All dressed up
Put on that red dress for smoker kings
Why do restaurants, stores and entertainment establishments invest in bright, colorful street signs? Do such visuals change the meaning of the words? Can they override your steering controls and pull your vehicle into their parking lot?
Nope, they’re just trying to get you to look up. Plain and simple, the vast majority of the world’s advertising slogans, gimmicks and high-powered strategies are merely playing upon human nature – we look at what appears interesting.
Kingfish may not spend much time shopping, dining out or bowling, but it’s a big ocean out there. And while kings won’t hesitate to eat any nearby baitfish, they have to see them first.
Water clarity and low-light conditions are the usual hindrances, but when a large number of tournament boats pack a small area, kings have plenty of options from which to choose. Make sure yours is the one that gets chosen by paying attention to presentation.
The most common accessory to add to your boat is the “duster.” A metal head with a rubber and Mylar skirt slips onto your leader-line, rests near the bait’s head and pulsates in the water when trolled. Rubber-skirted squids do the same thing, only with a larger profile.
With ribbonfish, most start their multiple stinger rigs with a 1/4-ounce jig set under the bait’s chin to keep it running properly. You can liven up the show with a neon-green or orange-skirted jig. Some add a spinner blade above the bait to create eye-catching flash.
Captain Allen Winchel of Stuart, Fla., handles much of the rigging for Team Snickers. He often leads his ribbonfish with a 3-inch flathead-skirted trolling lure. Made for dolphin and tuna trolling, the lure imparts action on the ribbonfish and emits a light bubble trail that further animates the bait.
Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour competitor James Strange of Midland, N.C., has invented a unique bait-enhancing option called the Turbo Rattler (turborattler.com). Measuring about an inch, the hard-plastic rigging accessory is designed with angled fins and filled with rattle beads. Slipping right onto a kingfish leader, the Turbo Rattler creates fish-attracting sounds as it spins at trolling speed.
Fishing aboard Captain Larry Fowler’s Team Chevy boat, Strange’s invention irritates live baits and spurs them into strike-triggering gyrations. Also, this device makes a live bait look like it’s chasing smaller prey – an image that excites larger predators. Additionally, the turbulence and noise emitted by the Turbo Rattler makes dead baits, such as ribbonfish and ballyhoo, appear more lifelike.
Finally, consider basic predatory instinct – go after the weakest target. In nature, red means blood and that means a wounded, vulnerable target worth immediate attention. Kingfish anglers employ this axiom by building their rigs with red hooks. Again, inanimate dead baits benefit most from such deception.
Will simple baits with plain-vanilla rigs catch kingfish? Yes. But when your advertising targets smoker kingfish, dressing up your baits gives you a greater likelihood of closing the sale. It all starts with getting them to look your way.