Needlefish Hoochies...

[Seafever]

Bah! Humbug!........tried tying them one hook up, one down....looks goofy profile.

Tied 'em both hooks down.....looks goofy profile.

Tried bending the eye up on a VMC Siwash hook and snelling it......just one hook in the hoochy.....looks good for presentation and profile.

I've caught fish with them tied the old way.....one up and one down or both down.

But I figure they'd work better if the look of the entire presentation was better than that.

Reluctant to use two small hooks in them...even though they use fairly anemic hooks on things like flashtails and bucktail flies.

What's your favorite and most productive way to rig them?

 

[Dogbreath]

One large single hook right @ the back

 

[Slabby20]

One large single hook right @ the back

Nice looking assortment of needlefish setups.

 

[Seafever]

Thanks Carl......you use beadchain in all of them?

Wonder if tubing would suffice as an alternative for spacer........

Would your setup work on a normal-size hoochy too?

 

[Dogbreath]

I like beadchain since it makes them a little heavier but have used tubing and it works fine glo beads too sometime since Needlefish are bioluminescent-my regular sized hootchies are more or less the same.

That photo might look a little pretentious but I took photos of all my gear to have some idea of what I owned for insurance purposes.

A while back some of my gear was stolen and I got it all replaced except the Yo Salmon plugs-Japanese made beauties that I never remembered until months later.

 

[Wildhootchy]

Needlefish

My first trip of the season is going to be in late June. I have never gone up to Barkley that early before. Are Needlefish the most prevalent baitfish at that time of year? What color pattern seems to work best in late June/early July?
Thanks!

 

[ratherbefishing]

Single hook all the way for me. I also use a barrel swivel and top it with GLO tubing to complete the spacing. Glo beads work as well but I seem to lean towards to tube as my glo beads distort the shape of the body.

 

[Charter Tofino]

I find bead chains add to much weight and minimize the action the flasher gives. Same goes for using a large siwash . I always prefer to use two small gammies facing opposite directions on needlefish. Haven't sstraightened any, they hold well and good hookup ratio.

Also with any hootchies I always cut off the swivel from the bottom of the flasher and tie directly to the ring. I leave or add swivels to the top to avoid problems. I think this adds a bit more whip to improve the action but might be an over analysis.

 

[Charter Tofino]

My first trip of the season is going to be in late June. I have never gone up to Barkley that early before. Are Needlefish the most prevalent baitfish at that time of year? What color pattern seems to work best in late June/early July?
Thanks!

Green/glow or pure haze are go to's.

 

[Rum Buddies]

siwash hook with beadchain or beads for spacers and just about anything "haze" works for me. Off Victoria/oakbay/sidney they kill.

 

[the fog ducker]

X 2 Kelly


we ran sum silly tests last year actually lol,,,, with an underwater camera on the rigger ball ,
experimented with all kinds of crap , one of them being , pulling needlefish around at different speeds , leader lengths , etc....
i like ta go a little quicker than most , but NOT as fast as few , I like a snap with my gear early season , which means keeping them a little lighter , little shorter ,heavier leader...
the larger siwash and swivel just kinda torpedoed my needles behind the flasher , on my findings , at my speeds !!! you could get them whipping a bit better at faster speeds ,( Commy speeds perhaps ) again , different for everyone i guess , whatever works for ya !... your leader lengths can vary , just need to find the proper speed ta get them workin correctly is all , so when i guy tells ya he is using a 36 in leader and ur catching squat , mix up ur speeds a bit " FASTER " !!!!





Cheers FD

I find bead chains add to much weight and minimize the action the flasher gives. Same goes for using a large siwash . I always prefer to use two small gammies facing opposite directions on needlefish. Haven't sstraightened any, they hold well and good hookup ratio.

Also with any hootchies I always cut off the swivel from the bottom of the flasher and tie directly to the ring. I leave or add swivels to the top to avoid problems. I think this adds a bit more whip to improve the action but might be an over analysis.