My current casting shark rig.

[Eric H]

replacing tackle never ends, wish one of us could get it at wholesale prices.

I tried at couple places and got turned down. Ill be trying again another time.

[Latimeria]

You can find wholesale prices for slightly lesser gear on eBay in China.   

Seriously though, I use my gear once, maybe twice before pitching it or recycling the hardware.  I know you (Eric H) want to sell top quality stuff, so this would not be it... but for the budget minded angler, this is a good alternative as I had almost most of my success on them.

[TRON]

What's up guys it's troy again... so I got questions .. I got a reel I spooled with 40 big game I tied a shock leader.. the no name knot.. now what? What knot do I use for the 3 way swivel.. and also for Rays no shock leader?

[sasquatch]

Hey Troy, for tieing 80lb to swivels I use a uni knot with three turns. Easy and does the job for me. For 40lb I use five turns.

[TRON]

Thanks for the info adequately!!! You da man!!! Any luck finding the alluminum angle iron lately?

[sasquatch]

Not yet. But I check every day.

[TheCraftsman]

So I have a couple questions regarding yalls shark rigs.

1) Why use a 3way swivel with sinker attached to one?
It seems like it would be prone to tangles. Does it aid in casting distance or just to be able to break off the sinker when snagged?

2)For those that dont use the 3-way,  Do most of you use a sliding style sinker aka fish finder?

Also, I was  doing some research on the infamous shark hunter trying to find clues to where he was fishing and I came across this rig that he used:


Has anyone here tried using this style of rigging?

[sasquatch]

Haven't tried Brandon/shark hunter's rig. It obviously worked for him and I can see some advantages under some conditions. Keeping a bait up over a weed bed would be one. Maybe keep lobsters from chewing s bait on the bottom. I feel like the weight behind the hook, and the way the hook is attached to the mainline may make it prone to snags in a reefy area.

I do get some minor tangles in the three way rig. I like that it allows the bait to move around more and to be taken by the fish more easily with only one line coming from the hook. It also gives s partial hook set as the fish takes the bait and swims off as the Sputnik takes some pressure to release. I fish this rig with reel in gear with reduced drag and tighten the drag after a bite.

Never used a fish finder rig. Not a lot of confidence in the plastic slides and the three way allows the bait and sinker to be close together on the cast and still have a long steel bite leader.

Try a few rigs and see what works for you.

[xjchad]

Finally made a few of my own. Hope to put them to the test soon!

[Fish Jerk]

Hmm, those hooks look familiar Chad. 

[LONGCAST JOE]

Finally made a few of my own. Hope to put them to the test soon!

I can't quite see, what's going on with the wire to 3-way connection point? Do you have the wire double looped and twisted through the swivel's eyelet, like a haywire but you double crimped the tag end instead of twisting?....If your shrink tubing has the diameter try tying a couple where you slide the shrink down all the way over the hook eye and down its shank to the bend or as far as it will go. I think Ron refers to this as stealth. But also on the other end bring the shrink up over the connecting loop and over the swivel eye so that connection will be almost stiff and the leader can't dangle around loosly where it meets the swivel. You can see how this helps alot from preventing the wire leader from twisting up around your shock leader by hanging the tied on finished rig upside down by holding the sinker and letting the hook on wire leaer just hang there. Notice how the hook stands a bit out and away from the main line? Thats good because during a cast that seperation makes it hard for the hook leader to twist back around the main line...