Sabiki rigs light up the eyes of tackle shop owners simply because they are one of the top money making rigs offered in the store, You should learn how to store them although you can, as Snookie says, make your own.
Date: October 27, 2000
To: PFIC Message Board
From: Kyle
Subject: How do I properly store my Sabiki rig?
I just purchased a Sabiki rig, and I noticed that the line was looped nicely inside the package. After I open it and want to store it in my tackle box, can I just put it all in like a Ziplock bag? Or do I have to try to put it back inside the package. Thanks a million
Posted by pazoozoo
Use it and dispose of it...(properly). I got tired of messing with them. If you want to make it last longer, just dedicate a cheap rod as a bait getter and leave it rigged. Get little pieces of cork on the hooks during storage. The hooks do not like the salt at all; they will keep a week if you are lucky.
Tight Lines, Sammy
Posted by monkfish
Another thing about Sabiki's...I would just make my own with regular "eyed" hooks. I find the store bought ones, while effective, frequently break off. If you make your own, if the hook breaks off, you can retie it. Some of the better ones go for 4-5 dollars; save yourself a few bucks and make your own. I like to rig mine with tiny 1" curltail plastics and tiny feathers I wrap myself. A good color to use is clear with red metallic flake, but experiment.
Posted by Tremor
Hey Kyle, I highly recommend that you put back in the package and spend a little time on it or else next time you use it, it will take 15 minute to undo every thing. I have one of those jig and I neatly sort it and it only take me a few second to put it on the line. I once put a jig like that in the bag without storing it properly and it took me a good 20 minutes to unknot the thing. It’s your choice whether to be fishing or untieing knots. Tremor
Posted by Kyle
Thanks for the info! Wow, only a week or life for the Sabiki rig? I thought it would last at least a year.
Posted by Sport Barbless
How do I properly wash/dry my Sabiki rig? Kyle, I always take 3 large tap water filled plastic drinking bottles with me. I immediately drench all my day’s gear and riggings. Sometimes sooner. I mat dry the hooks, swivels, etc. Talk about anal! So if my math is right, we are now up to .04 cents.
Posted by Snookie
Dear Kyle, Try using a piece of Styrofoam just big enough to wrap you rig around and around embedding the hooks into the Styrofoam for protection. Do rinse the rig first with fresh water. It will dry on its own. Your snag line rig will last indefinitely unless a fish such as a mackerel breaks one of the hooks. I do make my own but you can do well with the bought rigs so do it either way. Good luck, Snookie
Posted by Kyle
How do I make my own? Do I make a bottom dropper and put a brass swivel sinker on it, and above the sinker, can I make several dropper loops for the hooks? I am not really good at making dropper loops, and everytime I make one, when I tighten it, it always slips and I just get a knot in my line. Can anyone help me in making dropper loops in a line a lot more easier? Thanks
Posted by harukan
Dropper loops are a pain! I finally figured out this trick, which seems to work pretty well: after you've twisted the line and pulled the loop through, stick a pen or magic marker through the loop to secure it while you tighten up the rest of the knot. Just make sure the pen or whatever is smooth, without any projections that will prevent you from removing it after the knot is tightened, and that it's the same circumference that you want the finished loop to be. I like to use a drop loop instead--similar name, but totally different knot. A drop loop is basically just a figure-of-eight knot tied with a section of doubled-over line. There's a good picture of one on the link below. It's also called a "blood bight loop." (Wonder where they get these names, anyway?). I don't know which knot is stronger, but I haven't had any problems with the blood bight loop as compared to the dropper loop; it seems to work just as well and is a lot less hassle to tie.
Link: http://www.f-deans.freeserve.co.uk/knots/bloobght.
Posted by Kyle
Thanks harukan! nice link. Nice diagram of the "blood bight knot." I am going to Hermosa Beach Pier tomorrow to fish for the big halibuts. I hope it doesn’t rain. I'll be sure to try out the blood bight knot and to catch some nice sized sardines for the hungry halibut.
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But how do use that Sabiki bait rig?
Date: December 2, 2000
To: PFIC Message Board
From: Kyle
Subject: Bait Rig Problem
I have been having trouble catching my own bait recently. Doh!! I've been using my homemade Sabiki style rig. (It consists of 7-8 hooks on dropper loops). Any ways, I am using size 8 hooks on it. Are those too big for catching the sardines, smelt, etc.? I tried using little pieces of squid, but to no avail. What size hooks do you pier rat's use? And do you bait em'? What are the best techniques, cause I tried jigging them, only to find hooks missing. Lol. Thanks-Kyle
Posted by scottlopez
Been there done that. Now I just spend the 1.49 at Kmart and buy a new one when I need it. The type you buy at Kmart are pretty good. I always stick to the smaller sized hook with the shrimp tail on them. They always seem to work pretty good and after 2 or 3 uses I just throw it away and buy a new one. It seems as though you have to do this as the hooks they use are not the greatest but they do work. Also after several uses the line starts to loose its strength and starts to work not as well. As for what bait to use. Some times I find it good not to use any bait at all. The type of rig to use is the one with the 4-6 hooks, i just use a 1/2 ounce weight and let my line fall to the bottom then move my pole up and down slowly for a while. I don’t know about now, however during the summer you can catch a lot of baitfish even some mackerel.
Posted by TCY
I agree with scottlopez. Just buy a rig. I've done everything from small gold hooks with small shreds of shrimp or squid to artificial: ranging from bits of tin foil to custom "flies." Way too much hassle for way too little return. Attaching natural bait to lots of small hooks is slow and tedious. When a school of baitfish come through, you'll want to be in the water as much as possible, so this option is definitely out.
As I had mentioned in previous posts, I have personally noticed a difference between the cheaper Sabiki rigs and the slightly more expensive ones. The cheap ones in the SF Bay Area-area use white plastic as the "fly." The more expensive ones use fish skin. Seems the fish skin is a bit more fluid and seems to attract the baitfish better. scottlopez mentioned one thing which I agree with now. In the previous discussion thread about Sabiki rigs, I argued for re-using the rigs instead discarding them after one or two uses. scottlopez talked about the fact that the hooks on these commercially available rigs are not the greatest. I have found that they do in fact dull very rapidly and unless one wants to spend the rest of one's life patiently sharpening lots of very small hooks, it may not be worthwhile to re-use a rig that many times. For example, one rig that is now on its tenth tour of duty seems to lose half the baitfish on the ride up from the water to the pier. The fish just fall off probably because the hooks really didn't set because of dullness. TCY, Conqueror of bait, Lord of anchovies, Master of very small fish
Posted by Ken Jones
Vary the depth you are trying since the schools move around and up and down depending on a number of factors. Sometimes you'll get them right at the top but often times you have to find them. Start at the top and if you don't have success keep moving your bait rigs down a little until you find the bait. Then again, they may simply be absent!
Posted by realdrums
The store-bought rigs work best for me. To save it try a square piece of cardboard
or pieces of cork over the hooks and leave it on the rod. Use raw shrimp for bait;
just smear it on the hooks and start right below the surface and work it down or go to the bottom and work it up. Shrimp seems to always produce for me. jp
Posted by Kyle
I could actually see the jacksmelt and I was @ the depth they were at, but I wasn’t catching them.
Posted by realdrums
Bet it’s the rig. Leader probably too heavy or the hooks not shiny enough. Go buy the smallest hook Sabikis you can find and I always cut off the little white things on the hooks. Really give the raw shrimp a try. It always gets the smelt...even if no one else is.
Posted by Kyle
My leader was 20 lb. test. Maybe a little to heavy?
Posted by hooked1
I find that if I get the rig with the smallest hooks and bait the hooks with trout power-bait, I have no problem catching baitfish. You might have seen me do this down at Shelter Island. Give it a try.
