Nose rigging is a quick way to rig any
baitfish for trolling or as a drop back bait. It is particularly
well suited to using with circle hooks as it ensures that
the hook point is not masked by the bait, and the short trolling
'bridle' allows the bait to be easily turned for swallowing.
You
will need a rigging needle (mortician's needles are
best) and a length of old Dacron or waxed cotton or
linen thread. Dacron works great for me.
For a smallish baitfish such as
an Atlantic mackerel or a Mullet use a 4 inch needle
and around 20 inches of thread. Scale up to a 6 inch
needle and around 30 inches of thread when using something
like a Bonito or Skipjack tuna. Secure the thread to
the needle with a single half hitch to stop it pulling
out of the needle eye.
1) Take the baitfish
and insert the needle into the gill cover approximately
1/3 way up from the throat latch at the bottom. Pass
the needle right through and exit the opposite gill
cover in a similar position.
Pull the Dacron almost all the way through and tie
off under the chin using a Surgeons knot. The gill covers
are now tied closed.
Trim off the tag end only.
2) Insert the needle up through
the lower jaw and out of the RIGHT nostril. Pull to
take up any slack. The Dacron from the gill covers will
lay neatly in the groove beneath the jaw.
Come around and again pass the
needle up through the lower jaw and out of the RIGHT nostril
using the same path that you used the first time. Pull
tight to close the right side of the mouth.
3) Now it becomes a little
(but only a little) more tricky. Insert the needle up
through the right side of the lower jaw and out of the
LEFT nostril.
Before pulling through the slack Dacron put your index
finger against the mouth of the baitfish and take up
the slack around your finger. You are forming a towing
loop the size of your finger. Again pass the needle
up through the same hole in the lower jaw and again
out through the left nostril.
Pull tight and the left side of the mouth is now stitched
shut.
4) Pass the Dacron around your finger a second time
and insert the needle up through the centre of the jaw
and out of the upper jaw between the nostrils.
Pull tight and you will now have two towing loops around
your finger.
5) Remove your finger from inside
the trolling loops and finish with several half hitches
around both loops to make things secure.
Baits prepared in this way can be stored in a cooler
until required with no chance of tangling.
To attach to a hook, pass the hook point through the
two loops, wrap the loops around the hook point once
and pass the point through the loops again. The bait
should hang about an inch from the bend of the hook.
