meathead tip

[BAD TO THE BONE]

hi everyone,this is my set up for my meat rigs,i use the plastic common meathead riggs different colors and sizes,one thing i keep the same is this,i use a peice of oxygen tubing or iv tubing that hosiptals use for paient care,some iv tubing is larger in diameter so go with the oxygen if ya can. slide meathead on your line cut a peice of oxygen tubing 1 3/4" long slide it on your line and tie on your trebble hook.this does three things gets rid of the tooth picks and protects the line from the fishes teeth and is the right lenght for most cut bait. i also put a dab of two part epoxy at the base of the trebble hook in between where all three hooks meet this prevents the line from entering the gap and being cut off, i do this to all my trebble hooks, hope this helps, PLAY HARD--FISH HARDER

[Priority1]

Thanks for the meat tips BBBBBBBBBAD. I'm not picturing how you are getting rid of the toothpick. The clear plastic tube sounds like a good idea.

[BAD TO THE BONE]

sorry frank it was the second tooth pick in the meat head i was refering to,ya still need to stick the first one in the head, got to use certified bait now and im not likeing the quality seems mushy and week and falls off.. any tips on your bait?

[Priority1]

I tried the Gulp 11 inch long Herring. I cut it in half to yield 5-1/2 inch pieces. I caught fish on it, and it hangs in there. They say not to, but I return it to the package. If you leave it out it drys and shrinks. It's like leather. The only thing with Gulp you may need a wire to pierce the meat and then stick the toothpick through.

At the Birch Run Show Frank's had some reps from BTM (Better than Meat) with a cloth like meat shaped things. They were costly $6 for a 3 pack and they glowed. They had some herring oil they would soak these strips in. I may get some fish oil and buy some similar fabric and try it. Their cloth strips were made out of a white material similar to a thin scotch brite pad. they were tough.

[Yooperdad]

Made my own last year with some herring from the local fish-house. It's work, but the result was great.

Fileted the herring, thinned it to the proper thickness for the baitheads, cut the bait pieces to shape, packed in kosher salt for a few days to cure and suck the water out, cut and scraped the salt off, put in ziplock in the fridge with Mike's Herring Oil for a few days, then froze in small qualtity (5-6 pieces) bags for outings.

Like I said, a lot of work but the results are quite good. Something to keep you busy when you aren't on your boat:)

Yooperdad

[BAD TO THE BONE]

i would go that route also yooper,but its not a certified bait and i think you can be fined for it on your boat.

[Yooperdad]

I just read the order and I think it's legal since I buy the herring from a fish house in Marquette. The herring come from a VHS Free Zone, Lake Superior, so they can be used in any water. I believe the same applies if you get the herring from Lake Michigan and use it in Lake Michigan, then it's OK. What a confusing order!!!

I have a fish biologist friend who works for MDNR and I'll check with him and report his answer.

Thanks for the heads-up. We all need to help prevent the spread.

Yooperdad

[BAD TO THE BONE]

yep it is confusing, hate to loose my license or pay a large fine,like i posted earlier the certified bait i used last year in ontario was a waste of money,mushy and soft not much shine,ran alot more flys and spoons,,gonna read more on this in new yorks fish and game laws,good luck to ya

[Yooperdad]

My biologist friend did verify tonight that what I posted was correct. However, he suggested keeping the receit for the purchase to be safe.

[Yooperdad]

Since this post started with a question about running meat, I have a question.

I have seen posts about making sure that your meat head is properly "tuned". Can someone explain what that means and how it's done, if there is a technique?

Thanks,

Yooperdad

[Priority1]

Running Cut Plug Herring without meat heads is where tuning is very important, especially if it is not run behind a flasher.

Running cut bait in a meat head behind a flasher is more about flasher performance. What you want is a nice slow roll. Like a lot of our presentations boat speed is of utmost importance. Put the flasher and meat setup over the side and see what speed is best. Most everyone that runs meat runs it behind a big flasher (11 inch), but I have at times run 8 inch flashers. The big flasher and meat may not take as many fish as your hot J Plug or Spoon, but it's the total presentation. The big flasher creates a lot of turbulence, and many captains claim that it draws the big Kings into the spread. When the meat rig fires it is generally a Big King. In addition to the flashers turbulence you have the scent thing going for you also. I have only used meat for Salmon 2 Seasons. I had some rigs that came with my boat, and when I got some herring from a guy heading home, my nephew's eyes lit up like a neon sign. He ran it on another boat and got me started. After messing with herring, your hands will smell like the chit house door on a tuna boat.

[BAD TO THE BONE]

i bend the plastic blade out to the side.you want the meat to roll in the water

[Losin Lures]

Make sure it is a roll and not a dart back and forth motion. In my opinion the roll should be the size of a football and go twice a second or maybe a little slower for kings and about once a second for lakers. Can't remember where I picked that up (somewhere on the net) but it works for me.

[Yooperdad]

That's what I was looking for. Thanks for the info.

I suspect you have to apply a little heat to bend the plastic, or does it bend with force?

[BAD TO THE BONE]

bends easy,careful not to crack it,doesnt take a lot of bend to make it roll nice,youll see the differance,good luck

[Losin Lures]

Make sure it is a roll and not a dart back and forth motion. In my opinion the roll should be the size of a football and go twice a second or maybe a little slower for kings and about once a second for lakers. Can't remember where I picked that up (somewhere on the net) but it works for me.

Dough...Softball not Football...The roll should be the size of a softball. Sheesh. I swear this winter is fryin' my brain.

[Yooperdad]

Hey, know what you mean! It was exciting yesterday to see open water here in Marquette:) Even white caps! We have started to lose deer in the yards now and we need the winter to break ASAP or a bunch are going to go in the next few weeks.

Since no one mentioned applying heat to bend the heads, I then assume it's not required. Just do it slowly and carefully when on the water to observe the roll.

Thanks again.

[Priority1]

hi everyone,this is my set up for my meat rigs,i use the plastic common meathead riggs different colors and sizes,one thing i keep the same is this,i use a peice of oxygen tubing or iv tubing that hosiptals use for paient care,some iv tubing is larger in diameter so go with the oxygen if ya can. slide meathead on your line cut a peice of oxygen tubing 1 3/4" long slide it on your line and tie on your trebble hook.this does three things gets rid of the tooth picks and protects the line from the fishes teeth and is the right lenght for most cut bait. i also put a dab of two part epoxy at the base of the trebble hook in between where all three hooks meet this prevents the line from entering the gap and being cut off, i do this to all my trebble hooks, hope this helps, PLAY HARD--FISH HARDER

BBBBBBBAD, I picked up 3 ft of the tubing 11 cents a foot. I tied up a meat head rig with a single 4/0 hook. The tubing is 1/8 ID and 3/16 OD. It worked slicker than snot on a door knob. I forced the tube over the eye of the hook to protect the snell also. I think I'm going to utilize this on all my rigs, including flies and squid. I like the way the hook is positioned. I think I will run a small glow squid 6 or 8 inches up from the meat head. I noticed before, a lot of the Salty Fishermen use shrink tubing on some of their ocean rigs. Thanks for the tip.

[BAD TO THE BONE]

frank i dont use the tubing on my fly rigs the beads seem to protect the leader just fine,but i do put a dab of two part apoxy in the gap on the bottem of the trebble hooks, the tip was me pleasure its nice to share and it seems everyone here does just that,tight lines

[slipknot]

Good tip. Where are you guys getting the tubing?

[BAD TO THE BONE]

my sister is a nurse so it was a no brainer for me,any hospital supply store should have it slipknot.

[Priority1]

I found the 1/8 ID 3/16 OD tubing in a hardware. It only cost 11 cents a foot.

[slipknot]

Thanks guys.