So I do kinda enjoy catching these salt water catfish out here. They put up a fun fight are always around . Deal is their hook swallowers and personally I don't like just killing or seriously injuring them , even if their "trash fish". Not to mention their a pain to unhook when their deep caught. And hooks have really helped , big small circles ,J's octopus heck circle hooks have been some of the WORST ones to deal with because when the swallow them way harder to get out . So Been playing with this method.


So though they are pretty similar bridling and hair rigging are kinda different but in short you tie the bait to the hook so is a bit above the bait. Basically with this big mouthed ,sucker type or just plain greedy fish they will inhale the hook among with the bait but the way it's rigged it positions the hook for a lip set much better. It's also used for live bait with Bill fish and similar apparently give better hook ups and and make the bait troll more naturally. So yeah figured why not I could give it a try out here.

So honestly its not very hard or time extensive at all . Mabye 30sec. Make my bridle out of just some 30lbs brain because that's what I had. Apparently their actually like a thread or floss ment for this. But just a few inches and a over hand to make the loop


Use and upholstery needle to thread is though like so




So now I have two loops..just slide my hook though both. Twist it. Go under the twist . Give it another then go under that and boom



And yeah , actually I've been able to get more re casts with this then usual hooking in there softer baits which I thought was neat .
And so far it's been work pretty well

So far regardless of the hook I've had 0 swallows where usually even with circles hooks I'd say it was like 80% swallows

Wish I had a picture of the big gaftops caught with this this morning but hay .. cool thing is the bridle usually stays on and you can just peel it off and rebait with the same one


Anyway I'm off to try and get a big gaf. Loving this okuma fin chaser too btw

Very nice.

Are you left handed?

No , why ?

Try moving the handle on your spinning reel to the other side. It becomes very natural to cast with the right hand and reel with the left. No lost time switching from one hand to the other. Try it for a few days and see if you like it better.

O yeah that! Yeah noticed alot of right handed people use the handles on the left side for everything.. honestly tell the last few years I never knew that was a thing yeah grew up just using the. As you got them for the most part . At least with the spin casts then just kept doing it with spinning and bait casters. Now I will say I have changed them over on a few rods but just depends when I'm singing them for with my larger rods I feel BEYOND awkward reeling with my left hand for the most part and left hand bait casters jast feel wrong. But my smaller son ing combo's are all left handled especially if I'm using artificials

Interesting. What is the trick for like chicken livers? The panty hose trick I guess? Anything better?

You show a hotdog but I'm picturing a shrimp being laced on better than just a hook going through it maybe with a couple or even a few laces.

Wolfie is that the average size? If so switch to a treble hook. I use spam and a snap swivel. But your hot dog would work. Cut your bait and push the eye of the treble up through it. Then snap the hook on the swivel. If using spam cut your baits in flat squares about half size of a cracker. With a treble normally they don’t swallow it as deep plus it’s easy to get out with needle nose pliers
Takes about 6 seconds to bait. No needle and thread required. I’ve caught 20 lbers on treble and hook will be normally in top of mouth. Grab them with gloves or a hand towel and pop out the hook with pliers.

there is a little baiting tool that looks like a miniature latch hook rug tool.

leave that loop on the hook , jab tool through bait , grab loop of line and pulls right back through slip the loop over the end of hook

https://www.amazon.com/Luroad-Carp-...N3XEz8VrGwCBba5BeAaAkINEALw_wcB&th=1

if you run a larks head knot it holds easy and you leave the loops pre tied

Wolfie look for a wide gap bait hook, or fluke/flounder hook with a similar profile, Mustad makes them, They are a lighter gauge wire and we used them for Fluke, they give more lip hooks compared to the regular j style hooks. I did a quick image search but there was no model number.
I also crimped the barb down making removal easier....something to consider...

Is that a Berkley Glow Stick Rod? I have a bunch of them for night fishing and love them.

Use cheap garlic salt to "brine" the livers (it also works with shrimp). It will toughen them up to where they stay on the hook. I put a layer of paper towels in a pan and lay the liver/shrimp out. Cover in garlic salt and add another layer of paper towels then another layer of bait and salt. You can use plain table salt to cut the garlic some. Put in the fridge and change out the paper towels if needed.

A lot of people use chunks of chicken breast in strawberry jello powder for catfish bait. I imagine it would work with liver too.

Interesting set up, do you work or just get paid to fish , cook , and eat lol

You’re gut hooking with a circle hook??? I didn’t realize that was even possible. When live bait fishing that’s all we use. In fact, I think it’s in the Florida Regs for certain
Saltwater fish that they have to be used.

When I'm off watch I its basically my free time to do whatever. There a lot of times we're tied off on sore likes waiting to get tendered in to dock, waiting on dock to do fleet work, at dock tanking, pushed into the bank waiting for traffic at the locks ect. As long as I'm either off watch, or caught up with my my duties/ projects my captains and pilot really don't care

Yep. These things are like vacuums and if there food attached they will just suck it down and swallow it. Circle hooks don't mean jack for them. I've had those little ones like in my picture swallow a 8/0 circle hooks and yeah

I reël right handed too!

you grow up with closed face reëling with right ...then they hand you an open faced spinning reël and say " now use your left" Ah- Nope

Super cool Job