Ballyhoo Rigging Tips

If you fish offshore, you’ve almost certainly rigged a ballyhoo or two… or a few thousand. Ballyhoo are the number-one all-around trolled bait, whether they’re rigged naked or behind a skirt. Either way, good ballyhoo rigging versus a sloppy job can make the difference between a successful day offshore, and coming home with your tail between your legs. The next time you’re rigging up, put these tips to work.

1. Use scissors to cut off the beak evenly, rather than breaking it. When you snap the bill off the two bones running parallel through it can break off unevenly. This wouldn’t seem to be a big deal, but it can actually cause the ballyhoo to run on its side or spin if the uneven bill gets wedged forward into the concave head of a lure or skirt – it seems like a little thing but it can knock the bait off balance surprisingly easily.
2. Pinch tightly along the ballyhoo’s back, from the tail to the head, and watch for the interlaced scales to pop up and come apart a bit. This gives the ballyhoo a lot more flexibility and almost always helps it swim with a more naturel wiggle.
3. Speaking of a natural wiggle: never toss the ballyhoo right over the side and set it back without holding it close to the boat and observing it for a second or two. No matter how expert you might be at rigging, sometimes a ballyhoo just doesn’t swim right. It might drag like a stick, lay on its side, or spin. In all cases, it’s unlikely to get hit. Try limbering it up, snipping off the pectorals, or adjust the rigging and if it still won’t swim, set it aside and reach for a different bait.
4. When you’ll be trolling fast to cover ground or target wahoo, up-size your chin weights. A quarter ounce may be plenty most of the time, but when you kick up the speed your baits will run a lot better with some additional lead on the chin.
5. When a ballyhoo won’t run right, don’t just toss it over the side – stick it back in the bait tray or into a cooler. Things could get epic and you might run out of baits, or it could come in handy if you spot some flotsam with mahi and want to get them fired up with chunks. You just never know – but if you toss it over the side, it’s gone for all eternity.