Do you carry these rigs and know when to deploy them?
Yeah, everyone always pulls ballyhoo. Sure, splash and spreader bars are dragging behind most boats. But there are a few rigs that have very specific applications at very specific times, which are rarely seen on recreational offshore fishing boats. If you don’t carry these goodies and deploy them when the timing is right, you’re missing out.
1. The Dangler – This rig consists of a chugger rigged 15’ behind a short dropper line with a plastic squid, run off the short rigger. You have to constantly adjust the line according to sea conditions and speed to keep the squid dangling and dipping as opposed to dragging or hanging. Nine times out of 10 the squid is the lure that gets hit, not the chugger. We detailed the setup and how to fish it in Rigging the Dangler, so you can get the full scoop there.
Seeing green stick boats catching when you’re not getting hits is a dead giveaway that it’s time to employ this rig (which is essentially a way of creating a presentation similar to that of the stick boats). Same goes for when boats dangling kite baits are hooking up, but trollers are not. It’s a PITA to set up and requires constant monitoring, but the Dangler often gets the tuna biting when the standard-issue trolling rigs go untouched.
2. The Bird/Triple Green Machine – Although it’s seldom seen today, 30 years ago you wouldn’t have found a charter boat towing lines offshore in the Mid-Atlantic region without one. Why did it fade from fashion? Who knows—fishermen are fickle, and we have all sorts of new rigs shoved under our noses on a constant basis. Rest assured, however, it works as well today as it did decades ago.
The rig is simple: Start with a 12” green Boon Bird, and crimp on an 18’ section of 200-pound leader to the aft eye. Slide a (hookless) Green Machine up the leader to 12’ behind the bird, and crimp on a bead behind it to keep the lure from sliding back. Go another three feet and add a second Green Machine. Then terminate the rig with a third Green Machine, this one trailing a 2X “fang” double-hook.
The Bird/Triple Green Machine rig is generally run in the shotgun/way-back position, a hundred yards or so behind the boat. It can produce at any time, but really comes into play as a day-saver when the tunas are acting boat-shy. Keep it in mind when bluefin are around but are steering clear of the fleet and/or lots of boat traffic has put them down.
3. The Squidly – Another rig that’s long past its time is the rigged squid. Thanks to modern artificials that’s no wonder, because rigged squid are difficult to make and generally come apart on a single strike. The Squidly is not a traditional rigged squid, rather, is a quick and dirty way to rig up a dead squid in an instant—and it works great for just about any predator species in the ocean.
Start with a bare leader sized appropriately for the area and the size fish that are around. Take a squid and use snippers or scissors clip the very tip off the mantle, just enough to leave a hole at the top large enough to slide the leader through. Push the leader down from the top, all the way through the squid until it’s coming out by the tentacles. Then slide a small egg sinker over the end of the line (a half or one ounce is usually plenty). Finally, terminate the rig with a long-shank hook.
Now hold the leader above the squid and let it slide down until the egg sinker plugs the hole at the tip of the mantle. Ideally the bend of the hook will be at the bottom of the mantle with the point exposed, but just where the hook sits depends on the size of the squid and the size of the hook. If it’s inside the squid, push the point through the mantle so it sits exposed with the squid hanging as straight as possible. (If the squid sits with a significant bend it will spin then fall apart when trolled).
As for when to deploy the Squidly, it’s a judgement call usually born of frustration. Let’s say you checked the Satfish temp charts and found an awesome looking break. You see marks on the meter and everything looks perfect, but the action just isn’t happening—reach for the Squidly. It’s more labor-intensive (and messy) than trolling an artificial offering so most anglers wouldn’t start the day with one on the line, but when you aren’t catching fish, instead of grasping for straws, reach for a squid. Added bonus: put this one in your hip pocket when you plan on chunking for yellowfin. The wiggling tentacles of a sinking squid are hard for tuna to resist, and when you’re in a fleet of boats chunking with butterfish this can be a stand-out bait.
What about those ballyhoo? And those spreader and splash bars? Yeah, of course you should be pulling them, too. But when the stock-and-trade offerings don’t produce, one of these three rigs will often save the day.
