Page 42 - Waves March 2019

Close-up on:

PATRICK LEMIRE

BAITFISH | BAIT COMBINATION TECHNIQUE

Light hook in size 7/0, carefully run generators the squid head brings to
the hook point between the eyes of the combination. The scent it has
the squid head, not through them. also helps, but I think it’s a third-
After sliding the head around the place contributor. The whiteness of
hook bend a bit, hook the baitfish the squid is also an added attractant
through the bottom of its head and because white represents a vulnera-
out the top. See the illustration. A ble fish’s white or light underbelly.
“J” type hook such as the Mustad This translates into being out of the
Ultra-Point 10827 or 9 BLN in size ordinary — hurt, sick or distressed,
Baitfish 9/0 to 11/0 will also work well. The and an easy meal. The below the
squid head, with its tentacles, not
chin squid head also adds its appeal
to a head-hooked live bait fish.
only adds scent, but motion to your
sardine presentation. The tentacles’
Bait Combination Technique movement gives a living, breathing Fish this bait combination as you
look to your dead baitfish. Eyes are would a sardine or other baitfish,
Getting your baitfish to take it on an attractant, having them exposed, freelined or Carolina rigged. It
the chin, so to speak, is just another from the side, is the reason the should be weighted just enough to
rigging method that will increase squid head is on the hook between slowly get it at the same level in the
your chances of hooking up on one its eyes, not through them. The water column as your target species.
of our Texas offshore favorites...red large eye and motion of the ten- After the cast and while this combo
snapper. This is a bait combination tacles are the major added strike rig is on the sink, I fish it with my
you’re really going to like — it’s
simple and it works. I started using
these baits together years ago, I
don’t recall exactly when I came up
with it or saw it for the first time.
Spending a lot of time at the rail
exposes you to varied methods and
ideas; spinoffs are inevitable; this
fishing method is probably one of
them.

The bait combination difference
here is the part of the squid added
to a baitfish, and where it’s placed.
As it’s shown in the illustration, a
head-hooked sardine has a squid
head, with the tentacles still at-
tached, on the hook bend below the
sardine’s chin.

Using a Daiichi D84Z Circle Chunk

42 | Waves Magazine | March 2019 Issue