Rigging live bunker?

[JRZFlyFisher]

Whats the best way to rig a snagged bunker? I was hooking them thru the mouth with a single hook with no weight and couldnt hook up? should i keep them on the weighted treble, or hook thru the back or tail? I need some help thanks.

[Tunaman40]

I just leave them snaged on the treble and let the bass do the rest :) .

[dodulik]

I take them off the weighted treble and put them on a 6/0 or 8/0 cirlce hook through the upper part of the mouth and out of the nostril using a fish finder slide with a 2 or 3 oz sinker to get it down a little.

[Tombrennan]

I do it a bit different. I hook them right in front of the dorsal fin with a 6 or 7 circle or J hook (whatever your preference, though got a 47" yesterday on the circle) and let them swim a bit more free. I feel they stand out to other fish better this way as they swim with the school under the boat, yet are clearly injured, making them an easy meal.

[Liveline33]

put a weight on a Dropper loop if the gators are nearby.

[DD]

Had an interesting though unplanned experiment going the other day. Got into a hot bite with 2 lines in the water - one was the snag and drop, the other was a 7/0 gamagatzu circle with 3 oz fishfinder. Both in the water approximately equal time, same angler

Circle hook - 7 for 7, 6 hooked in the corner, one in the throat

Weighted Treble - 1 for 5, with 2 missed strikes and 2 pulloffs:eek:

That was interesting to me, as i would have expected the trebles to hook and hold better. Maybe not enough sampling for a scientific result

[SUD-Z]

I started bridling them thru the eye scockets with a rubber band. They stay alive better. I think it is hard to hook up with the hook thru the hard part of the bait. Snip a fin off with scissors.

[eelball]

Poke the eyes out and they dont see the bass coming.:eek:

[fullblown]

We use 9 or 10/0s hooked in the back or close to the tail, free swimming with a hair cut.

[channel runner]

Had an interesting though unplanned experiment going the other day. Got into a hot bite with 2 lines in the water - one was the snag and drop, the other was a 7/0 gamagatzu circle with 3 oz fishfinder. Both in the water approximately equal time, same angler

Circle hook - 7 for 7, 6 hooked in the corner, one in the throat

Weighted Treble - 1 for 5, with 2 missed strikes and 2 pulloffs:eek:

That was interesting to me, as i would have expected the trebles to hook and hold better. Maybe not enough sampling for a scientific resultDD,Were were you hooking the circles at on the bunker?

[bornband]

Since a bass will take a menhaden head first almost all of the time hooking them in the mouth/nose/eyes whatever you prefer will increase your hookup ratio. Plus you do not have to wait as long to set the hook because it is the first thing that goes in its mouth. :)

[DD]

DD,Were were you hooking the circles at on the bunker?

Through the roof of the mouth

[fishypete]

I use a 8/0 gami octopus hook and hook the bunker right above the anal fin from the bottom. They tend to swim downward and free when hooked this way. I'll add 1-3 oz on a fishfinder if necesary. I never understood guys who hook them through the mouth. It does not allow them to breath.

[DD]

I never understood guys who hook them through the mouth. It does not allow them to breath.

Huh?:confused:

Mouth is wide open, they stay lively all day (usually not necessary though;) ). In the mouth and out the top.

[2dogs]

However they get snagged is how they stay. We find that if they are going to get eaten it is usually within the first 3 - 4 minutes of being snagged. I like them snagged forward and on the side. Makes them swim crooked and an easy meal. Yesterday I opened the stomach of one that was bleeding too much to release. It had 3 bunker in it and all were positioned as if it was eaten tail first, the head was pointed toward the mouth. Whether you fish a weighted treble or a single hook, I think you need weight as I believe they are under the bunker and feeding up.

[fishypete]

Huh?:confused:

Mouth is wide open, they stay lively all day (usually not necessary though;) ). In the mouth and out the top.

Yea, I guess I wasn't too clear. Ive seen guy hook them from the chin through the mouth and out the top of the head.

[dutch525]

We've been hooking them through the back in front of the dorsal fin and sending them down with a 3oz weight. We hook that up on a 3 way swivel with about a 5' leader. Working so far. I think just about anyway will work if the fish are there and feeding.

[Blynch]

Nose hook them trough the hard cartilage above thier mouth.

[Partnership]

Since a bass will take a menhaden head first almost all of the time hooking them in the mouth/nose/eyes whatever you prefer will increase your hookup ratio. Plus you do not have to wait as long to set the hook because it is the first thing that goes in its mouth. :)


Always thought that too! But one of our bass yesterday had 3 aduklt bunker in its belly and all three were in there facing the same way as the striper was.....meaning the bunker's head was facing the striper's head. This means they were all swallowed tail 1st. That is, unless all three were able to completely turn around in the stuffed belly.

[alex n]

Me and some friends went fishing the other night and caught some nice bass, the ones we cleaned had bunker in them tail first all 3 fish, it got me thinking, we seemed to have dropped too many fish , we were using circle hooks. I think that I'm going to stay away from hooking the bunker in the mouth because the hardness of the mouth makes it difficult for the circle to work properly, the hook is innefective while still attatched to the bait.

[fmTuna]

Here are some unscientific results, and in all cases the fish were not "flushing" on top:

7 keepers in 3 days on live bunker. 6 on 9/0 gammi circles with 2.5 oz fishfinder slider and 1 on a treble. 2 runoff misses on the circle, 4 on the treble.

All circles hooked up thru the mouth and nostril....

And I have seen plenty of bunker tails sticking out of bass mouths but can't remember on bunker head sticking out.. unless the head was the whole bait.

BTW, if you are not getting a good drift, which keeps the bait down toward the bottom because of the tension on the line, the fishfinder is worthless. With slack line the bunker will swim in circles around the weight or line way up in the water column even if the lead is on the bottom. The result can be one nasty Powerpro wad.... and your bait is nowhere near the bottom. Might want to give an inline weight a run in this case.... we use them all the time when livelining spot and the stripers don't mind them a bit.