Effective Rigs for Drifting and Trolling Part 2

Effective Rigs for Drifting and Trolling Fishing Part 2 was created for angler who tying common knots and fishing rigs with hook on common baits or lures to catch any types of fish Around Singapore! Effective Rigs for Drifting and Trolling Part 2, PEKAN Style, Pekan the royal town, gave me a real eye opener. Chan of Pekan arranged for Major Ismail and me to be on board a nelayan boat that specialise in hand lining for tenggiris. Believe it of not, they prefer the small tambans of 6 to 10cm as live baits for tenggiris. The hook used is a straight long shank of 1/0 size (4cm from eye to bend). A 22-gauge single strand soft stainless steel wire is tied on to the hook with a barrel twist (no Haywire Twist) with the other end forming an eye with again a barrel twist. The length of the wire leader? Just 4 cm long. That gives a total of just 8 cm of metal against the razor teeth of the tenggiri. A mono leader of at least 10 fathoms with breaking strength of 301b (my estimate) is tied to the eye of the wire at one end and a senakau (buffalo horn spreader) at the other.

The live bait is hooked on in two different ways, depending on the situation. When fishing with the boat kept in stationary position right next to where they have seen the tenggiri, (they can, I can't) the small baitfish is hooked at the lower rear, in front of the anal fin, right through the stomach cavity. (Fig. 3).

This is then cast out and the bait swims away from the boat, pulling the leader and sometimes even the spreader (no weights attached). It usually do not last long in the water, certainly not more than a minute, before it is snatched by a tenggiri. It may be a hook up, a stolen bait, a cut off bait with only the hooked portion coming back or a cut off line.

On average, out of 10 casts, five return with half the bait, one or two cut leaders and three or four tenggiris. Good averages, in my books. I tried with my usual 25 to 30 cm wire leaders. Lost count of how many bites they had before I had one. I believe I am not far off if I put the figure at 20 to 1.

Effective Rigs for Drifting and Trolling Fishing Part 2 was created for angler who tying common knots and fishing rigs with hook on common baits or lures to catch any types of fish Around Singapore! For trolling, the live bait is hooked very similar to the method used in Mersing. The hook goes in the mouth and out through the gill plate. It is then lightly hooked at the rear of the bait, with the hook on one side and the point facing out (Fig. 4). An 8-ounce weight is clipped on to the spreader and the boat moves at a good 5 knots. Again, some cut offs happen but the number of bites and fish landed far out weigh the frequent retying necessary because of cut offs.

Effective Rigs for Drifting and Trolling Fishing Part 2 was created for angler who tying common knots and fishing rigs with hook on common baits or lures to catch any types of fish Around Singapore! There are obviously many more ways to rig live bait for drifting and trolling, including using a treble hook for a stinger. The choice is yours but do remember that the more hooks there are, you do not just have more points to hook on to a fish but also more points to hook on to yourself or someone close by.

For me, I have found that the Pekan nelayan method works best for me except when I am after marlin or sailfish. For this, nothing beats the use of the circle hook bridled to the bait. Good hook ups, holds well and least harmful to the billfish ending with a successful tag & release.

Note: For me, I have found that-the Pekan nelayan method works best for me except when I am after marlin or sailfish. For this, nothing beats the use of the circle hook bridled to the bait. Good hook ups, holds well and least harmful to the billfish ending with a successful tag & release.