Stinger Hook for EP Baitfish?

[Mike Lewis]

I like fishing with EP-style baitfish flies, but it seems as if I have lost a lot of fish over the last year to short strikes.

I’ve looked online for patterns an tutorials for rigging a stinger hook on these but can’t find any specific advice.

Any ideas on hook type, rigging style (i.e. steel? braid? etc?), and location of the stinger in fly to minimize fouling?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

[Zach Matthews]

Mike –

What I like to do is firmly secure a loop of bite wire into the hook shank when I am first tying the fly.  Compress it tightly so it just sticks out the back in a straight line, maybe half of the way to the tail end of the fly.  Then, if you find you’re getting short strikes, take a heavy gauge, sharp hook like a Gamakatsu Octopus, generally a couple steps down from the main hook size (so like a size 2 stinger for a 1/0 EP fly).

Pass the metal bite wire loop through the eye of the hook, then open it up and slide the back end of the hook back through it.  You’ll make an iron loop-to-loop connection and it ought to be stiff enough that the hook stays put.  If it makes you nervous you can also thread a stiff piece of plastic tubing like for aquarium lines on the wire before you thread it, then jam that over your connection for added security.

Oh and I usually reverse the direction of the stinger so it sticks up rather than down; any hard chomps will push the stinger through the roof plate of their mouths and it won’t wobble out.

Zach

[Mike Lewis]

Thanks Zach. What brand and weight of bit wire do you recommend?

When you say about half way to the tail of the fly, does the fly material “hide” the stinger?

[Zach Matthews]

Yes you want the stinger to still be in the fly body.

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