spreads/colors advice, recommendations

[Sin Bin Fishing RI]

I posted this on another fishing forum with minimal feedback, thought I would post it here as well...

We run a 4 line spread. all we have for the time being. fish the mudhole/fairway and due south of the island 20-30 miles at the most

typical spread, 2 green machines - one on a small pink bird way back, one mid way. zucchini spreader bar w/ mackerel williamson stinger on it on the short corner and a purple/pink daisy chain between the non bird green machine and the way back.

we have a few other things in the bag (pink squid daisy chain, swim baits) that have not caught anything to date ,but these seem to 'work the best' minus the spreader bar, never had a sniff on the thus far. wrong color? wrong stinger?

any recommendations of colors? should I have birds on everything, 2 lines, 3 lines? if so does size and color of the birds matter to you?

what do you use for stingers on your spreader bars?

does anyone else run 2 spreader bars?

[TheCrackin]

Alot of things come into play. Where are you fishing? What are you targeting? I beleive you cant go wrong with ballyhoo behind a sea witch, anything will eat it and its a fairly easy rig.

[RWW]

I am a weekend warrior targeting tuna, mahi, and wahoo (I assume you are doing the same)so take this with a grain of salt in that I am no expert. I pull one bar or other plastic short out the back with mixed results on it. Everything else is ballyhoo seawitch or ballyhoo Islander. Most of the time blue/white or crystal and pink/white or crystal, greens if yellowfins are around pulling 7 lines. When I started out I was all about the plastic but I can honestly say my success increased when switching to ballyhoo and learning how to rig them correctly. If you decide to try it, do yourself a favor and read and watch all the videos on this site to learn how to rig them right. Skip the springs!

Also my success increased significantly when I added depth to my presentation. I chose a planner rod cause I liked the fact I could unhook the planer and wind the fish all the way in and the fact that a downrigger seems to be in the way, at least on my small boat. It took some tuning but it has paid off. Downrigger has the advantage of setting at the depth of the marked fish and when bit the rod is free of the rigger to fight the fish. Try one of the "poorman's" rigger system which is a planer that ties off to a cleat, they are cheap by comparison.

Good Luck - Rob

[92 feet down]

Learn how to rig ballyhoo.

[Breakin Loose]

Start pulling some meat. I would ask around and see if you have a good bait/tackle store around that would show you how to rig a bally... You can also hang around the docs and ask a good mate to show you... Buying them beer also helps!
Actually I would take a nice chater out and pay attention and help out. This will get you some good "on target" experience that will pay off in the long run.

Just make sure its a good charter!

[SharkJP]

There is some good feedback so far. Start pulling meat. You could try learning the rubber band/pin rig as it is simple to rig and runs well. Start with some sea witches or illand trackers or get some squidnation Mini-H's (thats mostly all I pull). You will certainly notice your success go up when pulling more meat.

When starting out, employ this KISS method and enjoy yourself. The comment about getting on a good charter is great. You would learn more in that one day than in 5 seasons beating yourself up through trial and error. I would suggest you call a few well know operations in your area and explain exactly what you want to the capt and that you are trying to learn how to do this on your own boat. Just make sure both the capt and mate are aware that you want a very hands on experience before you leave the dock so you dont get frustrated once you are on the water.

[islandhouse]

Cedar plug daisy chain in mahi on the flatline

[Robja]

I think there are some ballyhoo rigging videos that BOX made somewhere on this site that will help you.

[Sin Bin Fishing RI]

ballyhoo this far north (RI)?

thoughts on macks? squid?

appreciate all the input.

[Persistence]

Yes, I would run/try the Ballys that far north...I believe they are easier to rig than squids or Macks and make a super all around bait when rigged to swim well (or skip for that matter).

Also agree with either Sea Witches or small Illand trackers or outriders. Pin and rubber band is very easy to learn and will work in most situations.