Bait preperation and handeling

[Fighting Irish45]

After reading many articles I am wondering if my rigging tactics are tip top professional? I take very good care of my Ballyhoo when rigging; taking the eyes out, de-pooping, snipping the pec. fins, and breaking the backbone. I make sure I handle with care at all times. A lot of articles are stressing the importance of not touching the bait. If you catch your ballys it’s better to catch them with hooks and take them off the hook with a dehooker. Makes sense but is that what they mean when they say don’t touch the baits with your hands when rigging? Is there a mort efficient way to ensure the bait is “PREFECT”?

Also when reusing Ballyhoo, after they are still in the freezer sealed bag and don’t get a chance to become dinner but are thawed. Do most anglers just refreeze then reuse or is it better to properly prep them as I have discussed above and salt them down then freeze. I think it makes sense to prep them before refreezing because, regardless of the fact that they’re eventually refrozen, if you properly prep them then there is less of the hoos insides that could spoil the meat. Any thoughts??????

I’d like to hear your guy’s thoughts and how you prep your baits. Prior to rigging I always put my baits in a brine to thaw.

[tunatamer4]

ALWAYS thaw baits out of the package, bill down, in brine. As soon as they are pliable enough to work,prep them(eyes,poop, back, and fin) and move them to a clean brine.

Rig what you think you'll need, salt them and remaining baits and move to the baitbox. Go fishing, kill fish.

Trash leftovers unless they are in good enough shape for the following days fishing. Don't refreeze, it DOES make a difference.

As far as the not handling thing, unless you are one of those fork bending freaks that do stuff with their minds, you need to handle your baits. Just do it carefully and as little as needed.

[Fighting Irish45]

ALWAYS thaw baits out of the package, bill down, in brine. As soon as they are pliable enough to work,prep them(eyes,poop, back, and fin) and move them to a clean brine.

Rig what you think you'll need, salt them and remaining baits and move to the baitbox. Go fishing, kill fish.

Trash leftovers unless they are in good enough shape for the following days fishing. Don't refreeze, it DOES make a difference.

As far as the not handling thing, unless you are one of those fork bending freaks that do stuff with their minds, you need to handle your baits. Just do it carefully and as little as needed.

I figured the authors were referring to handeling the fish after being caught and before preping.

I like the notion of not freezing the baits, but what about if you have as much as 5 days between fishing. Do you still prefer to chill them rather then freeze?

I figured the NC guys would have a lot of sweet info on this topic. Come on guys, I mean I do like green machines and spreader bars but we jersey boys love our BAIT!!

[tunatamer4]

I figured the authors were referring to handeling the fish after being caught and before preping.

I like the notion of not freezing the baits, but what about if you have as much as 5 days between fishing. Do you still prefer to chill them rather then freeze?

I figured the NC guys would have a lot of sweet info on this topic. Come on guys, I mean I do like green machines and spreader bars but we jersey boys love our BAIT!!

I have had to refreeze baits on occasion( due to a cheap ass that I filled in for on occasion) and it is a hit or miss type thing. Depending on how the baits were handled from the time they were caught to the time they were refroze makes all the difference in the world. As you know, sometimes no matter what YOU do the baits are just crap due to something that happened before you thawed them. No matter how much brine or how cold you keep them they are just mush and get even worse when refrozen. Other baits you can't tear off with a come-a-long.
If you absolutely need to refreeze them, do it with whatever brining you use( salt, bionic brine,or whatever) and make sure you get all the air out of the packaging.
Like I said earlier, I'd say trash them, but you might get lucky.

And now I too would like to see some other input on this one.

[birdhunter]

This is my pregame routine. Cut the tops out of the bags of hoos. Thaw in SEA water bills down in a five gallon bucket. Do not try to remove them from the bags before they are thaw as this could damage them. Once they are thawed, I take an arrow that is longer than the bucket top and start poking out all the eyes and sliding them up the shaft. Once one pack is on the shaft the arrow will hold them suspended above the water in the bucket. From there, break off all the bills then in one motion run your thumb and index finger down the belly to de poop into the bucket. Once they are pooped and billed take the arrow with all twelve hoos still on it and lay them belly down on a flat surface. Now pinch the backbones of the hoos starting at the gills ending at the tail, when you reach the tail push it in slightly and bend it upward, this will break the tail. Once they are all broken, slide each hoo off the shaft and snip the pec fins that are folded forward, dunk in CLEAN sea water and place belly up in the tray. Now you can salt them or start rigging. If you rig your baits now, dunk them again before you store them so the blood does not stain the hoo. With this method I can prep 3 doz. baits it less than ten minutes.

[whitey]

I will refreeze any unused horse ballyhoo, Spanish Macks or unused dredge mullets but that is it. Everything else gets tossed on the ride home.

[Capt. Terry]

Well said bird hunter. If it hits da brine, it goes over the gunnel or in da spot trap at da dock bro. make sure after you rig them like da birdhunter said though, dip them in clean sea water again and then lay them up in your bait cooler. I personally don't like to refreeze spanish or mullet as they get soft throughout the day and they have been in plastic .....Just toss em and learn to judge what you need for da day. Good Luck! Softt mullet are worse than old balyhoo. Make sure to cut all the bills off the balyhoo at the same time therefore when you lay 'em in your cooler and salt them down rigged or unrigged you will get into da habbit of having all your baits ready. This way if you are billfishing you can teach yourself to rig fast. Lots of Luck!

[Fighting Irish45]

Thanks for the feedback guys keep it coming!!

Not going to lie though Im waiting to hear what Marty and Gottafly think about this too

[clt_capt]

I've refrozen ballyhoo exactly once. I will never refreeze ballyhoo ever again. They just don't hold up. in the grand scheme of things a $9.00 bag of bait is a nit compared to $500 in fuel...

While my normal routine isn't nearly as efficient ad Birdhunter's the steps are the same. I do remove the ballyhoo from the bag though and carefully put them bill down in seawater. Take the eyes out, cut the pecs, de-poop, squeeze down the back and break the backbone.

Then belly up in a stainless tray and a 50/50 mix of kosher salt and baking soda. The tray sits directly on ice. Drain the tray before leaving the dock, and again during the day.

[Anthony of the ARK]

what i do when charter fishing mostly for tuna and mahis is, thaw them bill down in ice and salt water, then when thawed cut the bag and remove eyes with an arrow. then i poop them, by pinching not sliding my fingers down the belly. then i break the back and the tail. if needed i rinse then into the bait box. i try not to use brine or salt on them, i feel that it takes a while for the bait to limber up if they are brined to much so i dont take a chance.

tournament or marlin fishing is much of the same except it get done the evening before the fishing day. i always brine the stomachs of the mackerals before i stich them up. some times brine the ballyhoos as well, it has alot to do with how long it takes me to rig all the hoos. and i always rinse and try to keep them clean as possible

if you pick the packs of quality baits care fully you rarely need to brine ballyhoo