King Mackerel (Couta) Trace for Dead Baits

[Capt. Hook]

With Couta season upon us it is time to start making Couta traces and getting ourselves ready to target these fearsome predators.
This trace hides the wire by inserting it through the fish giving a clean and tidy presentation and ensures that your hooks stay in the right place when you get the bite.
This trace also incorporates 2 weights, one under the chin and the other in the anal cavity; this ensures that your bait swims true, without twisting or spinning making your presentation more realistic to the elusive Couta.

Materials
Malin No.9 Stainless steel wire for hook traces
Malin No. 7 Stainless steel wire for leader
1 x Pink Couta Duster (My most effective colour)
1 x VMC 7265 4/0 - Live Bait Hook
2 x VMC 9626 No.4 – 3X Treble Hooks
1 x Centro Size 4 Cross Lock Snap
1 x Centro Size 4 Swivel
1 x Centro luminous glow bead
1 x 1 oz Egg Sinker
1 x ½ oz Barrel Sinker
2 x Small Cable Ties

[Capt. Hook]

Step 1 – Hook Trace

Using the No.9 wire cut 2 lengths appropriate to the size of your fish; in this case I cut 25cm and 15cm. I usually prepare all of these before hand and then finish them off when I am about to rig my bait. Tie the treble hooks to these 2 lengths using a good haywire twist.

[Capt. Hook]

Step 2 – Sizing the Hook Trace

Here you need to size the 2 lengths exactly according to your bait; in this case I have used a Mackerel, but my favourite Couta bait is a small Bonnie.
The long one must go from the anal cavity plus your hook length past the mouth.
The shorter one must go from behind the neck plus you hook length past the mouth.
Slide the ½ oz barrel sinker onto the long wire.
Then make a loop with a haywire twist at the end of the 2 sized traces.

[Capt. Hook]

Step 3 – Putting the Trace together

Cut a 1m length of the No.7 wire, using a haywire twist tie the No.4 Swivel on the one end, then on the opposite end slide the Glow Bead first and then the Pink Couta Duster onto the wire.
Using a haywire twist tie the other end of the Wire to the small side of the Cross Lock Snap.
At the same time take the 1oz Egg Sinker and make a trace with 2 loops long enough to go from the gills and past the hook using the Haywire twist.
From here you can slip your Hook, the 2 Treble Traces and the Egg Sinker onto the big end of the Cross Lock Snap. Your trace is now ready to be rigged into the fish.

[Capt. Hook]

Step 4 – Rigging the Bait

Using a long bait needle, insert through the anal cavity and push until it comes out the mouth, then attach your long trace with the treble and barrel sinker to the loop on the needle and pull through carefully letting the sinker slide neatly in until the hook shank is inside firmly with 1 point of the hook into the bait and 2 points free.

Then use the bait needle and insert behind the neck and push through until it comes out the mouth, attach the short hook trace and pull through until the hook shank is firmly inside with 1 point of the hook in the bait and 2 points free.

[Capt. Hook]

Step 5 – Rigging the Chin Weight

Open the Gills of the Bait and push a cable tie through, then secure the cable tie to the loop on the Egg Sinker Trace and pull tight positioning the Egg Sinker firmly under the Chin

[Capt. Hook]

Step 6 – Connecting it all together

Now that everything is connected to the Bait, you open the big end of Cross Lock Snap and put the Live Bait Hook on, behind that you take the open loops from the 2 Hook Traces and the Egg Sinker and also put them onto the Cross Lock Snap. Once this is done you insert the Live Bait Hook through the mouth making sure that the hook is what will tow the fish and the 3 loops are set further back so there is no pressure on them in order that the Bait is not pulled by the treble hooks which would bend the bait causing it to spin. Once all is connected and the Cross Lock Snap closed you take a small cable tie and tie it behind the hook over the mouth to keep the mouth shut and hold all in place. Slide the Pink Couta Duster and the Glow Bead down and your bait is ready to be deployed.

[bassbug]

 
 
thanks Captain, will be used on my next outting for sure. personally i think it's equallly deadly for tuna, there is nothing for them to suspicious about, what are your thoughts?

[Capt. Hook]

 
thanks Captain, will be used on my next outting for sure. personally i think it's equallly deadly for tuna, there is nothing for them to suspicious about, what are your thoughts?

Couta baits can catch anything, dead or live. Just look at the results of the latest couta comp

[forensic]

Thanks, thats a good tutorial

[bassbug]

personally, on a few occassions, had my bait  takened then dropped, on inspection the bait only showing scrapes and the body soft but intact.  thinking it was a tuna or a tiny tuna dropping the bait after sensing the exposed wire, dorries were also about but have caught them on wire traces (also stranded wire) and quickly dismissed them for being the culprit. i like the idea you have showned me, hence my reason for tunas as a by catch.
further help Captain, referring to the barrel sinker in the bait's butt, does this weight allows or restricts the "natural swim", restricts meaning it holds it still, a great idea when targeting cuta while slow drifting and should this barrel sinker be heavier/same or less of the egg shaped sinker.
thanks

[Capt. Hook]

personally, on a few occassions, had my bait  takened then dropped, on inspection the bait only showing scrapes and the body soft but intact.  thinking it was a tuna or a tiny tuna dropping the bait after sensing the exposed wire, dorries were also about but have caught them on wire traces (also stranded wire) and quickly dismissed them for being the culprit. i like the idea you have showned me, hence my reason for tunas as a by catch.
further help Captain, referring to the barrel sinker in the bait's butt, does this weight allows or restricts the "natural swim", restricts meaning it holds it still, a great idea when targeting cuta while slow drifting and should this barrel sinker be heavier/same or less of the egg shaped sinker.
thanks

I use a 1oz egg by the head and 1/2oz barrel in the butt, this is to stop the bait from spinning even if you speed up a bit.

Most definitely Tuna take these baits and like you say, as do many species and then they hold on and then let go which is the reason I like to hide the wire. I usually use small bonnies on this rig as they tend to spin a lot more than smaller baits and one can't weight up to much under the chin so I rather use the rear end sinker as a keel.
There are advantages and disadvantages to dead baits vs live baits and the big advantage of dead baits is you can troll faster and cover more ground where as live boats need to be trolled ultra slow or even drifted.
So when the fishing is tough and fish are scarce I would rather use dead baits to cover more ground and with the faster speeds one has a chance at other species also.
When the fish are around live bait is king, but even on those days live bait can be scarce and then one has to use dead baits.

[sardinella]

Very  neat, thanks. Have some cred

[nabeel6061]

Can't wait to try this when I get a fishing ski 

Thanks Capt 

[super_daav]

Nice tut Capt. We fish a lot on fishing skis and wiring inside like this is quite a bit of PT but we do this when more space on the ski boat.


For our bonnies we use the smaller mojo sinkers (barrel) 1/2oz and stuff about 3 or 4 up the rear end, pin the pec and dorsal fins and find no need for a chin weight. Usually wire on outside of the body on top half of the bonnie to blend in a little. Often no skirt but a glow bead on the bite trace.


Works a charm!

[MichaelK]

Jeez mike you would need serious surgeon skills to pull off this bait setup.

I'm all thumbs and to impatient for this setup, i go with the old tried and tested wire on the outside bait setup.

Nice tut though

[dugong]

Jeez mike you would need serious surgeon skills to pull off this bait setup.

I'm all thumbs and to impatient for this setup, i go with the old tried and tested wire on the outside bait setup.

Nice tut though

I have to agree, for me its the good old Mydo baitswimmer nice tut though