help with wire leaders

[hotshot1]

Getting ready to target some hoos in a few weeks, I'm not 100% positive on setting up a rig, does anyone have have pictures or a video, I searched already and couldn't come up with one.

[islandshark633]

either single strand wire or cable is fine, most important is that it is short, no more than 2.5 ft in front of the lure. I like 500# ss aircraft cable.

the reason for keeping it short is when the lure rides up the leader after the strike it stays close enough to the fish that a second fish will not hit it and cut you off.

[hotshot1]

do you just do a haywire twist on the line end and attach to a swivel then another haywire around the hook

[clt_capt]

With most of my ballyhoo wahoo rigs, I use a semi-stiff rig - with single strand piano wire.

Go through the hook eye, loop 1 1/2 turns around the hook shank, back through the opposite side of the hook eye and then a haywire twist. I leave the tag end sticking up as a ballyhoo pin.

You can also include your chin weight just above the hook eye.

The other end is just a straight haywire twist.

I much prefer silver piano wire to coffee colored - it has made a definite difference in the number of fish caught. If you don't have piano wire readily available, a scotchbrite pad will remove the coffee coating from standard trolling wire.

[trex]

I differ a bit in preference myself. #9 piano wire...3 arm lengths. Standard haywire on both ends w/ the hook and bait on one obviously. You can adjust where your hook sits in your ballyhoo by adding twists before your barrel wraps in your haywire. The further back, the less action you'll get out of your bait. Gotta get the bite first. I'd focus more on being able to properly twist wire more so than figuring out the perfect leader length and all that. Keep it simple. Single strand wire will outfish cable any day of the week. Cable is fine for speed trolling if that is what you want to do though.

[calebw]

With most of my ballyhoo wahoo rigs, I use a semi-stiff rig - with single strand piano wire.

Go through the hook eye, loop 1 1/2 turns around the hook shank, back through the opposite side of the hook eye and then a haywire twist. I leave the tag end sticking up as a ballyhoo pin.

Do you have a picture of this. What does semi stiff rigging do?

[Glenn W]

usually.

First, I'm right on w/ Trex, but know he's an ole Hatteras boy, no big suprise. Wire is much different than the mono your are used to. It is unforgiving and a kink makes it worthless. An improper twist is a strong as cooked spagetti noodle.
Keep it simple. Use a needle eye hook if possible (but not mandatory) but at least a welded eye hook.
As a weekend warrior, it's ok to "cheat" on your twists---- get a Du-Bro haywire twist tool--- they work and work well. Next practice twists by hand, it takes a while to get the hang of this art and is hell on your fingers but a good hand twisted rig can be made much tighter and neater than any on a Du-Bro. The key is a "good" twist. I'm a terrible wire twister and admit it--- then again, I don't twist 500 to 1,000 rigs a year, so I use the Du-Bro tool.
Practice coiling and uncoiling wire--- one coil at a time--- remember, a kink renders the rig worthless.
Next, learn how to properly break wire clean w/o a burr. This is actually very easy with some practice. A burr on a wire end will slice your hand like a razor blade.
Like Trex, I prefrer #9 wire for Wahoo, but #8 is fine and a bit easier to practice with. No doubt "shiney" wire will out catch coffee colored wire but is hard to find unless you are on the Outter Banks of NC. Malin brand makes the shiney in stainless and can be ordered from any decent tackle shop. Real piano wire is very cheap and easier to work with than stainless but rusts even in your home w/o packing in baby powder or corn starch.
The simpliest, most common, and perhaps most effective wire rig for Wahoo is a simple pin rig for ballyhoo. Insert wire through eye of hook leaving a good 5" tag. Make a small loop and start your twists and barrel wraps. End w/ the tag facing away from the hook and lying on the main wire. cut your leader 20' (it ain't the end of the world if you use a shorter 12' leader). slide a small egg lead down the leader to the hook end. Slide weight over both main line and tag end. Simply bend your tag end up for your pin and trim to about an inch high. Slide on a sea witch of choice and make a SMALL loop on the end of the leader. Haywire twist w/ about 3 barrel wraps and helicopter the tag end off w/o a burr.
That's it--- simple as it gets.

[CHOCOLATE THUNDER]

A way for you to test your haywire is make your loop then instert a screwdriver and pull to see if it slips.

[WAHOONBOX]

GOD.....THIS THREAD HAS THE MAKING OF BEING ONE OF THE ALL TIME GREAT ONES....

MY VID ....FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH ....COMING SOON ON THIS...

[trex]

Glenn W added the detail well! Remember not too many barrel wraps though. Heat is the enemy of wire. 1 1/2 wraps is plenty. The twists are what hold everything, the barrel wraps just bind everything together.