Grrrr...

[Deep C]

Mini was having a birthday party today that Missus nor I were invited to so I had some time to kill. Missus went off with a friend and I decided to drive around the thunderstorms and water spouts to see if I could get to pull on something.
Earlier in the week I had my spread wrecked by wahoos who snipped an assortment of my favorite day savers off. So, today I loaded a wahoo rig into the spread in case they were still there.
Click! Off went one of my new daysavers. I was looking for a blackfin with it but nooooooooooo. Damn wahoo found this one and after a half hour of gentle ginger touch working it up the ******* shook its head a few feet from the boat. Teeth met mono and it was done...
I don't get it. Very rare for me to get wahoo bites on the dinky day savers but in the last week I have coughed up seven of em. The rigger hoos and the wahoo bait I did have out were untouched...
One of the storms started tossing lighning away from center and a couple came close enough to get my butt to pucker so I packed it in and found my way back to the slip.

[canyongear]

You needed a gaff man, with long reach, and some small wahoo lures rigged accordingly.

[Deep C]

My daysavers are cut down pointed skirts with a bullet lead. They're only about 3 inches long and don't run wort a crap on wire... 50-60 mono is the right mix. Like I said its a favorite for the bitty blackfins and small dolphin we have here this time of year. This week though I guess they have been matchin the hatch of local wahoo chow...

[clt_capt]

Deep - this little trick has saved many a hoo for me - 2007 Offshore Rigging Tip #1

Shouldn't affect the swimming...

[Deep C]

I actually use that rig on my "mono hoos" for day to day use... These little baits thogh get a knot that can fit up in the head to help "stiff rig" it a bit. They're eating it deep enough to call it a swallow and that 50 or 60 just doesn't stand a chance...

Appreciate the tip though. Thats what makes this site great...

[floridadeckie]

paul, I dont know if it would change the action of your day-savers, but have you tried running a long shank hook? Only by sheer luck I've been able to catch a few hoos on pure mono rigs, but all of my rigs are a long(ish) shank tuna style hook mixed with "aggresively" coaching angler to keep the line high and tight. Granted all hook sets have been corner-of-the-mouth bites. Have you tried a short #3 wire trace, just past the head? We get our share of cutoffs on tuna skirts down here in Islamorada, and a little bit of wire plus high line angle helps with bite-to-box ratios.

[Deep C]

paul, I dont know if it would change the action of your day-savers, but have you tried running a long shank hook? Only by sheer luck I've been able to catch a few hoos on pure mono rigs, but all of my rigs are a long(ish) shank tuna style hook mixed with "aggresively" coaching angler to keep the line high and tight. Granted all hook sets have been corner-of-the-mouth bites. Have you tried a short #3 wire trace, just past the head? We get our share of cutoffs on tuna skirts down here in Islamorada, and a little bit of wire plus high line angle helps with bite-to-box ratios.

I run the longer shanks on my hoo rigs and they vastly improve the rate of meat deposit. Some of the day savers I make up are kind of like old jelly belly baits of yesteryear. Skirt is a little longer rigged with beads and those I rig on light wire a few inches past their nose as that one actually runs better that way. The ones I usually run with here in palm beach day to day though are short and basically bite size. They just don't quite get it with any wire...

Like I said they're basically tuna baits that dolphin and sometimes sails will eat. Rare to get a hoo bite on them and losing seven in two days to them here is unheard of.

Hoos over at chub come in packs and if they start blowing us up we add a bit of nose wire and go to the owner x long shanks.

Again great tips. Keep em commin!