AS SEEN IN THE MAY/JUNE 2007 ISSUE

“Look at all of that bait! We nearly blacked-out the well with greenies and baby runners. Man, we’re going to beat ‘em up today!” Sixty minutes later, the recently enthusiastic angler reaches into the well to grab his first baitfish of the day and unexpectedly blurts, “What in the world happened to our bait? They’re all dead! They were doing fine when we ripped them off our bait rigs and threw them in the livewell. Now, what in the world are we supposed to do?”

If the same tragic incident hasn’t ever occurred to you, it will. The unfortunate event that took place cannot be blamed on the livewell, nor was it a problem with the bait-rigs. The issue of why all of the baitfish died lies solely with precisely how the helpless critters were handled in the first place.

We know those multiple hook bait rigs, commonly referred to as Sabiki rigs, though there are many equally effective brands, are essential tools in any offshore angler’s quest to procure frisky live bait, and we all know just how valuable frisky live bait can be. As fishermen serious about our sport, we need our baitfish to be in robust health right up to the final moment when an aggressive predator comes in for the kill. Captain John Rivers, a professional guide working the Panhandle region, said it best, “In a perfect world, baitfish would go directly from the water to the livewell and back to the water without ever being touched by human hands.”

Well, all of us know that we do have to handle our baits when rigging and that we don’t live in a perfect world. We also know that many of the baitfish we catch wind up flipping on the deck or practically being squeezed to death during the hook removal process. Plus, if you are anything like us, you know the problem with multiple hook Sabiki rigs is not that they aren’t effective; the problem lies in removing the fragile baitfish once the rigs have done their job. If we grab the baits with our bare hands or a towel for a better grip on removing the hook, we wipe off just about every bit of protective slime coating and immediately send the baitfish into a state of shock. All but the hardiest species of baitfish are extremely sensitive to any kind of major change – temperature - salinity levels – even change in light. Wiping off the baitfish’s protective slime coating is undoubtedly condemning it to an untimely death sentence.

This fact alone explains why tournament winners who take their live bait fishing very seriously, regularly employ tools to remove the tiny hooks from the mouths of baitfish without ever touching them - sort of mini de-hookers. Most of these de-hookers are constructed from nothing more than a short piece of broom stick with a little ‘crook’ of stiff wire attached. Some of the make-shift devices actually work, but many prove to be just something else for the multiple hook bait-rig to get tangled in. It’s hard to get the thickness and bend of the stiff wire just right. So after a few unsuccessful attempts at de-hooking baitfish, you’ll probably end up tossing the little home made tool in a tackle drawer or some other compartment and completely forgetting about it rather than attempting to perfect it.

Thankfully, necessity is the mother of all invention. A number of leading manufacturers such as the Malin Co. (800-967-9697 www.MalinCo.com) and the Aquatic Release Conservation Co. (877-411-4272 www.Dehooker4ARC.com) have made it easy for us by retailing proven baitfish de-hookers made expressly for the job of removing those stubborn tiny hooks. Neither unit costs more than $10.00, and both work equally well.

It’s all in hands-

Along with utilizing the proper device, a key to effective baitfish hook-removal is in precisely how you use your hands. Instead of grabbing the slippery baitfish, carefully hold the thin leader line of the rig, and work the fingers down to within a couple of inches of the baitfish. Use the hook remover to slide down the branch line directly to the bait. Without ever touching the fish, and holding the leader line firmly, wedge the tiny hook back while gently twisting it to one side with the tip of the wire, dropping the baitfish directly into the livewell. It doesn’t do anybody any good to correctly remove the hook if the baitfish proceeds to fall on the deck where it will lose its slime coating and have to be picked up by hand, anyway. After only a little practice, effectively de-hooking baitfish will become second nature.

Capturing lively, long-lasting live bait can be the most important part of any offshore fishing expedition – valuable time that could otherwise be spent fishing. So anything which promotes quality, long-lasting bait is a great thing. This is especially true when livies are scarce or when the local baitfish population catches a severe case of lock-jaw. When you only land a minimal number of prime offerings for a promising all-day outing, you need every one of the valuable baitfish to remain in perfect health until their final demise from your target species, not from carelessness.

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