Use the Stinger Rig to Hook Short-Striking Fish

In a typically unsporting manner, fish sometimes attack our lures and baited hooks with less than total committment.

The result is that they fail to properly engulf the hook, often succeeding in stealing the bait and getting away with it scott free.

The solution to this rather unreasonable behaviour is the Stinger Rig.

One version of it is nothing more than a second hook, often - but not always - a treble hook as shown here, attached to the primary hook by a short length of line.

It can be lightly hooked under the skin of the bait, or left loose to stream alongside.

If the primary hook trace is of single-strand wire to avoid being bitten through, then the stinger trace should also be made up in single-strand wire using haywire twist connections, or in plastic covered multi-strand wire connected with crimped sleeves. Otherwise, use mono line and uni-knots.

Whatever line material you use, the stinger hook will now be taking the full load of the fish, so it must be securely attached to the eye of the primary hook using the appropriate form of connection.

An alternative form avoids the use of the single-strand wire and the two attendant haywire twists altogether.

How? Well, just by threading the eye of a second hook over the point of the primary hook so that it trails from the bend of the primary hook.

If this still doesn't get the stinger hook far enough aft, daisy chain a third hook on the bend of the second.

There's nothing very complicated about this rig, but when the fish are short-striking your bait or lure, it can make all the difference.

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