Brenden and Preston Ziemba, of Coastal Rigging, take us through a step-by-step tutorial on how to keep outriggers tuned with maintenance and preventative measures.
Rubbing Layout Arm Fix
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The Hatterascal became Hatteras Yachts’ demo boat in 2019. The finely appointed 59 GT set out with Captain Jeff Donahue at the helm and mate Tyler Davis running the cockpit.
Fishing aboard a factory boat requires a diverse skillset — from kite fishing in Florida, live baiting in the Gulf and dredge fishing in the Northeast — not to mention the personability to showcase the brand and the boat to people far and wide. Last April, Captain Jeff and crew showcased the boat and some kite fishing tactics out of Sailfish Resort and Marina in Palm Beach.
Getting lines deployed quickly while kite fishing requires organization, coordination and skill. It also helps to keep track of your bait needles. This ingenious set up uses a wine cork glued to a suction cup. Simply run your bridle rubber bands through the open eye of the rigging needle and stick your needles into the cork. No more lost needles, no more scrambling for rubber bands.
Mate Tanner Holly keeps the baits in the zone. When deploying kite baits, the long baits go in the center and the short baits on the outside. With all the crew on the headsets, there is no more yelling when a fish comes up top.
Two spools filled with rigged leaders are suction cupped to the wall of the cockpit. Each is full of hook/leader sets, all the same one atop the next. After releasing a sail, the team simply pulls off the next fully prepared leader. Each spool is labeled with hook and leader size. This time saving tip keeps baits in the water longer.
When you’re lucky enough to find a spring day that isn’t windy enough to blow the pelicans away, you might need some helium for your balloons. Tyler says the team gets theirs using portable helium tanks available at Wal-Mart (“You get about a balloon and a half out of each tank,” he says.) On the ride on the kites are tucked beneath cushions up top. On the ride between spots, they in the cockpit.
If you’re ever feeling lonely or just want a bunch of people to come talk to you, you can either bring a puppy to the beach or fillet a tuna around lunch time.
Step 1. Secure your hook with floss as pictured. Make sure you leave 12-16 inches of floss to work with.
Step 2. (Not pictured) Secure your ½ ounce sinker to your ballyhoo.
Step 3. With a rigging needle, pierce the nose of the ballyhoo as pictured. The floss is used with your hook.
Step 4. Pull your floss down through the pierced hole and secure your hook as shown.
Step 5. Cross the floss ends through the eye socket a few times to secure the hook.
Step 5b. The floss will also cross under the ballyhoo’s gills.
Step 6. Next, stitch the ballyhoo a few times behind the gill plates as pictured.
The following rigging technique is used widely among the deckhands in Guatemala for rigging ballyhoo. As you can see, floss is used as an added measure against the dreaded Sancocho. Beyond its application for rigger baits, the popularity of fly fishing for billfish in Guatemala influences this technique. Hookless teaser ballyhoo are prepared in a very similar manner for use in fly fishing.
Finally, finish off the ballyhoo as depicted. The added floss acts as an added security measure to keep the ballyhoo’s head attached to its body.
This image shows off an additional aspect of the rigging talent of the dynamic duo known as the Morales brothers. This pitch bait was specifically designed for marlin, utilizing the larger 12/0 hook and the chugger lure accessory. The dolphin belly is simple to rig and a proven go-to bait when marlin show up. The bait is extremely durable and effective.
Last issue, we showed you how to hold your kite clip using rigging wire. Take a look at this version that utilizes the small rigging rubber bands commonly used for attaching live bait. Use it as pictured and your clip will stay put!
Captain Reed made a point to detail one of the final stages of rigging this excellent sword bait. Most importantly: slide a crimp down the leader after your final stitch near the mantle. Slide the tag ends into a crimp, secure it as pictured and then cut off the excess floss. The crimp will keep the squid from sliding up the leader before, during and after a bite. In other words, the bait is very secure.
Simply put the Cat’s Paw knot is used to connect a wind-on leader to your main line.
In this video demonstration, Captain Kieran Pullman, a professional Big Game fisherman, connects the dacron wind-on loop to the double-line loop of a bimini twist.
What is unique in this demonstration is the way Capt. Pullman retains the wind-on leader in a coiled and compact state versus uncoiled and full length (which is common among less experienced deckhands).
The compactness of the leader saves a significant amount of time versus pulling a full-length wind-on through the loop during each step. Capt. Pullman recommends and demonstrates a 3 loop Cat’s Paw connection. The connection is extremely secure resulting in 100% of the lines breaking strength. The Cat’s Paw wind-on connection is by far the most common leader to line connection in big game sportfishing today.
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Courtesy of Captain Scott Fawcett
(2016 Florida Division Captain of the Year)
Off the Chain Charters, 32-foot Contender
Skill Level:
Here Capt. Scott Fawcett shares one of his live bait kite fishing tips. This rig, using a float, a 3/8-ounce sinker and a section of a rubber band placed below your wind-on leader (as pictured), helps Captain Fawcett in a couple different ways. First, his anglers can simply wind the leader to the rod tip to make an official catch (no need to have a deckhand touch the leader). Most importantly, for a charter boat with varying angler skills, you can use this set up for releasing fish but also allow the angler to keep reeling if you are going to harvest a fish (see dolphin catch). The float will slide down the leader via the rod tip guide.
Courtesy of Capt. Tucker Colquhoun
Huntress, 74-foot Tribute
Skill Level:
Tired of a dry, stiff and crispy chamois? Here Captain Tucker shares two simple options he utilizes to avoid this. Get a couple Chamois covers made. Covers keep the chamois covered and compact, helping to keep it wet longer. When you don’t have a cover, use rubber bands! The inside layers will stay wet.
Courtesy of Bill Buckland
Skill Level:
Many of today’s reels – the latest Shimano Talica 20, 25 and 50s, are mostly designed with heavy braid drags. This can create problems for anglers using mono. Bill Buckland, the owner of Buckland’s Fisherman’s Center, helps his customers by converting the reels to mono-friendly drags. In one easy step Buckland’s drag washer modification provides smoother drag pressure for mono. Check out the two-minute video at inthebite.com. Contact Bill Buckland Ph: 1-800-765-RODS or 561-252-9444.
Courtesy of Capt. Tucker Colquhoun
Huntress, 74-foot Tribute
Skill Level:
While walking down a dock in Galveston, Texas (Pelican Rest to be exact), Capt. Tucker admired the chafe gear being used to protect the Pretty Work sportfish. The chafe gear is dense foam pipe insulation slid over the stern lines.
Capt. Kevin Deerman
Draggin Up, 74-foot Viking
Skill Level:
Materials needed: Garmin GMI 20 or other marine instrument display, NMEA drop cable and T-connector to hook into the network, Starboard, Fiberglass or similar mounting panel. While in the process of installing new electronics, I had a suggestion from Capt. Ryan Doxey on the Over Ride. He recommended locating an extra display to show rudder angle in the aft end of the hardtop teaser box (like he did on his boat). It’s a great idea if you have space so you can glance up while backing on a fish and instantly see where your rudders are. We took Captain Ryan’s advice and went a step further.
My boss decided to go ahead and add a couple more displays for water temperature and speed.
Wanted: Boat Maintenance Tips
Send us your best tips and techniques (info@inthebite.com).
When it comes to interior design, rod and reel storage on a boat is commonly an afterthought. Capt. Donahue utilizes strategically-placed foam under the salon sofa to securely stow his arsenal of reels (as pictured). Captain Donahue purchased his foam from www.thefoamfactory.com and says “outline each reel and cut out the sections as needed.”
When doing electronics upgrades, you’ll likely run new cables at some point. Running wires can sometimes be problematic. We recently had a tech on the boat who was having a hard time running a new cable in the buggy top of the tower. The main problem was that it was full on one side and there were no pull cords or cables on the other. His solution was ingenious. He tied his pull cord to a ¼” hex nut and dropped it into the empty aluminum pipe opening on top of the buggy top. Next, he took a strong cabinet magnet he picked up at the hardware store. From there, he was able to “walk” the nut through all the turns in the aluminum pipe with the cord attached. In doing so, he made a new run with room to spare. It’s also a good idea to tape the face of the magnet to keep from scratching your aluminum or paint. Want your teak deck to dry faster and cleaner with no fish scales? Next time you visit Home Depot grab one these Unger Squeegees. They connect to your standard brush pole and will help clean off all the hard to see fish scales.
Want your teak deck to dry faster and cleaner with no fish scales? Next time you visit Home Depot grab one these Unger Squeegees. They connect to your standard brush pole and will help clean off all the hard to see fish scales.
This is an added step that Captain Donahue incorporates to the teak covering boards on Hatteras boats. The idea here is to stop water from intruding into the teak end grain. Water’s entry into the teak can ultimately leads to teak cracks. Each covering board is finished with a biscuit edge glued to the edge of the teak covering board. Then the edge is coated with epoxy as a final sealant.
When running dredges from a center console, attaching flatline clips to your downrigger boom is a great way to get flatlines out into the clean water and provide a bigger footprint.
Wanted: Boat Maintenance Tips
Send your best tips and techniques to info@inthebite.com.
Mike Calabrese knows a thing or two about the most efficient way to use dredge baits when fishing. The Fire Tailz inventor has created his own unique dredge bait system that is unlike any other. Calabrese met up with InTheBite to give a full demonstration on how to use these baits and just what happens when they’re in the water.
Check out the 50w beer holder.
Captain Asael and Mate Jarol run the Miss Spain at Tropic Star Lodge. Here is a list of the fishing strategies and approaches employed by perhaps the longest running marlin fishing operation around.
Tropic Star is famous for its live baiting. Each morning, each boat is provided a total of 30 leaders – ten of each size. The hook and leader size are matched to the bait size. For the large bonito, leaders are 18/0 circle hooks on 400# mono. The hooks are snelled, and the leaders crimped. Medium leaders – for smaller bonito – are 16/0 circle hooks on 300# mono leader. Small leaders, for runners and belly baits, are either 12/0 or 8/0 circle hooks on 150# mono.
When bait and switch is your game, check out the rigged bonito pitch bait. Notice the mouth is rigged shut.
Tropic Star Lodge has a fleet of 17 charter vessels. All of their work is done in house. Tackle organization is key to making sure that the right rods and reels are prepared each day – and wind up on the right boat. Notice the numbering system in their tackle shop.
In addition to the great assortment of a la cart boat lunch options, the ever-present dorado make for some great ceviche opportunities. Slice dorado thinly, squeeze lime juice over them and place on plate in ice chest for two hours. Eat with soy sauce and choice of cold beverage. Check out the 50w beer holder, too…
Tropic Star’s fleet of 31’ Bertrams have caught a lot of fish. Check out their 
livewell/tuna tube set up. This six shooter has a black tail flicking out of each chamber.
In this part of the world, the belly bait is used in place of the ballyhoo. A durable option, it can be trolled fast or slow or used as a pitch bait. Step one, cut the belly out of a bonito or dolphin. Step two, sew it up. It is often fished in the shotgun – a great spot for sails, dorado or marlin.
In this tackle tip, Luke Hickey of the Krazy Salt’s shows us a special technique for rigging a swimming ballyhoo bait. Why not give his method a try next time?
Release Ruler introduces its Billfish line of weight estimating boat decals and demonstrates how to apply them. Could be a great tool for tournament season.
