Florida Sportsman – September 2019

A

mongthefewaxioms
infishingthatalways
hold true: “The less
tackle you put in the
water, the better.” If you are
bream fishing in a heavily fished
residentialpond,you’lldobet-
terwith4-poundtest.Ifyou’re
tournamentkingfishing,the
smallerthewireandthesmaller
thehooks,thebetter.
Whatmakesusthinkbottom
fishingisanydifferent?Why
dropadoubleortriplechicken
rigwithobviousthree-way
swivels,whenit’seasytotiea
rigwithnoswivels?
Usingthe“noswivel”rig
requiresalittlepreplanning.
First,understandthisrigisnot
designedtobattlegiantgrou-
per.Thisisa“grocerygetter”
thatcanstackupvermilions,
mangrovesnapper,seabassand
triggerfish.I'vefoundtherig
worksbestwhenI’mfishingwith
40-poundbraidedmainline,and
I tietherigwithasinglepieceof
80-poundmono.

Youcanhangasmanyhooks

fromtherigasyouwant.Two

orthreedroppersseemtowork

bestforme.

Start by forming a 24-inch

loop in your leader. Start wrap-

ping the two pieces of the loop

where they cross. I wrap the

twopiecesofmonoaround

eachother

eighttimes.

I thentakethe

apexofthe

loopandpush

itthroughthe

overlaps,

leavingfour

wrapson

eachside.

Hooking

theloop

overany-

thingthat

willholdit

tight,pullon

bothendsto

closethewraps.

Simplysnipone

endoftheloopandtie

onyourhook.Asurgeon’sloop

oneachendoftheleadergives

youaplacetoconnectthesnap

swivelandlooponthesinker.

CaptainGeorgeStrateofMiss

MayportandMayportPrincess

fame would make this double

dropper rig and not cut the

loops. He would tie a surgeon’s

loop at the end

ofapieceof

monowithahookontheother

end.Hewouldthenuseasimple

loop-to-loopconnectionto

attachthehooks.Ifcustomers

caught the ever-present Atlan-

tic sharpnose shark, or got hung,

it was a simple matter to cut the

short leader and loop on a new

dropper.Fastandeasy.FS

No Swivel Chicken Rig

EXPERTHOW-TOANDGEAR

OFFSHORE

Husky (and delicious) gray

triggerfish caught on a

dropper, or chicken, rig.

A snap swivel attaches

rig to line, but leaders are

hardware-free.

A quick-tying, stealthy leader solution for all-purpose bottom fishing.

By Rick Ryals

Start by making a 24-inch loop.

Wrap the two strands where they cross.

Push the loop through the overlaps.

Pull to tighten. Add hook.

TYING THE RIG

NEW GEAR

TSUNAMI EVICT SPINNING REELS

As many anglers are learning, there’s not much you can’t

tackle in Florida waters with a few hundred yards of braided

line in the 20-pound-test range. Reel manufacturers such

as Tsunami have picked up on this, introducing products

like the Evict reel series, available in 2000, 3000, 4000

and 5000 size categories starting at $139.99. The

Evicts feature aluminum bodies, machined

aluminum spools, stainless steel main and

pinion gears, and sealed stainless steel main

shafts for durable performance in the salt.

The 4000 model holds north of 250 yards

of 20-pound braid, and weighs in at 12.

ounces. A good option for anything

from jig-fishing for snappers to

spot-casting for big mahi.

Tsunami

Evict 4000

14 SEPTEMBER 2019 http://www.FLORIDASPORTSMAN.com