Fishing Tutorials by Members Thread, Live Bait Presentation...It Can Make You Or Break You. in Fishing Related; Live bait presentation, in simple terms, is how we present a live bait to a fish. We have already discussed, ...
Live Bait Presentation...It Can Make You Or Break You.
Live bait presentation, in simple terms, is how we present a live bait to a fish. We have already discussed, in a previous post, how and what goes into the actual bait selection process. Assuming that we now have a healthy, hot bait, how do we present it to a fish so that we have the highest probability of inducing a strike?
Bait presentation involves many factors including how we actually hook the bait, how we cast it out, "feeling" the bait as we fish it, the color of the monifilament line we use, whether we use a ringed hooked or not, and most recently, the use of flouracarbon leader material. All of these factors can and will have an impact on the baits "natural" appearance to the fish. It stands to reason that the more natural the appearance, the more bites we will get. For that reason the use of ringed live bait hooks have become increasingly popular, increasing the baits natural appearance by allowing it more freedom of movement. Do not think for a moment that a fish does not possess intelligence. Many times, in what we previously described as "scratch fishing", you will see albacore, tuna and other gamefish blowing out on the chum baits, yet no one is actually hooking a fish. Why? The chum baits do not have hooks in them, and therefore appear more natural. You mean fish can be that selective? Absoluletly! Now during times of what we refer to as "wide open" fishing, where the fish are extremely aggressive and bite every bait in the water, bait selection and presentation is less of a factor. But it is during "scratch fishing", when the fish are being especially selective in which baits they eat, that selection and presentation of a live bait becomes significantly more important.
There are many ways in which to place a hook in a bait, and certainly the ways discussed here are not all inclusive. However, these are the most common ways and we will discuss each in detail, including the advantages and disadvantages of each. Bare in mind that these techniques work on all types of live bait, whether it be an anchovy, sardine or mackeral.
Nose Hooking:
Probably the most common way of hooking a bait, it offers several advantages. As the name implies, the hook is placed horizontally through the nose, just ahead of the eyes, in the "clear" spot that is cartiledge. This area is strong and durable, allowing the angler to cast the bait with more force, causing it to travel farther from the boat. Also, the bait can be fished both ways; meaning away from the boat AND back to the boat. By placing the reel in gear and retrieving a nose hooked bait, the bait will "swim" along the surface at a speed faster than without the help of the reel. Based on what I call the "fleeing baitfish theory", in which a fleeing bait will trigger an attack response from the fish, many times it is this "high speed" fleeing bait that gets hammered when the fish are being selective. It is no different in the animal world; we are taught not to run from a mountain lion or bear, but to back away slowly. Running, or fleeing, will almost always trigger an attack response from a predator. Fish are no different. If you are inclined to fish a bait with a sinker, which at times can be very effective, nose hooked baits, while being "pulled" down by the sinker, will offer a more natural presentation than say a bait that is "butt hooked". Nosed hooked baits will also last longer, because when properly done, trauma and blood loss are minimized. The disadvantage of a nose hooked bait? The bait will be the least "active" when not being retrieved when compared to other methods.
Butt Hooking:
As the name implies, the hook is placed through the bait approximately two thirds of the way back near the anal fin. Do not center punch the bait in this area, rather, carefully thread through approximately one third of the way up from the bottom, or belly, of the bait. If unsure, ask a deckhand to demonstrate. The advantage of this technique is that the bait will swim down at a high rate of speed, away from you and the boat. When the bait slows, a tug on the bait will repeat this downward burst of speed. As previously discussed, fast baits get bit. Disadvantages include increased trauma and bloodd loss; consequently, they do not last as long and require more frequent bait changes. Also, the area is not as durable as the nose so less force can be applied during the cast. Many times these baits are underhand cast or "lobbed" to prevent the hook from tearing out before the bait hits the water. However, this style of hooking a bait can be very effective and is most frequently used by captains and deckhands on the sportboats.
Shoulder Hooking:
Probably used the least when compared to the previous two methods, but can offer the best of both. The hook is placed through the shoulder tissue, behind the eyes and along the back, where the skin of the bait is thicker and more durable than the belly area, allowing more force to be applied during the cast when compared to the "butt hook" method. Additionally, this method allows the bait to be fished both ways comparable to the "nose hooked" method, with the added advantage of a more "downward" plane of the bait upon retieve, due in part to the hooks placement causing the head of the bait to point down at an approximate 45 degree angle. Similar to the butt hooked style, a shoulder hooked bait will swim away and down at a high rate of speed, and can be "coaxed" to repeat the process with a quick, rearward tug of the line. From below, to a fish, the hook will be less visable, riding on top of the bait, as opposed to in front of or below as described in the previous two methods.
Regardless of which technique you use to hook your bait, one thing remains a constant; your need to be in constant contact with your bait. This means the elimination of any slack line between you and your bait. You should be able to "feel" your baits every twitch. If you throw your bait out and it swims back and hides under the boat (hey, it's a rough neighborhood out there, I would hide too!) and you continue to pay out more line, you are, as they say, "wishing and not fishing". Many times you will see an angler use his fingers to "back wind" his reels spool, while it is in freespool, to remove slack between him and his bait so as to stay in contact, yet be ready to "feed" line to the fish upon strike. It is also important to follow your bait. Just as we are taught to follow a hooked fish and keep it in front of us at all times, the same is true of our bait. If you throw your bait off the stern and it heads for the bow, say "excuse me" and follow it. Lastly, if you do not get bit within 3 to 5 minutes soaking a particular bait, change it. Do not put all your eggs in one baits basket. Staying in contact with your bait and changing it often will only mean more strikes, which is why we are out there in the first place.
Believe it or not, fish can and do see monofilament line in the water. This problem increases as the diameter of the line increases. As a general rule, you always want to fish the heaviest gear you can get away with to maximize your chances of landing the fish. If you were fishing for, lets say, 100 pound tuna, and you were using 30 pound line, you would certainly get bit more often than the guy next to you using 60 pound line. The problem is, how many of those tuna would you actually land and how long would it take for you to accomplish it? I would surmise that the guy using 60 pound line would have a much higher hook to land ratio, and could land three fish in the amount of time it would take to land one on 30 pound.
Monofilament line manufacturers, in an attempt to minimize a fishes ability to see the line, have created all kinds of options for us to chose from. There are clear lines, blue lines and pink lines. There are low diameter lines and abrasion resistent lines. Unless you are a fish, or put on a mask and snorkle and actually got in the water and did the research, it is hard to tell what works and what doesn't. For years, fishing the gin clear crystal blue offshore waters chasing tuna, my personal favorite was blue Izorline. It seemed to get bit well and had exceptional knot and abrasion strength. That is, until I discovered flouracarbon.
No product has had a greater impact in terms of bait presentation on the sport of fishing than flouracarbon leader material. Plain and simple, the stuff just works. I can recall being in a bluefin tuna bite using a 36 inch flouracarbon leader and getting bit 3 to 1, perhaps 4 to 1, when compared to the guy who wasn't. For reasons that I can not articulate, the stuff just disappears in the water. As a result, you can fish heavier line to get the same amount of bites, increasing your hook to land ratio. Based on its popularity, flouracarbon is being constantly refined and improved. However, this is not to say that it does not have disadvantages, either.
One disadvantage is in the connection itself. To fish flouracarbon, you have to "connect" it to your main line. The cleanest connection is to have just one knot attaching your hook to your main line. With flouracarbon, you will need a minimum of two, and in some cases, three, connections or knots to attach it. Obviously, the fewer connections, the less likelihood of failure. The other disadvantage that comes to mind is the fact that the flouracarbon is "stiff" when compared to mono, causing the knot tying process to be more challenging.
As far as the actual connections, bare in mind that you will always have the connection to the hook itself. Attaching the flouracarbon material to the main line can be done in several ways. Either a direct connection using a knot such as the Seaguar, Worm, Uni to Uni, or the Albright Knot, or the use of a small barrel swivel or welded ring (used to make wire leaders for wahoo) which requires two knots plus the knot at the hook.
I prefer to use a 150lb welded ring for my connection. The knot that I use is the San Diego, or cinch, knot. I use at least 36 inches of leader material. The advantage of using a welded ring or barrel swivel is that you can make up leaders in advance, thereby reducing the amount of time required to "re-rig" during a hot bite. The disadvantage is the one additional connection, or knot, required to attach the leader. I have personally landed many tuna over 100 pounds using this method and, knock on wood, have yet to experience a failure.
Even though using flouracarbon leaders has some disadvantages, namely the additional knots required to make the connection, I believe the advantages of significantly more bites outweigh the risks, especially when it is "scratch fishing" and the fish are being very selective as to which baits they will eat.
I apologize in advance for the very long post but there are times when I have so many thoughts I want to convey that my fingers can not keep up. I anticipate and fully expect that my fellow BloodyDeckers will add to this post, sharing their expertise and experience in this area as well. No topic stirs more debate among anglers than that of proper bait presentation. This is just the tip of the iceberg as they say. If you come away from this post having gained any knowledge at all in terms of live bait presentation, then I will feel that I have helped my fellow angler achieve a better fishing experience, and that would make me proud.
I have added a few pictures of the hooking techniques described above that I found in an article that Bruce Smith, captain of the long range boat Shogun, wrote that I found posted on Brandon's website, SDLongrange.com.
Wishing you the very best luck in the future....
Your fellow BloodyDecker,
Tim
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It is not what you catch but how good you look trying...
very good info and the pictures are literally worth 1000 words. as an advanced apprentice in the saltwater game, the information I find here is awsome! Thanks
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