Game fish: How to make a single hook rig for Feathers and small Kona’s

[Capt. Hook]

    This single hook rig has been  very successful for me, with an almost 100% hook up rate and the rig I like to  use for my smaller skirted trolling lures, kona’s and feathers. This rig is  fairly stiff and so better fished with a lighter drag, allowing the fish to run  a bit before tightening the drag to set the hook. It runs true, is easy to add strip  baits; is very strong so even if you get a big fish or even a Marlin the rig  will hold, because of the steel cable it works well for Wahoo. I like to fish  this rig with a 150-200lb leader.
Many times bigger fish take  smaller lures, and on many occasions it has been the smaller lures that have  produced on the day when nothing else is working.

1. Materials:
- 1.5mm stainless steel cable
- 4.8mm & 6.4mm  Electrical Heat Shrink (I prefer black, but any colour will work)
- Copper crimps to suit the  1.5mm cable (3 crimps required)
- Stainless Steel Hooks (I  have used 6/0 Tuna hook for the tutorial)

2. Cut a length of cable  about 2.5 times the length required for the completed rig. The length required  will be calculated as follows: Length of skirt from bottom of the head, minus  half the hook shank length, minus leader loop and crimp. Feed the cable through  the eye of the hook making a tight loop by pulling the crimp tight before you  crimp.

3. Pull tight and crimp, and  be sure to leave a tag end.

[Capt. Hook]

    4. Add 2 crimps onto the  wire.

5. Measure your length and  put a kink in the cable at your length, perpendicular to your hook eye

6. Leave a loop of about 10mm,  and crimp your cable

[Capt. Hook]

    7. Cut the 2 tag ends of the  cable so that there is a 1-2mm gap.

8. Place the crimp equally  over the gap and crimp only the out sides of the crimp, ensuring that your  cable is straight.

9.  Pull the 4.8mm heat shrink to cover from the hook  wraps up to the loop, and use a hot air blower to shrink over. You can use a  lighter, but I prefer the blower.

[Capt. Hook]

    10. Cut a length of 6.4mm  heat shrink to cover from the hook shank to the crimp on the cable.

11. If you struggle to get  the 6.4mm over your hook eye, just stretch it open a little with a pair of  round nose pliers. Apply heat to shrink

12. Add a small piece of  4.8mm heat shrink over the 6.4 and the hook shank to neaten up.

[Capt. Hook]

    13. The completed Rig

14. The completed rig from  another angle

[Manuel Junior]

 :shre: Great post!!!!
 

[REEFMAN]

Yet another great post! 

[Timothy Scriven]

Good One Mike.
Do you find the Single Stiff rig to have a better hook up rate than the 90/180 Deg set ups?
If you had to choose, what's your "go-to" rig?

[strandloper]

Great one Mike,
 
On your other rigs, you wrapped the wire/cable around the hook shank, but on this one it is only looped through the eye of the hook and then crimped.
 
Is there any reason for not wrapping it, or can it be done to make it more secure?
 
 

[Pelagic Gear SA]

It allows the hook to swing a bit and aid in the hook up.

[strandloper]

Thanks Pelagic,
 
Makes sense

[Capt. Hook]

Great one Mike,
 
On your other rigs, you wrapped the wire/cable around the hook shank, but on this one it is only looped through the eye of the hook and then crimped.
 
Is there any reason for not wrapping it, or can it be done to make it more secure?

The rig is smaller, the hook gape is smaller and so the cable wrapped wraps would deter a hook up, it is also a much shorter rig.

[Capt. Hook]

It allows the hook to swing a bit and aid in the hook up.

No sir, this rig is very stiff.
I will be posting a very stiff rig tut later, got the materials today.

[Capt. Hook]

Here is the stiff rig link
http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php/topic,7430.0.html
 

[Capt. Hook]

Good One Mike.
Do you find the Single Stiff rig to have a better hook up rate than the 90/180 Deg set ups?
If you had to choose, what's your "go-to" rig?

Tough one as each has their advantages, I prefered the 180 degree rig for a long time, then went to chain gangs, and now I prefer my single hook stiff rig (Covered in a different tut)