Silicone has already become quite firmly entrenched in fishing thanks to its qualities of realistically conveying the movements of living creatures, which are food items for most fish inhabiting our water bodies. The variety of shapes, colors and scents of the attractant make baits made from this material suitable for many fishing conditions. In spinning fishing, the use of this type of bait has formed a separate branch of hunting, with its own equipment methodology and bait supply technique.
In addition to equipping artificial fish with weights in the form of jig heads and cheburashkas, an effective selection of a hook is also required, which, given certain structural parameters of the reservoir, will help make high-quality retrieves and more reliably realize predator bites. One of these possibilities is the installation of silicone baits on a double.
The method of this installation involves the separate use of a double with the subsequent installation of a load into the fastening ring of the accessory. But in order to properly rig the fisherman, he will need some knowledge and skills that will allow him to quickly and accurately assemble the rig in the field. We will discuss the features of installing silicone baits on double-type hooks in the course of our article.
Advantages and disadvantages of doubles
Equipping a vibrotail with a double has both its tangible advantages and a number of serious disadvantages that affect the comfort and effectiveness of fishing. The advantages include the high efficiency of catching a trophy. After all, an increased number of hooks allows you to increase the chances of successfully hooking a fish, and the fishing process is much more confident and reliable. The method of separately securing the load gives more freedom in the movement of the nozzle, without restricting the naturalness and believability of the artificial fish, and these are additional factors to tempt the predator to attack. On double hooks, the silicone holds much more securely than on single types of hooks, and during fishing, baits are lost very rarely, either due to unrealized bites or minor hooks.
Important! The disadvantages include the high degree of hookiness of the bait. Fishing in reservoirs with dense vegetation, snags and within the boundaries of trees that have fallen into the water is practically reduced to zero due to the impossibility of fishing.
Doppelgangers embedded in snags or underwater thickets are in most cases doomed to be lost. Also a negative factor is the influence of silicone itself on the material of the hooks, which during long-term storage causes serious corrosion of the metal and disables the hooks.
Important! Therefore, after the fishing season, the doubles must be removed from the bait.
This creates additional inconvenience, and subsequent installation will be of lower quality than the initial one.
How to quickly and correctly put a silicone bait on a double
As practice shows, if there are no problems with equipping a soft bait with a single hook, then not every angler knows how to put a silicone bait on a double hook.
I use the word “correctly” in the title of the article with some reservation - this is purely my opinion.
The presence of a double or tee increases the angler’s chances of getting a quality hook and significantly reduces the number of annoying trips. However, when wiring in reservoirs where the bottom is littered with natural and, unfortunately, man-made debris, doubles with silicone have every chance of leading to a dead hook. Therefore, I can recommend the use of double hooks in more or less clean areas of the reservoir.
Of course, the assortment in fishing stores is currently rich in various decoys and hooks already equipped with silicone. You can buy it and, as they say, fish right out of the box. But how much money will you have to spend if the attacking predator often completely breaks off the tail of the bait (this happens often when you have to catch perch)? It is much more profitable to buy everything separately and replace the silicone bait that has become unusable with a double one right on the shore or in the boat.
There is nothing complicated here. Let's look at the option I use.
How to put a vibrating tail on a double
Comparing the hook and the bait, it initially seems quite difficult to carry out the operation of equipping a vibrotail with a double, but in essence these are elementary manipulations that are accessible to every angler.
Installation is carried out using two main methods, one of which requires additional equipment in the form of a thin and durable 2–3 mm rod. The method using a rod involves the initial puncture of a hole in the body of the silicone and the subsequent insertion of the forend of the hook into this through puncture. The main point here is the selection of a rod with a diameter that is an order of magnitude smaller than the thickness of the accessory forend. Otherwise, the nozzle will dangle randomly on the hook without being firmly fixed.
You can put a vibrating tail on a double using the second method without additional equipment by piercing the body of the fish across the back with a through hole with one of the parts of the hook and spreading the double apart, pushing the fastening ring into the mouth area of the bait. Using the example of different types of nozzles, we will consider the main features of installation.
How to equip a silicone bait with a double.
Remembering my first experience of mounting a bait on a double, it makes me laugh now. Then, when I first decided to try to mount a double with bait on a Cheburashka, I twirled the hook with bait in my hands for a long time, eventually I put rubber on one of the two hooks and mounted the double through the winding ring on the eye of the Cheburashka. Naturally, the action of the bait was greatly disrupted, since its body was clamped by the second hook, and such a tackle did not look aesthetically pleasing. Finding myself in the same boat with a friend who, of all types of mounting, preferred mounting on a Cheburashka, I paid attention to his vibrating tails and how they were mounted on the double. Naturally, he asked me to show him how he made the double so “cunningly” that he had it in the body of the bait. In fact, everything turned out to be very simple and in less than 10 seconds he performed this trick with the new “rubber”, deftly placing it on the double. At first, of course, it took me a lot more time, but I did it quite easily, only the double’s hooks were pointing down. To which my friend told me that this is normal, now take out the double and start mounting from the other hook, then everything will fit as it should.
Below are step-by-step photos, which can greatly facilitate understanding the mechanics in the absence of a more experienced friend nearby.
So, first of all, we select a double for the bait. If it is less than one third of the body length of the bait, then with sluggish activity of the fish, you cannot avoid idle bites, i.e. such moments when the fish grabs the bait, bypassing the hook.
Having picked up the hook, you need to visually mark the place where the rubber is punctured; to do this, we attach the double to the body and mark the place where the double ends.
Then we pierce the bait right through with one sting, exactly in the center of the previously marked distance
After this, it is advisable to wet the silicone in order to injure the bait less and drag the rubber to the connecting ring, pulling the hooks in different directions. This is what we should get -
Next, we wet the double and begin to push it with the connecting ring to the nose of the bait, so that the double passes through the center of the bait. (You can pierce the bait with an awl in advance exactly in the center, along the entire body, this will make it easier to thread the double and serve as a guide path for it.)
We attach the bait until the fastening ring appears. Next, slightly spreading the hooks to the sides, we adjust the rubber and mount the double on the Cheburashka. This is how it should work out for you.
If suddenly, when installing the vibrating tail, it turns out that the hooks are pointing down, simply pull out the double in the reverse order and start installation from another hook.
NCHNH!
Features of installing vibrating tails on a double
To properly equip a vibrotail with a double, you must initially select a hook with a shank length comparable to the length of the bait’s body before it begins to narrow to the tail. A fish strung on the fore-end should not lose the mobility of its working element, that is, the tail. Having pierced the body of the silicone using one of the methods described above, the fastening ring of the accessory is released in the center of the muzzle of the bait, and the tip of the hooks is placed as close as possible to the back of the bait, practically placing the tip on the body of the bait.
Important! The stings of the hooks on vibrotails are visually located not in the center of the fish, but closer to its rear.
Properly installed silicone should sit firmly on the rod, without the possibility of scrolling or sliding, and also symmetrically with respect to its longitudinal axis. The asymmetry of the location of the nozzle will negatively affect the quality of the wiring performed, leading to the silicone falling to one side during pauses.
How to attach a double to a vibrotail
6 minutes Author: Konstantin Pavlov 2
As practice shows, if there are no problems with putting a soft bait on a single hook, then not every angler knows how to put a double on a vibrotail. In this article we will answer the question: how to properly attach a vibrating tail to a hook without special equipment.
Let’s say right away that the presence of a double or triple hook significantly reduces the likelihood of fish escapes and increases the likelihood of a productive hooking. But in bodies of water whose bottom is littered with debris, there is a high probability of getting into a dead grip with a double hook with silicone. Therefore, it is worth using double hooks only in more or less cleared areas of water bodies.
It is certain that the range and equipment offered by modern fishing stores are rich in all kinds of decoys and ready-made silicone baits. You can purchase it and “don’t have to worry” anymore (about installing a double). But what to do when a predator cuts off the bait’s tail and thereby completely deprives it of the opportunity to play? It is much more profitable to supply and replace silicone on site, right on the shore or in the boat.
Vibrating tails, as a type of bait, appeared on European markets in the early 70s, when they approached the well-known twisters in popularity. With the advent of vibrating tails, fishermen choosing silicone were divided into two groups: those who preferred twisters and those who preferred baits. Bait only partially solves the problem of attachment. Gradually, the controversy subsided, and vibrating tails took their rightful place in the arsenal of any spinning player. This happened because they have a lot of advantages that set them apart from the multitude of constantly replenished “rubber”.
One of the most significant advantages is the amazing similarity to real fish. And the similarity does not end with external properties, because with its behavior the vibrotail is capable of waking even well-fed fish from a state of rest. Another advantage is its unique softness - thanks to it, the fish can peck over and over again until it gets pricked. The vibrotail bears a striking resemblance to the predator's natural food. Below we will talk about how to equip a vibrotail with a double for catching predatory fish.
Features of installing twisters on a double
Twisters differ in their type from vibrotails by a longer working body in the form of a tail with a spiral texture and by the body itself, a cylindrical and symmetrical shape. When choosing a hook suitable for the nozzle, you need to pay attention to the length of the fore-end, which is strictly kept at half the length of the cylindrical dense part of the twister. The point of the hooks is placed on the back of the twister, which is determined by the even, kinky hanging of the tail of the bait taken in the fingers, located in a horizontal position. The baits are placed tightly on the double, with the tip pressed to the body of the twister. The fastening ring, released in the front center of the end, should not protrude more than 1–2 mm beyond the dimensions of the nozzle. Otherwise, the bait will constantly move along the fore-end when moving, breaking the punctured hole and becoming unusable.
Installation of silicone baits on an offset hook
The most suitable type of bait for offset is considered to be a vibrating tail, the example of which is used to discuss installation. Equipment for an offset hook is made according to the following algorithm:
- First, you need to insert the hook tip into the front part of the bait, which comes out through its middle after 5-6 mm.
- Next, you need to unfold the bait and stretch it along the entire length of the fore-end until the head part rests on the eye of the offset.
- After this, a puncture is made in the belly of the bait, and the sting is removed from the back of the bait.
- After such manipulations, you can also hook the sting to the back to reduce snags during the liner.
One of the disadvantages of such equipment is the possible escape of the fish if it does not have enough strength to bite through the silicone. Pros: the ability to fish in areas of the reservoir that are snagged and overgrown with algae.
Common beginner mistake
Equipping a vibrating tail with a double with gross violations of installation technology leads to a significant deterioration in the quality of the wiring, reduces the likelihood of attracting a predator and disables the bait due to tears in the material and loss of rigid fixation on the hook shank.
Important! The most common mistake made by novice spinning fishermen is incorrectly selecting the length of the hook shank in relation to the artificial fish.
In this case, the bait loses significant movement abilities and loses its effectiveness. An inexperienced fisherman, having no idea about installing silicone, inserts only one part of the double into the fish’s body, thereby not balancing the movement of the bait, and when retrieving it, the bait falls to one side. A common mistake is an asymmetrical longitudinal puncture of the silicone body, which leads to the bait breaking off at the very first contact of the bait with a predator.
Methods for attaching silicone baits
Date: February 27, 2015 | 422
In addition to the correct choice of silicone bait, the way in which it is attached to the hooks and how it is mounted is also very important. Yes, choosing a shape, size, getting into a color that the fish now likes is all cool. But, it’s enough to assemble the rig incorrectly, attach the bait in the wrong way or on the wrong thing - and that’s it, you won’t see a catch, or it will be much scarcer than if we did everything correctly. So, it makes sense to talk specifically about different silicone baits, about edible bait and methods of its installation, attachment to hooks.
I’ll go through the main forms of baits and tell you which mounts and rigging methods are most suitable for them.
Vibrating tails are best attached to a jig head. On a rigid mounting, which is a jig head, the body of the vibrotail is clearly fixed and, when retrieved, has slight deviations along the trajectory. But the tail plays perfectly in relation to the body. It is this vibration of the tail that is the main attracting factor for the vibrotail.
Thin vibrating tails can be attached to a jig head in an unusual way, hiding the sting almost like in an offset hook. This is practiced in places where there are a lot of snags.
Vibrating tails can also be mounted on a hinged mounting with a single hook, and narrow vibrating tails are often used with offset hooks. However, in these cases you should be very careful in choosing the weight of the weight. Only over a short range of scales will the vibrating tail play normally. This is due to the vibrotail’s own freedom of movement of the body relative to the weight; and the tail, relative to the body, may not play as it should. So, if you are planning to mount a vibrating tail not on a jig head, check the specific bait model for the quality of the game with a specific weight of the weight.
Some narrow-bodied vibrotails, usually with a worm-like body, can also be used for such an unusual method of installation as “wacky”, when the bait is threaded with a hook somewhere in the middle and dangles at both ends.
Twisters work well on a wide variety of rigs. Perhaps the twister is the most unpretentious and versatile bait in terms of installation.
The twister can be mounted on a jig head or on a swivel mounting. Twisters go well with single, double, and offset hooks. Of course, the popularity of using a twister joint is somewhat higher than using a jig head.
Twisters mounted on a single or offset hook are very often used for fishing with a retractable leash.
Slugs , as a passive bait, are located more towards the hinged nozzle. You can, of course, use a jig head, but the body of the bait will have less mobility.
Slugs work great on a hinged rig with a single hook, when only a small part of the bait is occupied by it, and the majority plays freely and naturally (but with this rig, you should wait well between the start of the bite and the hook).
Also, many slugs are well adapted for installation with an offset hook, having a special slot on the back to hide its tip. However, slugs without such a feature can be attached and used with offset hooks just fine.
When a slug is mounted on an offset hook, there are many options for using it. You can put a rather heavy eared sinker and move the slug in sharp jumps, in steps, along the bottom. You can fish with a light weight, using a wide variety of, mostly smooth, movements in the retrieve. You can use a slug on an offset press using Texas equipment. And also, fish in the shallows without using a sinker at all. In addition, a slug on an offset bait is almost the most popular bait when fishing on a retractable leash.
Many narrow-bodied slugs are some of the best lures to use in the weckie style.
Silicone worms are used in many ways similar to slugs. Here, the most popular are hinged rigs with single or offset hooks and light weights so that the worm sinks as slowly as possible, naturally wriggling.
Worms are the most suitable type of bait for wacky style baits. So, some models of edible fish even have a specially sealed ring in the middle area to attach the hook there and keep it securely there.
This silicone worm, which plays attractively with its ends, attracts a wide variety of fish very well.
Silicone imitation crayfish are usually mounted with their claws backwards, so that there is a feeling of a real crayfish moving backwards, carried away by the fishing line. You can attach the crayfish to a jig head.
However, the game of silicone blende is revealed much better by hinged mounting. This can be a single or double hook.
And, if they are caught in places rich in snags, the crayfish is attached to an offset hook.
Despite the usual style of attachment, some models of crayfish can be attached, on the contrary, with the claws forward. This is especially true for models whose neck is weighted with salts.
Various cuttlefish and hybrids, strange silicone baits are very diverse. There are no uniform approaches to their installation. Look at the bait, which of the ones described above is most similar to it - then bait it.
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Categories: Installations · Tags: Hooks, Installation, Silicone
