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Rigging a Fish Head
What do many anglers do with their fish heads? Some will throw them away, while others will add them to a fish stew, take out the cheek scallops and eat them or load heads into a crab pot.
Ever thought of rigging a fish head and chucking it into a wash off the rocks or into a snag on a riverbank? What about slowly floating one down through your berley trail or suspending it under a bobby cork?
Technique 1
For this rigging technique you will need a large sewing needle, allowing you to pass an elastic band through the eyes of the fish. Once you have done this you will need to hook one side of the elastic band onto the bend of the hook. The other end may have to be passed through the eyes a few times, so that there is tension on the elastic band when complete.
The best hook for this is one that doesn’t have an offset, so straight shank, also with a straight eye. You can either use this bait unweighted or run a small ball sinker down on top of the hook. Instead of using an elastic band you could do the same with a small cable tie.
Luderick, whiting, bream, mullet, slimy mackerel and yellowtail heads make great baits for mulloway, kingfish, cobia, tuna, snapper, Spanish mackerel and cod.
Technique 2
Many a time I have been fishing for snapper on some of the close offshore reefs and have used mullet, yellowtail and slimy mackerel heads for bait while at anchor. You could rig them up the same way as in Technique 1 or simply pass the hook up through the lower jaw and out through the top jaw.
Once you have done this, cast it out as far as you can out the back of the boat and into the berley trail, then put the rod into the rod holder. You will need to weight the head so that it slowly sinks down through the berley trail.
A baitfeeder style reel, like the Okuma Coronado CDX or Ceymar baitfeeder reels, would be ideal for this style of fishing. Once you have cast the bait out, you just need to set the auto trip bait feeding system and wait for the fish to take off with the head. Remember to engage the auto trip system, by turning the reel handle, before to take the rod out of the rod holder or strike. Striking with the light baitfeeder drag engaged could produce a massive overrun and potentially cause a tangle.
Diagram 1 has the single hook positioned running parallel on the top of the head. It has been secured either by tying a rubber band or cable tie through the eye of the fish and over the shank of the hook. To stop the mouth of the fish opening up you will need to put a cable tie around the nose of the head. To stop it slipping off you will need to pierce the lower jaw and then tighten down on the top. Just in front of the eye of the hook.
Diagram 2 has the use of a double hook rig. This can either be a fixed or sliding snood. The top hook is pinned through the lower jaw and up through the top jaw. This will keep the mouth from opening up. The second hook is then passed through the eye and positioned in through the fleshy section of the head.
ROD SELECTION:
Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-1162NT, Med/Light, 11'6", 2-6kg Nibble Tip - For either off the rock breakwall or beach.
Okuma Wave Power Spin Rods - WP-S-662H, 6'6", 5-12kg - For offshore fishing or targeting mulloway and kingfish in bays and estuaries from the boat.
REEL SELECTION:
Okuma Ceymar Baitfeeder Reels - CBF-30 for the estuaries for bream, whiting, trevally, flathead, etc.
Okuma AK Baitfeeder – AK-4000 and AK-5000 for mulloway, snapper and kingfish.
Okuma SURF-8K - For that extra line capacity and casting distance off the rocks and when fishing the surf.
OKUMA COMBOS:
Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-1162NT, Med/Light, 11'6"Nibble Tip, 2-6kg rod, matched with a Rockaway RA-6000 with its 12kg drag for either off the rock breakwall or ocean rocks. Ideal for chasing tailor and salmon.
Okuma Surf-XT Surf Rods - SFXT-S-1202SFM, 8-10kg rod, matched with a Rockaway RA-6000 with its 12kg drag for either off the rock breakwall or ocean rocks. Ideal for chasing mulloway and the likes off the rocks and breakwalls.
Rigging a fish head for bait - diagram. | Download