# Rigging Gulp Shrimps weedless



## KhoisanX (Aug 27, 2009)

G'day folks,
Looking for some views and ideas from those experienced in rigging soft plastics snagless/weedless.

I've read about the techniques as they are used by bass anglers in particular, and I guess those who spend a lot of time Breamin' in the snags with SP's will also have this technique down.

Where this is headed is I'd like to try to fish Gulp 3" Shrimps (or other prawn patterns) in snaggy/reefy coral territory.
I had the pleasure of catching many Golden Trevally up to 5kg in late April this year in similar terrain. They absolutely loved the Gulp shrimps - however, I only had regular 1/4 oz TT jigheads and was wading on very snaggy reef. One in five shots got snagged and I lost a rig....very frustrating and time consuming to re-rig.

I'm working on a weighted weedless presentation - need to have around 1/4 oz weight or 7g if you're metricated (fishing 10lb spinning gear)
Then I also want to be able to use a weightless presentation where the SP can suspend more in the current, so probably Carolina rigged, or a dropper system a little way up from a sinker to cast the setup; kinda like drop-shotting but with a snoot.
This will give me two snag free options to use as necessary.

One concern I have is the Gulp Shrimps are quite "hard", so I'm worried that the hook point will struggle to come through and pin a fish on the strike.

Appreciate any insights from those with some experience in this area. Will be back there in April 2012 

Cheers

Hank


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## blueyak (Jan 20, 2009)

KhoisanX said:


> Where this is headed is I'd like to try to fish Gulp 3" Shrimps (or other prawn patterns) in snaggy/reefy coral territory.
> 
> One concern I have is the Gulp Shrimps are quite "hard", so I'm worried that the hook point will struggle to come through and pin a fish on the strike.


There are heaps of options and i'm sure you will get some varied responses. Here are my suggestions.

Try some zman shrimps http://www.z-man.com.au/lures.php?id=183 rigged on a worm hook or similar. These are way softer than a gulp and should help with hook sets. 
You can also buy weighted worm hooks.

If you really want to use the gulps try using a lighter jig head. This will let your lure stay in the strike zone longer before snagging up on the bottom. 
Hope this helps.
Stewie.


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## KhoisanX (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks Stewie.
I've been looking at the Z-man products, including the shrimps. No experience with them as yet, but they do look good.

None of the locally available weighted worm hooks are available in 2/0 and 3/0 sizes at 1/4 oz (this is about the lightest I can go to still get reasonable casting distances).
The Gamakatsu EWG weighted starts from 5/0 and 1/8oz and the Superline weighteds at 2/0 and 3/0 only go to 1/8 oz.

The search continues.....


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## imnotoriginal (Jan 13, 2008)

There is a segment on youtube of a bloke rigging them backwards on lightly weighted hooks and fishing them across the top of a weedbed near the surface for bream, you might find watching that interesting. I can't get youtube at work or I'd get the link for you. As already stated there are weighted weedless hooks and I beleive TT are just releasing some called "Snakeheads" which have a heavy weight at the front but it's a weedless rig. Not sure if these might be a little large for your gulps but with the Z-mans they would fit.









Have a look anyway.
Joel


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## KhoisanX (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks Joel, I'll look into this.
I've since found a few variations on this same theme, but all would mean online buying from UK or US vendors.

Cheers

Hank


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

I just got sucked into buying weighted weedless jigheads and am wondering whether I slip them through the plastic the same way I would an unweighted hook?

I have no experience doing either but am just wondering whether the weight will slide through the plastic or whether I need to use the hook as a needle to make a hole and then slip the eye part of the hook through the hole in the plastic I just made. I've looked on youtube but all the ones I saw show unweighted hooks being rigged.


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## simonsrat (Feb 13, 2009)

Some of the barra guys are rigging a worm hook and tying a loop knot with a sinker in the loop knot. No reason why you could not scale this down.










from here - http://www.fishingtownsville.net/2011/04/how-to-rig-atomic-prongs-weedless-for.html

I like the snakeheads. They can be thrown into some pretty snaggy country. I use them with a beetle spin as well, making a really snag resistant spinnerbait.

Barrabundy ..... do you have a photo of your worm hook? Or a brand name I can look up. The one I used had a really slim weight and I forced the plastic over it.

cheers,

S


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

What if the hook already has the weight on the shank, do you slide the plastic up and over it? I tried a very lightly weighted hook this afternoon and had no problem but am wondering whether a heavier hook (thicker lead) will split the plastic.

Anyone know what the go is with those?


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## simonsrat (Feb 13, 2009)

The one I had was very lightly weighted and so could force the plastic over the weight ... no idea if the weight was larger though. Maybe feed the eye through the plastic. Maybe make a guide hole with another hook.

cheers,

S


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

http://www.amazonoutdoors.com.au/Produc ... LL-TERRAIN


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## Land Salmon (8 mo ago)

KhoisanX said:


> G'day folks,
> Looking for some views and ideas from those experienced in rigging soft plastics snagless/weedless.
> 
> I've read about the techniques as they are used by bass anglers in particular, and I guess those who spend a lot of time Breamin' in the snags with SP's will also have this technique down.
> ...


*Get out of the Jighead mindstate, just get the correct size Worm Hooks and get Running Sinker or Split Shot of sufficient weight, saves allot of Money.*


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