Anyone who has fished with me will tell you that wahoo is one of my all-time favorite offshore fish to catch. I get very excited about these fish! Sometimes they seem to jump on the hook but other days it is as if they have some kind of “fish super power” with their ability to bite off ballyhoo just behind the hook. After a very frustrating day of fishing out of Hatteras, about 11 years ago, I went home and vented to my Dad about the 1 for 16 catch/bite-off ratio. We came up with our “wahoo rig.”
The rig has undergone many changes over the years and while there is always room for improvement, so far it seems to work pretty well. The main part of the rig is a short section of 60-90 lbs test stainless steel wire leader (not hard wire). A standard rigging needle is usually too short and catches on the inside of the fish; therefore, I have made custom needles (the Hoo-Thru needle) that work great for this rig. A short shank hook works best as it helps the ballyhoo swim better. I use Owner offshore bait hooks 7/0 to 10/0, depending on the size of the targeted fish. These rigs also work great for kings, dolphin and most any offshore fish. This is also a good way to rig ballyhoo with circle hooks for tournament fishing.
Here’s how it works:
1. To make the wire that will go inside the ballyhoo you will need to start with a section of wire leader that is 7-8 inches long depending on the size of your ballyhoo. Crimp the hook on one end of the leader and slide on two short pieces of low temperature heat shrink. Make a loop on the other end of the wire leader and crimp securely. Cover crimps with shrink tube and heat to shrink to finish off smoothly.
2. Place wire eye in the Hoo-Thru needle and with the ballyhoo upside down in your hand and run the needle through the bottom of the fish (use the “pre made hole”). You will be able to feel your way through the fish guiding the needle out of its mouth. Pull the needle through until the loop end of the wire is exposed out of the mouth of the fish approximately 1/8th of an inch.
3.Cut off the ballyhoo’s bill to best fit the loop end. Poke a piece of copper rigging wire through the front of the ballyhoo’s eye sockets as close to the bone structure as possible. Pass the copper wire through to an equal length and form an x that will pass through the loop of the stainless wire. Be careful not to bend the fish during this step or the bait will spin. Use the remainder of the wire to close the ballyhoo’s mouth as tightly as possible. The bait needs to pull from this point at the front of the ballyhoo. Again, it’s very important that it pulls from the nose of the bait with no pressure on the hook.
4. The bait can be attached to the leader by using a snap swivel or crimping to the leader. Either way, you must re-tie to get your sea witch or skirt in front of your ballyhoo. This is a little more trouble than the conventional method of rigging ballyhoo but the possibilities are endless. I have had very good results using this rig with circle hooks and naked ballyhoo for catching sailfish.
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