Baiting Live Yellow Tails

[Justin]

Hi

most times i go fishing i like to have a whole live yellow tail out off to the side (if i can manage to catch one)

with in the last few weeks ive had several hits, all with no hook ups

however, my question is where do you pin the yaka?

i generally have them sitting on the bottom, unless im at Clifton Gardens

i usually use a double hook rig (suicide or slide) and have one hook through the back behind the head and the other hook through his back further down near his tail.

Ive noticed that after about 20-30 minutes his mouth is wide open and body is siezed up!!!!

Am i hooking him too deep through the back?

Is there a specific region to hook them where they dont eventually die?

Or any other methods of keeping your yellow tail alive longer would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Berleyguts]

I generally use a single hook in front of the dorsal fin and above the lateral line. You're possibly pinning the yakka below or through the lateral line. I think 2 hooks would restrict movement too much and find one hook is enough. If you want to slow them down a little, you can trim the tail slightly so they swim a little slower.

You can also bridle rig them.

Baz

[jlloyd]

I use various methods, double hooks are good for when tailor is around otherwise you will get a lot of half yakkas which are pretty useless and annoying, you can try to bridle rig the yakka (through the eye socket) with an elastic band. Or for trolling or kingie baiting try through the the lower lip and let the yakka swim away from the boat (not so good for land based).

When using a double hook is the rear hook on the back of the yakka or on the fishes lower half, I find yakkas struggle if the line is too short between the hooks (can happen with sliding snells) or if the second hook causes the yakka to struggle against the line (or get tangled up), I am experimenting with placing the hook on the back of the yakka which appears to work

[tan the fisherman]

straight through the nose above the mouth

[TunaSickle]

I go through the nose just above the mouth. In just in front of the left eye, out just in front of the right eye.

[King slayer]

pin it through the nose or just behind the head, but just take the time to pin it carefully and as shallow as you can get away with. Use a fine hook if possible. Use just one hook, but if you want two then leave the second one free swinging.

One more thing, take the time to keep it in good condition before you use it.

I find if I treat them well, yakkas will swim for hours with a hook in them.

only time i put the hook in the back is when I get half yakkas back (Tailor), then pin them in the back above the lateral line for a clean hook up.

Also when your landbased, resist the urge to check the bait all the time as each wind in and recast will take time off their life.

That's what I do anyway. Seems to work out most times.

Dave

[WANNAFISH]

Rear hook just behind the top fin.

[A.dawg]

for flathead n dory i pin the tail with one hook

everything else i have 2hooks one in the mouth one is the bum Hole (not to be rude)

[Luke1]

not sure if this is true or not, but i've heard when using live baits, there mouths might open up, because the parasites are going out of the fishes body, and do whatever from there. Correct me if im wrong though.

[SimJ]

try using a rubberband through the eye socket attached to the hook.

[Justin]

wow thanks everyone

i will try a few of those different methods next time im out

im a land based fisherman so id prefer a solid hook location to get a decent cast out without losing the yaka. Ive tried the lip placing and it didnt work well. through the nose or eye with a rubber band sounds like a winner.

to answer the above question (forgot who) i place the second hook on the top on the upper half nearer the tail (not on the under belly)

[snooze]

Ive tried this technique and seems to work well but its a little fidly and more for boat than land based.

For land based i just hook it throu the nose, seems to to work well, havent really much problems with the rig. Allthou i dont do landbased fishiing much other than plastics.

Cheers

hope it helps.

Snooze

[stoney]

Some one once put up a great diagram of how to hook a yakka.

Just can't find it.

Maybe someone can help?

[zephi]

Some one once put up a great diagram of how to hook a yakka.

Just can't find it.

Maybe someone can help?

Here's something I drew, hope it helps and answers your questions

[andrew399]

Nice drawings zephi! I wouldnt put the hook through the eye socket though because the fish will not live long at all. To use the rubber band method you need a bait needle and this can be used in a way that causes minimal damage to the fish and ensures long survival.

[tevoro]

Here's something I drew, hope it helps and answers your questions

You drew that?!?!?! Damn!! Awesome!

Not to mention helpful.

[A.dawg]

Got a question

In Zephi's pic 4th yellowtail down with the two hooks im just wondering how to do that not??

If imusing two hooks i always use the snell or the sliding snell on one piece of line How can i get two lines coming from one??

[zephi]

Got a question

In Zephi's pic 4th yellowtail down with the two hooks im just wondering how to do that not??

If imusing two hooks i always use the snell or the sliding snell on one piece of line How can i get two lines coming from one??

Well you could use a swivel... tie an improved snell, or sliding snell..

but if you want that knot like in the diagram, there's a really complicated one which I found in a book, and I've tied it once before, it's quite strong... It's called split leader knot.

[Razza137]

Nice drawings zephi! I wouldnt put the hook through the eye socket though because the fish will not live long at all. To use the rubber band method you need a bait needle and this can be used in a way that causes minimal damage to the fish and ensures long survival.

ive found when you use the eye socket they stay alive for hours, just don't poke them in the eye, lol

[zephi]

ive found when you use the eye socket they stay alive for hours, just don't poke them in the eye, lol

I use this method when I'm lazy to bridle rig it.... Works great for smaller species of fish, like poddys.

I find this method works good on tailors , compared with hook thru the mouth or the dorsal.

[Seagoon]

Love the drawings. Thanks for sharing your talents!

[zephi]

Love the drawings. Thanks for sharing your talents!

my pleasure... I just hope it helps answers some of the queries people have.

[jewgaffer]

Hi Pinkus......I remember how I used to make a double leader rig for my livies using two hooks, having one hook on each separate length of leader coming off a swivel connecting mono to mono and braid to mono when braid came out....

The reason I made this rig was to keep the hook shanks flat down onto the body of the livie and also to keep the leader out of the way of a take, rather than having the hooks and line upright.... I pinned the left hand side hook just below the sinue of the dorsal fin and the other hook like wise in the tail fin..... I kept the rod tip angled down directed below the point where the line met the water and kept the rod tip in the direction of where the bait fish was swimming, ready to momentarily stop the reel with my hand on larger live bait otherwise I used near locked up drag which only allows the livie to take up the line bloom occasionally and has it struggling to swim near the bottom which is a good way to run a livie especially when there are other species of baitfish around higher up or near the surface......

I had the two separate leaders of pre determined length running off a single swivel and threaded both leaders thru a bead, back up and down thru the bead again and doing that also made an adjustable, slidable rig to suit the size of the baitfish...

It is a top rig, easy to tie and for further leader protection, you can have double line blood knots up the leader instead of snelling the hooks along the shank on one length of leader... Having two hooks each one on a separate leader increases both hook up and landing chances and the double line blood knot tied over the leader also reduces bite offs if there are toothy critters around and particularly if you chose to do a centauri knot on the shank as well with the top tag coming back under all the wraps starting at the second wrap and pushing the top tag thru all the other wraps and tie the mediterranean centuri along the shank outside the eye.....

Once adjusted to suit the bait size, the rig holds the hooks into the fish on hook up and the bead stays where you have adjusted it to and restricts unnecessary movement in the shanks which is important on head shakers particularly flathead, jewfish and soft mouthed fish etc.....

Do you reckon you can draw this rig up Zephi??

Cheers

jewgaffer

Edited May 29, 2009 by jewgaffer

[zephi]

not 100% sure whether this is the rig you are describing.

[jewgaffer]

not 100% sure whether this is the rig you are describing.

That's the one Zephi...when you rig up your baitfish, the fin hooks would go just below the top end of each fin sinue and the bead can be adjusted for bait size and the hooks and their separate leaders being held down flat against the body of the baitfish, will be out of the way and in alignment

Cheers

jewgaffer