Bait Biters

[Kelper]

I'm wondering of those Scotty Bait biters are worth buying? I've never trolled herring, but want to give it a try this spring as the kings aren't liking my hoochies. I just don't have a clue as to how to rig herring for commercial, as I've always been a flash/hooch fisherman. I'm just a 19' HT operation that fishes within sight of town, so don't worry about me eating up the quota!

Thanks!

[saltyfish]

I don't know about the bait biters. But here is a thread that might lead you down the right path of how to rig a double hook on a plug cut herring:

http://www.salmontrolling.com/viewtopic ... ring#p4043

[yak2you2]

Scotty bait biters work. Here's the secret. Before you thread them, heat them up with a lighter and open them up a little bit. Closed like they are from the factory, they pinch to hard on the herring, kicking out the tail, and making it windmill. This will never fish. Clear work best, long leaders, just let the hook trail free, it should end somewhere just behind the tail. Red label work best, green work, but are harder to get to tow right. Always throw it in, then drag it back to make sure it is towing right, Np wimdmilling or other weird twitches, just a nice easy flip from the Flasher. Salt them down to toughen them up, they'll last longer on the hook, and fish fine. Check them often, and always after a strike. There's a little bone bump behind the eye, of you press and snap this after loading one up, it will help it to tow straighter. This works for me at regular troll speed, and can be fished with all of your other gear like normal.
Good luck!

[JKD]

Good post yak. Lighters work, too - for opening-up the biters a bit, but if you are doing a package of a dozen or two biters all at once I recommend using hot water. I woul dig out a pair of needle-nosed pliers and a couple of dinner-sized plates - one for the fresh ones and the other for the heated ones to cool. Bring a small pot of water almost to a boil and use a pair of hotdog tongs to clamp onto the tail end and dip your bait biters for a 1-2-3 count and work on them one at a time. When you bring the heated biter out, maintain the tong grip on the tail end and get a grip on the other end with your pliers. Carefully open the gap in the biter to your satisfaction. When you are done you have a plate of biters ready to rig for either whole red and green-label, or trimmed blue-label strips (filets). They are sometimes "the ticket" when other herring arrangements don't seem to be working. Good luck.

[Salty]

HOLY TOLEDO, NO WONDER I NEVER COULD CATCH A THING ON BAIT BITERS.

[kjwelder]

I used a bait biter to rig a large needle fish that a coho puked on deck. It caught 6 coho on the same needle fish. No kings though.

[mydona]

Got a great working hoochie that has torn at the bead? I've been known to stretch it over a bait biter and get another weeks worth of use out of it. Plus, got a torn up salt herring? A strip tucked up in the bite will last when the humpies or rockfish wont leave your gear alone. If your really a spend thrift the head of a cut plug mashed up under your skirt can't hurt

[Salty]

People on this thread are revealing my secrets. Oops, I have no secrets. I caught a king yesterday on the top spread on a mother of pearl flasher with a mother of pearl tiny spoon trailer. The only reason this was out was because a guy from Yakutat came down to the boat a few years ago and showed the rig to me.

Those darn Yakutat guys are worth watching.

[yak2you2]

, There are very few secrets really. I know guys who go way out of their way to try. Funny really. They'll hang a bunch of old junk out back when they're tied at the dock, etc. But when the fish are comin' over, the binos are out. Everybody sees what your catching on. Try turning out when you pull, good glasses can see it anyway, don't kid yourself.
The best you can do is share it, and hope it comes back around. That, and keep rotating so your always out front with something they haven't seen that works.
I often look at the mountain of gear I pack around, which is nothing compared to what some dudes have, and I get this feeling, quite often really, that I might have touched the one lure that would drive them mad today. How would you know? Unless you go throw it out. Believe it or not, many times I have dug for what I consider THE ugliest, least likely lure I have, put it out and caught on it. This is good for us, cause it's humbling. Reminds us that we aren't fish, and you just never know what they want really. All we can do is keep trying, and doubling up that knowledge by sharing. I get gas from time to time for sharing on here, or elsewhere. This has just never made any sense to me. I can ' t tell you how many times, good advice has taken me to where they are, or what they're biting on. Well, if your not sharing, and nobody' s sharing with you, your leaving a lot of potential on the table.
The white wonder lures have their time, and then they get hung up too. I had a hootchie that was absolutely devastating. Lots of guys wanted to know what it was, I shared, some caught with it, then it quit, havn't caught on it a while. So my big secret, had I kept it to myself would have only served me for a little while. Now I'm searching for the next one, same as everybody else. Now I need some good tips.
Everybody knows the Sitka guys have all the best secrets, thats why they catch all the fish.

[Kelper]

When I was first getting started with hoochies, I bought a ton of different hoochies. Of course I couldn't catch kings consistently on any of them. A few here and there, but never steadily. One day I was over at Murray Pacific in Ketchikan looking at hoochies, trying to figure out what colors to try next. I noticed that a employee left a slip of paper with a phone-in order on the floor. Must have dropped it. I recognized the boat name, and bought a few packs of that color. I can honestly say I've caught 90% of my kings in the last 4 years on that hoochie color, both sport and hand trolling. Including a 15lb dressed king yesterday. Every year I wonder if it'll stop working, but it just keeps catching for me.

[fishinAK1]

So in the spirt of freedom of information...Whats that hootchi # Kelper?

[Kelper]

sorry man, I ain't giving it up! Starts with an o .. and ends with an r.

[Salty]

Alert! Kelper is abusing this site by leading us on and then withholding crucial information.

Someone who chooses to live in Ketchikan is actually smart enough to figure out a hot hootchie? Must have heard about it in Canada or Wrangell.

[Abundance]

Hey now, Mr. Jordan, that's a little too harsh. Joel was just telling us the interesting story of how he found his good hootchie, and he can't be expected to give up his best secret if he doesn't want to. I have a few little things that I haven't told the general public about myself. And by the way, he doesn't live in Ketchikan. His boat is docked near mine in Craig, as the location on his posts will tell you. Most of us in Craig do our gear shopping in Ketchikan, as gear is cheaper and more diverse there. Also, I am pretty sure that you know some Ketchikan boats that are pretty good at this fishing business.

[Kelper]

Alert! Kelper is abusing this site by leading us on and then withholding crucial information.

Someone who chooses to live in Ketchikan is actually smart enough to figure out a hot hootchie? Must have heard about it in Canada or Wrangell.

I've actually enjoyed some of the guesses I've gotten via private message. It's not a big secret, and I'm open via pm on this site. And most guys give me suggestions of what colors worked better for them in the past. Just tough to put stuff out there on the www considering how stuff pops up on google.