How do you rig your squid for Swords?

[Bill_N]

Back when I used to go on the headboats we'd hook a live one through the mantle on a 7/0 hook. Since then I've been on a few overnighters where guys bought big squid to rig for swords. I've seen it done a few different ways and some of them involved a lot of sewing and still ended up sliding down on the hook. How do you guys do it for canyon fishing at night?

[Capt. kapoc]

There are diffrent ways to do it i take a rigging needle and run the leader up thru the head out the top of the mantle then sew the head to the body and slide a small crimp down above the mantle to cat as a tie off and sew an X in the top of the mantle making a harness that ties off to the crimp.

[ifish42na]

Here's one way to do it; I've modified this and run the leader inside the squid, eliminate the bimini, etc.

[Bill_N]

Thanks guys! I found a video on youtube showing the method Capt Kapoc describes. Not sure I understand the double hook on one leader deal Basil but it has to be easier than what I was doing a few weeks ago.

[Deep C]

Another way... Not necessarily the best but how I do it...

Sword 101

[Bill_N]

Thanks Deep! Good stuff...

[BahamaLure]

This is the easiest and quickest way I ever ran across to rig a squid for drift fishing.

1. Line up the rig against the squid mantle to see where the hook will lie and where the leader and tag ends will exit near the top of the mantle.
2. Insert the hook near the top and out near the bottom, pull through enough so the tag and also disappears into the mantle.
3. Push the tag end back out directly opposite the entry hole of the hook and pull the leader up so the hook is where you want it.
4. capture the top of the tag end with the sliding crimp sleeve, do NOT bite the crimp, it will hold the tag end just fine if left loose. This enables you to re-use the rig.

The top couple of inches of the mantle should now be held by the main line and tag end and the hook exciting the bottom of the mantle without the whole thing bunching up. On smaller squid the hook may be in the head area but I don't like that too much as the throat of the hook tends to get clogged with squid head. Hope this helps.

[gtrfred]

Deep

to expand on your method, for the south florida guys, a broken spar from an SFE kite makes a perfect tube to run up the mantle of the squid. then you can run the leader through the spar and out. the pull the spar out of the squid and off the un crimped end.

not that your way method doesnt work - just figured I would mention another way.

it also makes breaking a kite spar a little less painful when you can put the broken one to use some how.

[Kahi]

notice the stitches in the mantle and the head..This image shows a J hook, I use a circle hook through the head at a 90 deg to the eyes.

[Fish Dad]

Seems to me that the J-hook would interfere with the circle hook from doing it's job.