Want to know how to use a sabiki rig to catch live bait? A sabiki rig is a fishing rig with small fish skins on multiple hooks in a line. Underwater, the rig looks like a school of tiny baitfish as it is moved up and down in the water. Rigs like this are used rom piers and also from boats off shore as an effective method to catch baitfish. The first step to using your sabiki rig is to remove it from the packaging while avoiding tangles. The trick is before your open your sabiki rig tie your mono or braided line directly to the swivel, attach weight to snap swivel, then while holding your rod, pull the weight and the sabiki rig will come out of the packaging and untangle itself.
One of the best things about using a sabiki rig is that your bait will always be in excellent condition without having to rebait tiny hooks continuously. A sabiki rig is meant to imitate a school of bait fish so you want to work your sabiki rig in different ways depending on the type of bait you are targeting. The most basic motion for working a sabiki rig is the "jerk jerk reel". The "jerk jerk reel" motion is attempting to represent your bait fish. darting forward twice up towards the surface and then getting scared and heading back. This is a realistic motion for a school of small fish as they copy each others movements within the school.
For certain species less motion is better. If you have a baitfish that is coming right up to your berley bucket and eating from it where it is thickest, then the best thing to do with your sabiki rig may be to keep it completely still so that they eat it like the chunks that are floating out of the bag. Additionally, different baitfish swim at different depths relative to your berley. It is best to drop your sabiki to where the bait you want is.
Removing fish efficiently from a Sabiki Rig can save a lot of time and increase their effectiveness at bait. When you have a string full of fish on your sabiki rig, you are going to want to swing the rig up and grab the weight. This will keep your sabiki rig in a straight line. At this point, either you or someone that is helping at the bait tank should use a dehooker right above the live well to drop the bait right into the water without any of its slime being removed on your hands. This slime protects your bait against infection while it is in your live well and for later if you put it into a bait pen.