Stingers..

[piper]

Greetings,

Not sure where this goes so I'll start here..Please move if required. I see you guys mentioning the use of stingers. Are we talking about the additional treble hook setup guys up north use? If so how are you guys attaching your stinger line? Ive seen a few options but most attach to the curl portion of the leading hook using braid or high pound mono.  Would love a pic or 2 if willing.

Thanks

[BentRod]

You don't need them on shad less than 10" and don't always need them on shad 10"+. I only use them in the springtime on BIG bait.

[mwardncsu]

Gotcha - I was talking this weekend about trying it that way. We've been tying them with a separate piece of line to the "bend" of the hook but i realized that you could just run the tag end of the kite-fisher snell long and use that and it may be stronger..... The only advantage of the other way is you can use heavier line - we've been using 30 lb flourocarbon on the stinger and 20 or 25 on the main leader.

[mwardncsu]

The thought on the heavier test is for more shock resistance due to the short distance and lack of room for line to absorb any shock - plus just more abrasion resistance if needed.

Why tie to the shank vs the eye? Not sure...... Just cause....

[BentRod]

I used to tie to the eye of the hook and I didn't have good success with it. I'm not really sure why, but I think tying to the shank gives it more freedom for movement and it's not always pulling on the hook eye either, which may or may not make a difference. It just looks more natural to me on the bait. Plus in my case i always had two knots rubbing up against each other in a small space. One other thing that I was always worried about is when I do get a fish on the stinger line, would it be rubbing on the hook as I fight the fish?

You have to check your stinger line and hook often for any little abrasion or damage. They'll break/bend in a heartbeat if they're not perfect. Most of the big fish we catch will destroy my stingers in a single catch. I use a regular eagle claw red treble size 2 for big shad. You can get them at Walmart - 25 pack for $5. I don't recommend 2x or 4x or anything heavy duty because if you do gut hook or gill a fish, you're gonna do more damage to that fish and the hook won't be as easily passed or dissolved. We actually don't gut hook more fish with stingers than normal in the spring, but we do hook a lot of the outside of their head when they swipe at the bait or we swipe at them with the hookset.

[piper]

Wow..Thanks a ton Tyler. Interesting you go with the belly..,Ive seen where they run the line along the back and hook just after the dorsal..Im gonna try it today Thanks again!