DIY Rigs You Can Tie Yourself

1. The Chicken Rig (two-hook bottom rig)

The chicken rig is the Caribbean workhorse for bottom fishing — snapper, grunts, triggerfish, small grouper. It's a single leader with a sinker at the bottom and two (sometimes three) hooks on short droppers above it. Simple, cheap, and it catches a box of fish on a slow day.

How to tie it

1. 1Cut ~5 ft of fluorocarbon leader.

   You'll lose some length to the knots.

2. 2Tie the top end to a barrel swivel with a uni knot.

   This swivel connects to your main line via a snap-swivel so you can change rigs quickly.

3. 3Tie two dropper loops along the leader.

   Make each loop 3–4 inches finished. To tie a dropper loop: make a loop about 4× longer than you want it finished, twist the strands at the top of the loop ~5 times keeping a small window open with your thumbs, push the loop through the window, moisten with saliva, pull tight.

4. 4Attach hooks to the droppers.

   Push each dropper loop up through the hook eye from bottom to top, then over the bend of the hook, and pull tight. This locks the hook standing off the leader at a right angle — that's what makes it fish well.

5. 5Tie the bottom end to the sinker.

   Make a simple loop (surgeon's or overhand) at the very bottom and hitch it through the eye of a bank or pyramid sinker. Use a snap so you can swap weight sizes as the current changes.

6. 6Bait and fish.

   Strip bait (squid, bonito, ballyhoo) or whole small baitfish. Drop straight down to the reef; feel the sinker touch, then lift 6–12 inches so the hooks ride just above the structure.

2. The Carolina Rig (sliding-sinker bottom rig)

When you want a bait to sit naturally on the bottom and a fish to pick it up without feeling the sinker immediately, the Carolina rig is the answer. It's the go-to for big snapper, mutton snapper, and any shy bottom feeder. It's also a great surf rig.

1. 1Thread the sinker onto the main line.

   Egg sinker slides on first, then a small bead.

2. 2Tie the main line to a barrel swivel.

   Uni knot. The sinker now slides between rod tip and swivel.

3. 3Tie the leader to the other end of the swivel.

   18–36 inches of fluorocarbon.

4. 4Snel a circle hook to the end of the leader.

   The snell knot pulls the hook in line with the leader — the right alignment for a circle hook to corner-mouth a fish.

5. 5Bait with live or cut bait.

   Live pinfish, pilchard, or a strip of squid/bonito. Cast, let it sink, put the rod in the holder, and wait. Circle hooks set themselves — do NOT strike, just wind down and lift.

3. The Dropper-Loop Patang Rig (handline bottom rig)

The patang rig is the traditional handline bottom rig used across the Caribbean — Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, the Windwards. It uses dropper loops on a long handline leader so you can fish two hooks off a hand spool with no rod at all. It's the rig most depot snapper and redfish come from.

1. 1Spool 200–600 ft of 80–150 lb mono onto your hand spool.

   Length to your fishing depth plus a margin. Mark every 50 ft with a tag so you know your depth.

2. 2Tie a barrel swivel to the end of the main line.

   Uni knot.

3. 3Tie a 6–10 ft leader to the swivel.

   Slightly lighter mono so if you snag the bottom you lose the leader, not the whole line.

4. 4Tie two dropper loops 18 inches apart, low end of the leader.

   Same dropper loop technique as the chicken rig.

5. 5Attach 3/0–5/0 circle hooks to the droppers.

   Loop through the eye, over the bend, pull tight.

6. 6Tie a snap loop at the very bottom and clip on a bank sinker.

   8–24 oz depending on current. You will change this several times a day.

7. 7Drop, feel the sinker touch, lift 6 inches, and wait for the taps.

   Wrap the line around a wooden batten to haul — never your bare hand. A big snapper will run.

4. The Kingfish Wire-Trace Trolling Rig

Kingfish and carite (Spanish mackerel) have teeth that slice through monofilament like thread. If you troll for them without a wire trace, you lose the fish and the lure. This is the rig behind every T&T Kingfish Tournament winner.

1. 1Tie main line to a barrel swivel.

   Uni knot.

2. 2Tie 3–4 ft of 60–80 lb mono shock leader to the swivel.

   Absorbs the head-shake shock of a big kingfish.

3. 3Attach the wire trace to the mono with a haywire twist.

   If using multi-strand wire, use a copper crimp sleeve instead. Single-strand uses a haywire twist: 5 tight wraps then barrel-roll the tag end until it snaps off cleanly — never leave a sharp tag end.

4. 4Rig the hook(s).

   For dead-bait trolling (ballyhoo or strip bait), use a tandem treble stinger: front hook just ahead of the bait, stinger treble near the tail. For live-bait slow-trolling, snell a single 7/0 circle hook through the bait's nose.

5. 5Set the lure in the spread.

   Short flat line on one side, long outrigger line on the other. Run one deep with a planer or a drail. Kingfish often hit the deep line first.

6. 6Match speed to the bait.

   5–6 knots for spoons and cedar plugs; 1–2 knots for live baits. If you troll live baits too fast they spin and die.

5. The Live-Bait Slow-Troll Rig

When the trolling bite is off, slow-trolling live bait is the move. A live hardtail, mullet or pilchard pulled at 1–2 knots over a reef edge or a live bottom will draw strikes from kingfish, mahi, tuna and sailfish that would ignore a skirted lure.

1. 1Catch your live bait first.

   Sabiki rig over a bait patch, or a cast net in the shallows. Healthy bait is everything — a dead bait is just cut bait on a long line.

2. 2Hook the bait through the nose.

   For circle hooks, bridle-rig with a rubber band so the hook rides alongside the bait's head. This lets the bait swim naturally and the hook sets in the corner of the fish's mouth.

3. 3Drop the bait back behind the boat.

   Free-spool, let it swim away from the boat, then engage the reel with light drag. Don't troll it tight.

4. 4Creep forward at 1–2 knots.

   Watch the bait — if it's struggling, you're going too fast. Slow down.

5. 5When a fish hits, DO NOT strike.

   Circle hooks set themselves. Let the fish take line for a few seconds, then push the drag lever up slowly and wind. The hook will find the corner of the jaw.

The parts list — buy it once, fish for a season

• Roll of 30–40 lb fluorocarbon (chicken and Carolina rigs)
• Roll of 60–80 lb mono (shock leaders, patang)
• Roll of 100–150 lb mono (handline main)
• Single-strand wire, 60 lb (kingfish traces)
• Pack of barrel swivels, size 2–4
• Pack of snap swivels, size 2–4
• Circle hooks: 3/0, 5/0, 7/0
• Treble hooks: 4/0, 6/0 (for kingfish stingers)
• Bank sinkers: 4, 8, 12, 16 oz (a handful of each)
• Egg sinkers: 2, 4, 6 oz
• Small plastic beads
• Crimps and copper sleeves (if using crimped multi-strand wire)

Next: Hot-Weather Fish Handling →  — once you've caught them, the next few hours decide what they're worth.