The single hook stiff rig is the ultimate rigging for trolling plugs. Don't take my word, take the word of Captain Steve Campbell. The author of Blue Marlin Magic, easily the best book ever written on the subject. Captain Campbell details with data of his over 1700 blue marlin catches (1730 at the time of publishing in 2014) how he trialed many methods for rigging to increase his odds. Double hook rigs don't work the best because they tend not to catch the fish by the hard upper mouth, and have the deleterious effect of killing more fish. A rig that is not in a fixed position is never a good catcher because of the way marlin tend to attack a bait. He idenfies that marlin tend to come from below the the bait, up to the side and attack from the prop wash (whitewater) towards the blue water. If a fish keys on a port side lure, they are likely to attack from just starboard of the lure and flee hard to port into the clean water. It is for this reason that having your hooks-set locked into a fixed position with the hook tip facing the waters surface gives you the best chance of a solid mouth hook up. To further increase these odds you should slightly turn the hook towards the prop-wash. E.g., (as you are looking at the lure) a port run lure will have a 10 degree hook lean to the left. A starboard run lure will have a 10 degree hook lean to the right.
How to rig it: To start with we like our hooks to extend all the way to the extreme ends of the skirt. That keeps the hook concealed and helps with getting through grass while limiting misses on short strikes. Skirt length determines hooks-set length.
-Place two crimps on the leader after it passes through the lure and slide the hook onto the line.
-Pass the line back through the crimp closest to the hook.
-We insert a length of spring steel in that crimp, and pull the crimp as close as possible to the hook eye and lock it in.
-Push the steel wire into the crimp near the lures butt, and twist the tag end of the leader around the line and the wire until it can be put inside of the crimp.
Note: This is where you have to get your length right
-Once the hook-set length is right, lock in the crimp around both sections of leader and the wire.
-Finish the hook-set by wrapping the hook eye in electrical tape.
The finished product should be stiff, straight, but have the ability to move when force (a big fish) is hooked up.
Miscellaneous thoughts: Hook size is dictated by how big or small of a hook do you need for it to not stick out above the skirt. Line size really depends on the size of the lure and the targeted species but bear in mind that the smaller the line size, the greater chances of a fish chafing through it. When utilized steel wire between the crimps, it is often necessary to ju
mp up one crimp size to accommodate. Finally, although not practical for everyone every time, you really should change hook-sets after every catch to avoid heartbreak.
For questions or comments, contact MFWIC@tritonaltackle.com
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