What rig do you use for chunking?

[addict]

Call me a butcher, I just started fishing last year. Plugging is still a bit away for me.

Ok, I know this must have been brought up at least a few thousand times, so could someone help me with a link?

If not, what do you use? Fishfinder? Hi-Lo? Just Lo? Just Hi? Some other freak of nature rig that produces?
I've tried the fishfinder, hi-lo, just lo. My numbers don't change much. I was just curious what the pros use.

I fished today, did you?

[likwid]

depending on tide/current/direction
i'll either drift with no weight or use a setup with fishfinder as

running line -> fish finder (on running line) -> swivel -> 60lb mono -> hook/bait

works great because the bass can pick up the bait and feel no weight on the line (freespooling/drag as loose as it'll go)

or if the wind and tide are JUST right, i'll use balloons to float/drift chunks/eels/liveline

[STEVE IN MASS]

Bridge or boat, or some other situation the the current is flowing AWAY from me - fishfinder.

Beach or bay with no "current", just wave action, or littoral current, a high low rig, or same set up with only one hook.....not sure if you'd call that a "hi" or a "lo"....

I do not use fishfinder's on the beach, as it causes some what of a helicoptering of the chunk on the cast. Either that, or the bait goes one direction, the lead the other, and your cast is considerably shortened. And the plastic sleeve rarely sits correctly on the bottom without a line twist around it, so often it does not perform it's intended function anyway. The hi-lo rig is more streamlined and aerodynamic, with the chunk following the lead in a straight line.

I will use the fishfinder on a bridge or a boat, as usually there it's just a lob cast or dropping straight down, and the current moving away from you allows the fishfinder to perform correctly.

[addict]

Thanks for the info folks. More things to consider.

[Raven]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by addict
"Plugging is still a bit away for me."

hey addict ? Set up your chunking rod and then start plugging with your "plugging rod" using either a popper on top or a swimmer and cover all the bases simutaneously. There's nothing quite like seeing a top water hit and instantly getting into the fight. I like the mystery of chunking because you don't really know whats down there...but seeing bass make trash-cans on the surface as they chase bait and getting the plug to land in the perfect spot on the perfect cast always gets my heart beating like nothing else.

[likwid]

then you get a simutaneous hookup and cry!

i fish two poles too

[Raven]

i lift free weights to prepare for double fish on...
also you can just .... walk backwards..learned that from a chinese woman who never reeled. Why ? Dunno? she'd hook a fish and was often seen walking up the road from my house backwards dragging in fish ...was the strangest thing to see.... lol
that woman caught more fish than anyone that way...

[Adamfishes]

I LoVE THE HI LO!

[addict]

Holy cow...(no pun)...I've never heard of a chinese or any other race of people who back up with their rods to bring in a fish. lol !

A little more info from me:

I am surf fishing for stripers right now. (Somehow, it's more of a challenge for me at this point) I've already heard about and personally experienced the helicopter effect when casting fishfinder rigs. This is actually one of the reasons why I asked this question.

On one hand, I've been told stripers are generally line/weight/tension shy. Hence the fishfinders and/or fluro.
On the other, we have the "heli" effect reducing casting distance as well as never knowing if the fishfinder is actually working properly due to the position under water.

Well if I use a Hi-Lo, and I am holding my rod, wouldn't the fish have less leader to take before feeling the line tension and spit the hook? So is the proper technique to immediately set the hook on a hi-lo or hold the rod and have my bail/freespool open?

PS: Raven, I'm trying to focus on one thing at a time during the steepest part of my learning curve. I only started fishing last year, and I unfortunately have a "let's do everything asap" personality. So, I started looking into building rods, making my own lures (I do wrap my own bucktails now), fished from Pt. Pleasant NJ to Montauk for various species...etc, etc...

I need to take a deep breath now and just enjoy some quality fishing time. So when I'm ready, you can bet I'll be asking about pluggin'. (The prices of plugs are also no joke and add up quick! Right now, I try to snag most of my bunker for bait to cut down on bait $$$)

[likwid]

The line/weight/blahblahblah thing is why I fish surface with balloons or fish the bottom with no weight on at all (drifting rules)

Although drifting you tend to get alot of crabs hanging out as you would a hi/lo...

But on the same line (ha ha pun) having it free allows the fish to pick up the bait and run with minimal load/spook factor...

One of the reasons i like the fishfinder....

[macojoe]

When I use to surf fish I would rig my pole with 17 or 20# test then I would add a piece of Flour. 50# about 10 feet then a swivel with 50# and fish finder and a 6/0 or 7/0 Gamey octopus.
This way I could cast hard without breaking the bait off and still have a light line for distance. Use to work ok for me.

[STEVE IN MASS]

Addict....you've pointed out some important stuff.....like holding the rod as much as you can.....

The other thing with a hi-lo, is to try and use as little lead as you can get away with....sometimes that isn't possible, like if there are other fisher-people nearby and you have to be conserned about drift and invading their space.....

But, if you have the beach to yourself, or are within a reasonable distance from the other guy, some drift isn't too bad, in fact, perhaps more effective, so long as it's not drifting enough so that you're at the top of the wash 50 yards down the beach within a few minutes.....

So, all that said, hold the rod as much as you can as opposed to dead sticking and use as little lead as you can get away with.....and if you aren't using a Baitrunner, have the drag set to almost free spool, just enough that the waves aren't pulling too much line....(Of course without a Baitrunner, you have to palm the reel to set the hook, and then have to reset the drag once you stick 'em)

And when you're holding the rod, sometimes it's just a feel......stick 'em when they first hit so they don't feel the weight/tension, or other times let them run a bit and then stick 'em.....making that decision is something you can only learn and have the feel for by doing, missing hits, and learning......

[addict]

I just realized why you folks are helping me. (NY'er)

The Sox are 1/2 game ahead! I'm a Met fan anyway. So besides '86, you guys have nuthin' on us. I still feel bad for Buckner though.

Back to fishing, I'll try some of the advice and post how I did. Thanks again and I hope I still get help when you're a 1/2 game behind you know who. (I hate 'em too) lol

[Raven]

sometimes i buy some regular aquarium fish food and cap it up in gelatin caps to stuff tube baits -> with....as it melts the smell slowly seeps out...heh heh. i like to out smart water too.
as for plugs with some old paint and a wooden mop ,rake, handle pulled from trash and some treble hooks, glue ,and screw eyes you can make some poppers easy enough...when the bite is good and heavy they sometimes will hit anything thrown on top! sometimes you have to drill a hole in the bottom back end and shove a round weight in it. float-em in a sink to see how they ride in the water ok.[use a rubber band on say a NO. 3 split shot to see where to drill the hole ]thats how i did it in the old days..buying a lure back then was only a dream. Now, i have so many lures my wife says:.... i dont go fishin - i just take my lure collection out for a boat ride.

[striperjackson]

Feeling bad for Buckner is not something we do.






LOL

[STEVE IN MASS]

Addict....Met's fan here........raised in NJ......father was a Red Sox fan, as he was from Lowell......and moved to NJ and couldn't bear to watch the Yank-Me's, so it was the Mets, and I just picked up on that.....LET"S GO METS....though lately, that's almost embarassing.....

[Notaro]

U can use a flouro leader (2 ft or 3) and snelled it with a gakastmu hook octopus circle or circle hook #2-4 for schoolies or eagle claw lazor sharp #1-5. Then u go to the end of the line, u can either attach a ball-bearing (i cant name it, u know the tool that has one metal loop on the top and bottom?) or make a double surgeon loop. use a circle hook for chunking. I hope that this will help you. I personally advise you to use circle hooks for chunkings beacuse it holds better than a standard hook. Plus you dont need to set the hook. U can relax and let a striper run ur line.

[addict]

Raven,

fish food in capsules? I won't say I'll try it, but...
homemade poppers? My wife's gonna kill me when the mop gets 6" shorter...lol
btw...does anyone really use a spoon to make their spoons? (serious question here )

striperjackson,

I knew the Buckner mention would open old wounds. I won't bring that up again. Promise.

THANK YOU MR. BUCKNER! ...sorry, couldn't help it.

STEVE,

"almost" embarrassing? I tried defecting to that other NY team and I just couldn't get myself to do it. I try every year. Then the Mets win one (no, not one game, the BIG one) and give you false hope. Then for another ten years or more, it's just masochism. I went to BU from '83 to '89 (yep, the six yr undergrad program) and then to Suffolk Law for almost 2 years. I know what you folks went through up there. I couldn't even celebrate in public for the fear of a public hanging. Then I left cuz I always hated lawyers (except the ones on this board who are looking at this post - ) lol

Notaro,

Thanks for sharing. gakastmu hook? tool with top & bottom metal loop? I won't go there... I do appreciate your input though and hope you catch 'em up.

[likwid]

you'd make good bait addict...

live bait...

buckner my a**

[Notaro]

addict, it's like a snivel, oh, that's what i meant. sorry. yes, i did use gakastmu hook because it isnt as thick as a circle hook and it can fit perfectly into a small chunk or a well-cut chunk. i use them exculusively at rockport. i meant for the loop, so u can attach it to a snap snivel and it will be your fish finder rig (with the slider and a sinker). add a cigar float on the leader. sometimes i chunk with a circle hook without using a leader if i plan to use flouro line w/o a weight. and what do you mean by "catch them up"?

[addict]

likwid,

I'll put on a Mets '86 t-shirt and liveline myself around a school of blues for ya.

Notaro,

I was nicely saying that you should check your spelling/grammar. If you don't know what "catch 'em up" means, I think you should check your angling dictionary.

[Notaro]

my bad. i just deleted it.

[STEVE IN MASS]

Joseph....please, please, please don't go in that direction.

That reference was to me, and I NEVER said that you didn't understand American euphanisms because you are deaf....being deaf has absolutly nothing to do with it, and I would never insinuate something of that sort.....it has to do with English being a second language....and there is ABSOLUTLY NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!

Ya know, I took German in high school.....and there was an old German joke....."Was ist den los?" (John help me out here...., German classes were a LONG time ago!))

Which means "what is the matter?"

And the Germans would routinely answer "What is not tied down" (I forget the German phrase for that).....and that was funny to them.....but it is funny because that "los" in German also means "loose", so "Was ist den los?" can also mean "What is loose?"

But Americans could never understand that.....

So please don't bring up that exchange again....I thought I had apologized to you for your misunderstanding of what I said, and had hoped you had accepted my apology.

And BTW...and this is not a put down to you, just trying to help, but the word you were looking for is "swivel"....not "snivel".....which is actually kind of funny and ironic, because "snivel" in American English is a verb that means "to cry, moan or complain" about something.....

[addict]

Joseph,

I already knew that english was likely your second language. I had no idea you were deaf also. My apologies. As STEVE mentioned, many "americans" actually went through the same thing. The first German, Italians, Polish, etc all had to learn a new language. It's no big deal. I didn't know you had hearing issues as well. It probably makes it twice as tough.

As long as you understand what the fish are saying.

[Notaro]

lol. it's alright, steve. no problem. anyway, i hope that this thread has given you the ideas you need for making a chunking rig.

[Raven]

when i was growing up in (auburndale) part of newton... my parents wouldn't let us watch TV to late because it would keep them awake so i began watching TV without sound and soon discovered that i could read lips pretty good. It's fun driving around and seeing a passenger in your rear view mirror say to the driver of the car who's behind me "hey pass this F__N slow S.O.B. "and i'll instantly floor it and leave them -> in my dust. your lack of hearing ability has probably strengthened your other senses to the point that you might have more tactile perception (sense of touch) than others which is a fishermans BEST tool!
As for chatting here: one thing text messaging fails to do is allow for inflection of voice so that many things said as text are misunderstood for the lack of it . It sometimes takes awhile to be on the-> same page.

[conimicut1]

check this article out and then spend a few hours surfing th entire site!

http://www.stripersurf.com/highlowrig.html

[chris L]

pretty good memory Steve .
matter is los
loose is lose

sound the same but spelled differently .

was ist los ? nicht is los .
was ist lose ? das toiletten ist lose .
This was brought to you by the letter X and the number 69 .

[STEVE IN MASS]

Thanks Chris, but I think you outta go tighten down that toilet....