John F's baits: Pictorial guide to halfbeak rigging

[John F]

With the summer upon us and the game- and billfishing on fire as it is, I thought I would share the different ways I rig halfbeaks (aka ballyhoo). Now, there are lots of different ways to rig a halfbeak for billfish and general offshore fishing. In this thread I'll show you how I rig mine. Some of these are very common and have been covered by Shag's post on rigging half-beaks (http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php/topic,2489.0.html). Nevertheless, I'll include them here for completeness and it's just the way I do it (there might be a little difference here and there)... if the "razor gang" is abundant in the area you’re fishing just go safe and use wire trace instead of mono leaders.

The thread will cover the following:
1. Weighted chin pin halfbeak
2. Naked skipping halfbeak
3. Naked swimming halfbeak
4. Skirted skipping halfbeak
5. Double-hook skirted halfbeak
6. Hooded halfbeak
7. Chin weighted split-bill halfbeak
8. Wine cork halfbeak
9. Wine cork halfbeak with circle hook
10. A substitute to the bead chain rig

As always, don't be afraid to make a few adjustments and improvements. If it works for you, that's what matters!

Enjoy!

PS: I have used leftovers from the last fishing trip on these rigs so the halfbeaks look a bit dull. One should always try to use as fresh a bait as possible!

Weighted chin pin halfbeak
Previously described here http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php/topic,3132.0.html.

The naked skipping halfbeak
The simplest of all rigs it skips in the water and dives shortly to jump out again. I don’t use it very often as it doesn’t last long. Due to our sea conditions it wears out quickly. Anyway, it is always an option and is a good bait to run in the riggers, prop wash and as pitch bait. The eyes may be removed.

[John F]

Naked swimming halfbeak
This widely used rig (also called chin weighted halfbeak) is a good rigger and shotgun bait. All gamefish will fall for this rig and it swims true as long as the pin is located dead center on the head. It may be rigged with a bait spring, copper wire or elastic band. I usually use copper wire. When in doubt just use a heavier sinker. Good to troll when fishing is a bit slow. 

[John F]

Skirted skipping halfbeak
By far the most common and the one I use most often especially with small chuggers. Good for all kinds of gamefish and bills (a few small marlins have also been caught with this rig). I don't usually use copper wire just a bait spring and you're rolling! Can be trolled as fast as 9 knots and depending on the quality of the bait it can last all day long (well, unless a hungry fish takes it first!).

[John F]

Double-hook skirted halfbeak
Good for fast trolling, this rig is used in areas were wahoo/couta/barracuda are abundant and you don't want to be cut short. This rig is also good for sailfish and dorado. Also, it lasts quite longer that the other rigs as no hooks are inserted into the bait. I use a bait spring, some cotton and Bob’s your uncle!

[John F]

Hooded halfbeak
The hooded halfbeak is an excellent bait to troll just at the end of the prop wash or even as pitch bait. The hood is commercially available through any tackle shops selling Ilander lures. It can be rigged with a single hook or a double hook using smaller size bait springs. If using double hooks, just rig it as in the double-hook halfbeak described above. The single hook is rigged exactly the same as the skirted skipping halfbeak (also described above). It runs true just under the surface and I have caught barracuda, couta and dorado. I’m sure marlin and sailfish would also fall for this rig.

[John F]

Hooded double hook

[John F]

Chin weighted split-bill halfbeak
A good substitute for the hooded halfbeak, I use a small sinker to help the bait swim better and just under the surface. Good for head-first swallowers (like dorado and billfish), it can be trolled at the end of the prop wash and corners as fast as 7-8 knots. It is also makes a good pitch bait.

[REEFMAN]

Awesome post JohnF!
Do you not find that the bottom hook cottoned on can turn flat against the bait when a fish strikes? In R/S we pop a toothpick or beaded pin through the eye of the hook to stop it from turning flat... keeps the hook proud.

[John F]

Thanks Reefz...

Never thought of that... it might be a good idea, although the 90 degree rig is known to be quite unstable, causing the rig (or lures) to spin...

Will give it a try though...

[Timothy Scriven]

Very cool post there JF.

[John F]

Wine cork halfbeak

A good substitute for the skirted or naked skipping halfbeak, this rig swims true and leaves a nice bubble trail. Troll it on the longer positions (shotgun/long rigger). Must be rigged with a pin and either bait spring, copper wire or elastic band.

Very easy and cheap to make. Get a wine cork (natural or artificial) and drill a hole with a 9 or 10 mm bit, down to about 2/3 of the cork. On the other side of the cork, and using a conical stone bit, drill about 3 mm deep just enough to make that conical mouth. Paint with whatever color you like (red, pink or even orange look nice - go wild here!). The pic shows a plain cork with a Williamson live halfbeak.

[WalkersKiller]

Great article John, not an offshore fisherman but thats very interesting!

[John F]

Wine cork halfbeak with circle hook

The concept is the same: use the cork as a cup faced kona, to give that swimming and bubbling action to the halfbeak. I first sew the haflbeak with thread line to make it stronger and resist any bill hits, then the thread goes through the eye sockets of the HB and then it is tied to the circle hook.

[Capt. Hook]

  Our sards will never handle that type of rigging, they will just fall apart. Samll Bonnies will work well

[nico]

Wine cork halfbeak with circle hook

The concept is the same: use the cork as a cup faced kona, to give that swimming and bubbling action to the halfbeak. I first sew the haflbeak with thread line to make it stronger and resist any bill hits, then the thread goes through the eye sockets of the HB and then it is tied to the circle hook.

That is just... different bud! LOL. Does the cork not interfere with the circle?

[John F]

I certainly hope not, nico. I made the thread about 3 cm long (away from the cork) so that it will give the hook some space to do its thing.... the cork is also smaller than a regular cork (cut 1/3) in order to not get in the way... this is a rather small HB and hopefully the hungry saily will not be fussy and will just swallow the hole thing...

At this stage this is just an idea which will be tested this coming weekend!

Let's see...

[John F]

A substitute to the bead chain rig

Some of you might be familiar with the bead chain rig, used in the US to rig half beaks in areas "infested" by the razor gang.
Well, this is a substitute I came up with. As the hook is located way back in the bait, ones reduces the chances of being tail-bitten by couta, wahoo, barracuda, etc.

It's made with a length of piano wire (+100 Lb) of various lengths (depending on the size of the bait) connected to the hook with a haywire twist. A small loop is twisted on the opposite end.

Depending on the rigidity of the piano wire one can use a rigging needle. The loop is inserted through the anal vent and the  wire runs trough the abdominal cavity of the half beak, coming out at the mouth. A snap swivel is then attached to the loop or one can connect the leader material via directly with a uni knot.

The wire is then wrapped with copper wire or an elastic band and the mouth shut.

This can be used as a skipping bait or if one wants to swim it just add a cigar sinker under the chin of the half beak. Also a good bait to run deep with a downrigger.

[Manuel Junior]

 :shre:

[jaenswart]

cred Marcos. Very informative and no nonsense approach

[John F]

Thanks!