Learn how to rig this cable hook-set for offshore trolling lures.
Glen Booth
While this single-hook cable wire rig looks like it's designed to prevent lure losses from toothy pelagics, it's much more than that. The rig swims straight and offers substantial abrasion resistance at a key pressure point around the fish's jaw and jaw hinge. You'll need a skirted lure, 49-strand cable from 600-pound up, matching crimps, heat shrink, heat gun, suitable hook (round or needle eye), leader material and chafe tube. Story and photos by Glen Booth
Slide a piece of heat shrink down onto the hook shank. While round-eye hooks are fine, the lure-trolling aficionados of Kona and elsewhere lean towards using needle-eye versions from manufacturers such as Dozer, Hays and Black Bart. Without the bulge of the hook eye, it makes for a nice and neat package.
Crimp the wire to the hook eye, keeping the loop nice and compact. You want the hook to lay nice and flat.
Slide the heat shrink back up and seal with a heat gun. Depending on the fishery, use 600-pound, 49-strand stainless cable at a minimum. In blue marlin hotspots around the world, 900-pound is preferred because of the real chance of connecting with a grander.
Slide another piece of heat shrink onto the cable, and crimp a small loop in the end. This semi-stiff rig formula also effectively forms a longer hook shank for better hook-sets.
Place the lure on the leader and crimp the mono leader to the cable hook-set using a loop-to-loop connection. Use chafe tube to protect the connection.
Slide the heat shrink up over the connection, stopping short of the end of the crimp, and seal in place with a heat gun. Some people get nervous about using heat near monofilament, so electrical tape (with a bit of dental floss to secure the loose end) will work as well.
Stopping short of the end of the crimp with the heat shrink makes it easier to push the crimp into the rubber bung at the back of the lure, if one is being used. This pins the hook-set in place.
The finished rig. While it flies in the face of conventional lure trolling wisdom, running the hook with the point down acts like a keel and produces a lot more secure hookups.
