will twist so bad you will pull your hair out!

[tlapinski]

Bill, when you fish a live eel with the hook pointing down, do you go in the eye and out the bottom of the mouth, or in the mouth and out the lower jaw? I always fish my live eels with the hook pointing up, but rig them with the hook pointing down.

[eelman]

Ok, let me ask you this and yes I am being nice! Why would you think it makes a difference if your riggie is hook down, why not fish the live hook down? It only makes sense, the method of hook down is actually called (and you will like this) "The cuttyhunk method" Below is a picture of how I hook it[IMG][/IMG]

[eelman]

The hook down keeps the eel on a natural plane and also keeps it belly down, important in my opinion. Yes I know many guys catch well the other way also, but for me its one of the little things I do that makes a difference. And no, I dont cast off eels more often or less than the next guy, I use and prefer slow action rods for eeling beacuse number 1, they take more of the force on the cast, and they tire a fish out much faster, I lay into my casts and dont baby it at all.

[Saltheart]

I also rig the eels with the hook down. If you search , somewhere on this site there are posts where I talked about rigging eels and many others had contributions too. I don't like the squids (swim plates) for rigging . They are fine for open areas or sandy bottoms but in the rocks , I think they add little and can cause the eel to get stuck.

I prefer rigged eels over live but as #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& siad , you get sick of rigging them . Its a nasty job. Live eels are much easier. I hook live eels hook up unless I am fishing in real close. Then I hook them in the mouth and out the throat. this method works well but you can cast them off easier if you are not craeful , especially when using braid.

I work rigged eels in many ways , not just pumping them. I just love to drag them through rocks , just like a live eels. One trick for this is go very slow and you shouldn't get hung up on the rocks/mussels/weeds. if you feel it getting stuck , you just let it go limp for a few seconds and it will usually just drift free. I also like to move them along some slow , then let sit and drift in the wash , then move again. Almost like you are falling asleep on the retreive then wake up and keep retreiving. I do sometimes use the pumping action #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& mentions and find you very often get the wack on the up stroke. everything depends on so many things like wind , waves current structure. you just got to do it a lot and see what works where. One thing I know is that if you fish one method for a while at any given spot with no success , you should try something different.

One great thing about rigged eels is the number of foul hook ups you get do to thet tail hook. When they wack it head first , the tail often swings up or under or aside the mouth and the tail hook gets them outside the mouth. You want an exciting fight? get a fish foul hooked just under its chin. the fish can use its head to fight and it makes a 20 pounder seem huge.

i also remove the slime from my rigged eels. It makes them easier to rig , they last longer with multiple thawing and refreezing possible and its easier to snap all the vertibrae for a very limp end product as mentioned above.

Oh , BTW , I don't use them in the canal. In the canal skin jigs are better IMO. However , in normal water , I love rigged eels.