Gopher trap

Trap rigs aren’t anything new, but I’m having success with mine and wanna share the design for those who haven’t tried it. Back when I fished the Delaware river for stripers using live herring we sabiki’d near the Trenton Makes bridge, we called it an asshole rig.

Anyway the components are pictured

The main line of the fishing rod has a sliding weight clip (AKA fishfinder rig [more PA lingo]) held on with a good beefy swivel clip for easy attachment/detachment of pre-tied rigs.

Using palomar knots, a barrel swivel goes on one end, the glow bead goes above the J hook. The treble is about 6.5 inches down from the J hook, approximating the length of the biggest frozen squid in a typical $4 box at bass pro; better a bit long than too short (that’s what she said). The leader is 30 to 35 inches. 30 lb line for kayak so I can break off if needed, 40 lb if I’m gonna be on a powerboat. The J hook goes in the pointy end of the squid. One hook of the treble goes in the head, another goes at the end of the body to help hold the head and tentacles on the body a bit so it doesn’t come off from the first nibble. Let the weight hit bottom then reel up 3 or 4 times. This works for whole squid, smelts, kingfish, whatever big baits you’ve got .

Here’s the whole thing.

When fishing this thing, my rod is almost always in a rod holder. That bakes in a bit of a delay between evidence of a bite and when I get cranking. I’m a believer in that delay for big baits. Give a fish a moment to get it in their gullet before the reckoning.

Looks easy to tie with just palomar knots, and less complicated than my sliding trap rig.  Thanks for sharing your setup!