Mullet are an excellent bait. However, probably less than ten percent of the boats pull mullet in the spread. I suspect this is due to the time required to rig. Unlike ballyhoo, after catching a fish or when needing to be replaced, the same rig is not utilized. Mullet are rigged individually. There really is no shortcut when it comes to rigging. I know anglers who rig mullet in the fashion of ballyhoo, in which they use the same rigging process. I've tried this but did not find satisfactory results. In my opinion, if you're going to fish mullet, resolve yourself to the fact that it is going to be more time consuming than ballyhoo. However, you'll find that time is well spent!!

There are two ways to rig mullet, whole or split tail. Personally I prefer the split tail mullet which gets better action and can be rigged with double hooks increasing chances of hook-ups. Although both make excellent trolled baits, this is how I rig a split tail. If you would like me to explain how I rig a whole mullet, I'd be glad to do that as well.

Mullet can be rigged on fluorocarbon or monofilament. However, single strand wire leader is ideal for rigging mullet (the rig is only being used one time). Many anglers use Mustad 3407 hooks in a size to match the mullet, which mostly ranges from 7/0 to 10/0. A split tail rig needs decent size hooks. Bert Rogers is right on the money when he wrote "the mullet doubles back on the hooks". Smaller hooks tend to become lost in the body and may become fouled. If the hooks you decide to use when rigging mullet appear on the small side, they probably are, move up one or two sizes. Before explaining the rigging process, it is probably beneficial to see exactly what a split tail rig looks like without the mullet. Keep in mind, the rig is actually constructed after the hooks are placed inside the mullet. The only pre-rigging that may be done is putting the two hooks together in tandem.

First step is to prepare the mullet for rigging. Since this is more time-consuming than prepping ballyhoo. You may want to do this the night before, unless fishing the northeast, where there is probably ample time running to fishing grounds. Although, since a sharp knife will be in hand and precise cuts are necessary, unless you're fortunate enough to be fishing off a battle wagon or have flat seas, prepping probably should be done on shore.
A sharp thin blade knife is necessary to split the tail. Cut along the backbone towards the tail. Now this is where it gets a little tricky. Holding the knife at a slight downward angle, cut through the middle of the tail. If done properly, the mullet's tail splits evenly in half. To perform splitting the tail, the mullet must be on a smooth surface. Splitting the tail on a mullet is not as difficult as it looks.