Cut Bait?

03-26-2001, 02:02 PM

Was just wondering what type of bait heads the fishermen use on the west coast. I fish Lake Ontario and we mainly use the Rhys Davis Teaser heads (with cut plug herring)for Chinooks and Coho. Just wanted to compare notes a little.

Pete · 03-26-2001, 03:01 PM

Bait heads? Are those the little plastic caps to put over the end of the bait, held in place with toothpicks?
For plug cut herring we slice off the head on an angled diagonal so when threaded with a mooching hook set up ( two 4/0 or 5/0 hooks on a leader with the upper hook either tied to slip or not depending on preference). The hooks are set to put a little bend in the herring so it spins at about 1 turn per second.
So, tell me about bait heads. Describe them. Why do you use them? What do they do for you?

Tanner · 03-26-2001, 03:19 PM

What the heck is a bait head lake boy [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]? I use trout and steelhead heads for crawdad bait. That is if my kid does not eat them first.

Dude, your in the Pac NW now. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Personally I do not recommend using a two hook (mooching) rig with the top hook that slides. If you plug cut your herring properly there will be no need to have a bend in your bait to get a good roll.

WheresMyBobber · 03-26-2001, 03:25 PM

Trolleytrout

If what you're describing is what I think it is, I have seen them in Charlie White's salmon fishing books when he describes fishing in British Columbia, but they're not in common use down here (yet).

03-26-2001, 04:23 PM

On this page http://www.midtel.net/~sblacko/page49.html
about middle are the Rhys Davis teaser heads we use. I think they are out of Canada. They make it so you don't need to bend the tail on the herring to make it rotate. Comes pre rigged with one treble hook. We don't have herring here so we have to buy it 6 inch pre-cut and frozen. Just takes a little fine tuning. Lake Ontario is 60 miles wide (big enough for me). We have Chinook, Coho, Steelhead, Atlantics, Brown Trout, Walleye and Lake Trout, quite a good mix if I do say so myself. I'll still have to try the herring without the teaser heads though. What length herring cutplug do you guys use? Can't hurt to try something different... figured I'd check what you guys were doing out west. After all, salmon is a salmon. Thanks

03-26-2001, 04:33 PM

i have used that setup alot in puget sound, the one with the green hot spot flasher and the "bait head", we have a local club that gets them out of canada, have caught a lot of fish on them.

Crab King · 03-26-2001, 04:36 PM

I'm glad you explained what "Bait Heads" are. I thought maybe they were the guys that bought up all the Green Lable herring in the Portland area! You know, those guys that can't get enough. I had to drive all the way to the coast to get some.

Crab King · 03-26-2001, 04:38 PM

I'm glad you explained what "Bait Heads" are. I thought maybe they were the guys that bought up all the Green Lable herring in the Portland area! You know, those guys that can't get enough. I had to drive all the way to the coast to get some.

Jettin' Fool · 03-27-2001, 05:07 PM

We have used something that sounds similar to your bait heads. They are called Rotary Salmon killers. You can get them at Fishermans Marine and GI Joes.Its a plastic angled blade that comes in diff. colors. It is used with smaller herring to get that perfect roll. We have alot of success with these. [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]