Rigging Three Hooks, One line

[DailyAngler]

Im very grateful to the members of this site who like to share techniques (you know who you are) I have learned a ton from here over the years so thank you. In the spirit of sharing ill add my little bit:

Ever since we could legally use 3 baited hooks/jigs/lures/flies Ive spent a lot of time thinking about, experimenting with, and untangling different rigs. Here is my favorite method. Equally good for ice, vertical jigging, casting, trolling. Forgive my primative illustration.

You need: Angled jig hooks without lead, heavy flouro leader ( I use 17lb.), barrel and snap swivel or clip.

 finished ice rig on the left, size 14 and 10 jig hooks.  Size 6 jig hook on the right.

 size 6 jig hook with snell knot

 diagram, im no artist.

Questions? Feedback? Let me know your method for triple hooks. 

Thank you,
Eric

instagram image url

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P.S. I like to use a barrel swivel between the main line and leader for ice fishing and a double uni knot for casting.  I like 18"-24" between hooks. You will find it can be tricky to deal with but has many advantages in the water.

[TubeDude]

I have fished tandem (2 jig) rigs for years...and have caught countless doubles on white bass, perch and even trout and one time on small walleye.  But I have never felt the need to fish 3 hooks/lures on one line.  Enough potential problems with just two.

The one biggie downer for fishing multiple hook rigs under the ice is the high probability of snagging the loose hook on the ice when bringing in a fish.  That either results in a breakoff or a fish pulling free.  But sometimes it takes an extra offering...of the same or different size/color...to attract the fish.

[RockyRaab2]

I once caught 11 crappie on six consecutive casts at Willard using a double jig rig - a feat I will never likely repeat.

If you look up a "sabiki rig" you will learn that saltwater guys use these multi-lure rigs to catch baitfish. I found a sabiki rig on a Texas jetty and cut it into two three-lure sections. At Pineview I dropped it down and was successful in catching crappie on it, but never all three at once.

I use a drop shot rig a lot, and have been known to add a wet fly, streamer fly, or nymph above the usual hook and plastic. As TD says, sometimes a different shape, color, or size in addition to your main offering can trigger strikes. I have also used a jig and trailer as the weight on a drop shot instead of just an inert lead chunk. The key to help with tangling is to use progressively lighter lures as you go up the line, heaviest on the bottom. But even that doesn't always stop tangling during your cast - wind is the culprit.

[SkunkedAgain]

I'll second Pat's warning about hooks catching on the bottom of the ice hole as your landing fish... Had it happen twice already this year, so I've removed most of my second hooks for that reason... however, I'm headed to the gorge this weekend and rigged some poles last night and I guess I haven't learned that lesson yet, because several had two hooks on them... (My Kokanee rig, which doesn't follows Rocky's recommendation to put the heavy lure on bottom.. I have a dodger with 2 small gizillas below.) Oh well I'll probably have to change that one, but will give it a try anyway... Later Jeff

[RockyRaab2]

My recommendation about heaviest lure placement is mostly for casting, not ice. However, I have also observed that the popular rig of a spoon with a light dropper does tangle a lot when dropped down through a hole. But the worst thing about that rig is that if a fish "up strikes" the light dangling lure, you will never detect it because the weight of the spoon masks the strike. Not all strikes pull down but if your heavy lure is at the bottom, you can feel a strike either up or down.

[SkunkedAgain]

My recommendation about heaviest lure placement is mostly for casting, not ice. However, I have also observed that the popular rig of a spoon with a light dropper does tangle a lot when dropped down through a hole. But the worst thing about that rig is that if a fish "up strikes" the light dangling lure, you will never detect it because the weight of the spoon masks the strike. Not all strikes pull down but if your heavy lure is at the bottom, you can feel a strike either up or down.

Good point, maybe I need to rethink my hook placement...  J

[DailyAngler]

Thanks guys for the robust discussion. Nice double eye tubedude. I guess im super excited by catching doubles, triple ought to be pretty fun... I have got double with: perch, bluegill, crappie, bullhead, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout.  You are right about the top hook catching ice potential, out of the couple hundred fish ive caught this ice season ive only lost 2 or 3 at the hole hooking the edge. Well worth the extra offerings to me.  Ive also found if you lift straight up in the air in one smooth motion when the fish is near the hole it avoids catching the edge (harder to acheive with big trout) To avoid tangling always have the heaviest bait on the end. This is why I use bare hooks in line. The jig hooks get great action this way and always point up. You can also feel the bite really well on the in line hooks.

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Also you can almost completely avoid breaking off your line by using heavy 17lb flouro leader which ties well and helps small ice jigs sink faster.  For casting and jigging I use braid for main line and use a double-uni knot to attach to leader. This setup will flip rocks over and if it does break your only out a couple cheap jig hooks and leader on top of the lure or jig you would lose anyway.

[TubeDude]

I thought I remembered having put together a brief writeup on fishing tandem rigs...with some diagrams and all that.  Here 'tis.  Shouldn't take too much creativity to add another hook or lure.