About
Tournament Trophy™ Bait Rigs are made for fishing bait chunks, crabs, clams and worms plus livelining baitfish and live eels. They can be used in both fresh and saltwater, from boats, shoreline, surf, jetties, piers and docks. Use these rigs when you are targeting large Striped Bass and especially for Black Drum.

This rig allows a fish to "take" your bait without feeling the pressure of the weight. Available with Octopus, Baitholder and Circle hooks. It is an ideal rig to use with circle hooks since they require the fish to turn and move away in order to set themselves in the fish's lip or jaw (refer to Circle Hooks "Centripetal Acceleration" for more information).

Tournament Trophy™ Bait Rigs are designed and fabricated specifically to allow live baits to swim naturally or your cut bait to float freely. The rig will easily pivot at the strike of a fish and permit you to apply pressure from any direction without failing. This is especially important with large Striped Bass and Black Drum.

Rigs are made with 60 or 80 pound test clear MomoiŽ Hi-Catch Monofilament Line with the hook of your choice attached by a traditional full Snell knot for assured strength and direct pull. The terminal end is designed for maximum shock, pull, chafing protection and quick changeover by a unique fabrication of components. These include a Spring Loop Line Protector through one eye of the black 150 pound test SS Trophy™ Barrel Swivel.

Set of Four, Includes... Each set of four (4) rigs includes two (2) Heavy Duty (Braid Proof) Fish Finder slides with 150 Lb test DuoLock snaps, plastic beads (black or red) which allow the Fish Finder to slide freely. You place the Fish Finder on your main line or better yet on the optional Shock Leader. Each rig is coiled and packed in a heavy duty (4mm) resealable clear plastic pouch.

All StriperSurf Bait Rigs conform to International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) international angling rules (PDF) for both saltwater and freshwater fishing. Join the IGFA.

Tournament Trophy™ Shock Leader
The optional Shock Leader, is a 25 yard (75 foot) coil of clear 80 or 60 pound test MomoiŽ Hi-Catch monofilament with a pre-attached, 100 pound test, stainless steel, black, Coastlock Snap and welded ring Ball Bearing Swivel. You will NOT lose a rig or a fish when you use this system. 25 yards of MomoiŽ Hi-Catch monofilament is more than you need.

The basic formula to determine the length of your shock leader is Length of Rod X 1.5 plus five (5) turns around the spool of your reel. If your rod is 10 feet long, the leader would be 15 feet plus the five turns around the spool. Ideally the maximum length of a shock leader AND your bait rig/lure. If your main line is 20 pound test or above the total length permissable according to IGFA Rules (PopUp Diagram) is 30 feet. For line pound tests below 20 pound the total is 20 feet. The Albright, Surgeon's or double Uni-Knot should be used to join the Shock Leader to your main line.

   Weights and Sinkers: Use the correct type of weight for your fishing situation and the type of bait you are using. Use an Egg sinker or Trolling ("Drift") sinker for Livelining ("Down Lining") from a boat. Please refer to the Terminal Tackle page.

Also Available: Package of 6 Heavy Duty Fish Finders
Heavy Duty (Braid Proof) Fish Finders with 150 Lb Test DuoLock Snap	Fish Finders Heavy Duty vs Standard Nylon
Package of 6 Heavy Duty Fish Finders with 150 Lb DuoLock Snaps and 12 Slide Beads - $5.99

Recommended Hook Types and Sizes
The type and size of the hook is dependent on the type of fishing and the species of fish you will be targeting.
Circle hooks perform best when fishing from a boat. They also work well from a fixed position such as the surf or a jetty but their use does not mean you can ignore your rod and assume the circle hook will "automatically hook" a fish. Circle hook size 7/0 is ideal for live eels.
Octopus and Baitholder hooks: The choice between these "J" type hooks is dependent on your bait. Baitholders are ideal for small baits such as clams, crabs, squid and worms. Octopus hooks are good for large chunks and live baitfish, including eels. Use sizes 6/0 or 7/0 for live eels.
Hook Plating (Color): All hooks have NS Black plating. Occasionally, we may supply hooks with Red plating. There is really nothing special about red since it is the first color of the spectrum to disappear underwater. Anything you may read about red hooks is just marketing hype.
Hook Sizes: Most people use smaller hooks than they should. The following are the basic recommended sizes for Striped Bass, Drum and Bluefish.

Saltwater or Freshwater Hook Type	Size	Saltwater Hook Type	Size	Freshwater Hook Type	Size
Baitholder	5/0	Circle (Boat)	8/0	Circle (Boat)	6/0 or 7/0
Octopus	7/0	Circle (Fixed)	7/0	Circle (Fixed)	6/0