Rigging a Slug-go

[northsea]

Hi there just tried out these SLUG-GO lures and absolutely love them.

What an action they have when you dangle it about in the air!

However, I'm having trouble trying to get it to swim nicely in the water.

I'm not using any weights etc with it and perhaps that could help.

It would sure help with the casting side of things too I'm sure.

Does any have any tips on best way to rig the slug-go?

Do you have a favourite method to impart some life into these baits?

Any tips whatsoever greatly appreciated indeed!

Chris

[BobP]

Sluggos, Zoom Super Flukes, and the various other "stick baits" usually catch more fish when "deadsticked", or cast out and allowed to sink on a semi-slack line. I especially like the Super Fluke in clear water due to its fish-like profile, while the Yamamoto Senko is notable for its alluring shimmy as it sinks. Both are heavier and cast farther than the Sluggo, and they also sink faster. As for rigging any stick bait, I like a Gamakatsu 3/0 to 5/0 EWG worm hook, depending on the length of the bait. The 3/0 will work fine on a standard Sluggo. If you want a faster sink, the Gamakatsu EWG Superline hooks are heavier wire and weigh a little more than the standard EWG's. If you want to increase the action, you should also try rigging them "wacky style" with a 1/0 or 2/0 octopus hook inserted through the middle of the bait, just as you might hook a real nightcrawler worm. That rigging gives much more action when the bait is lightly twitched, and it "moves more water" and gets noticed faster by bass... but it is less snag resistant with the hook point exposed.

[RayburnGuy]

Here's a little tip about rigging Sluggo's that I came up with. I got tired of losing fish for the lack of a good hookset. When you rig a Sluggo the traditional way the hook passes through the lure twice. Just like rigging a Texas rigged worm. When you set the hook you get a huge wad of plastic balled up in the bend of the hook. To solve this problem I took a 90 degree bend heavy jig hook and added one of those wire corkscrew bait keeper thingies to the eye of the jig hook. I threaded the head of the sluggo onto it and then hooked the sluggo as you normally would. Rigging it this way allowed the bait keeper to pull out of the head upon hook set and this kept so much plastic from balling up in the bend of the hook. I've tried the offset hooks with the bait keeper already attached that you can buy and they didn't work as well as the 90 offset jig hook. The length of the offset in the 90 degree jig hook is perfect for a sluggo. Give it a try.

[BobP]

An alternative "trick" related to RayburnGuy's: I apply oil based fish attractant on stickbaits before I put them on the hook. My favorite is Kickn' Bass which has a very strong garlic, craw, or anise scent and a pure fish oil base. It lubricates the plastic and when I set the hook on a bass, the plastic almost always slides up over the hook eye and onto the line, out of the way. Stickbaits like Sluggos have lots of plastic that can ball up when you set the hook, preventing a good hold on the fish. Using an oil based attractant has multiple "pluses" - prevents ball-up, attracts fish, and saves the bait from getting torn up so quickly.