When fishing for many species, especially wahoo, eliminating the “short strike” makes the fish box look much better back at the dock. Few things are more disappointing than checking a bait in the spread and discovering you have been pulling around a ballyhoo cleanly snipped off right behind the hook.

Older and larger fish are not stupid; this “short strike” right behind the hook is not an accident. Don’t get me wrong … there have been more wahoo, dolphin, and tuna caught on pin-rigged ballyhoo than all the other offerings combined. However, there are days when a nice “clean” naked ballyhoo swimming like a snake with an almost invisible stinger hook is the only trick that works.

Several brands of seven-strand cable will work just fine, but for this snelled stinger hook, I use American Fishing Wire 175-pound, brown cable. It’s soft and folds into place nicely, and it’s strong when crimped and snelled. In addition to the stinger hook, I like to snell a short piece onto the front end of the ballyhoo to avoid the total bite-off.

Snelling cable is no different from mono or fluoro but with fewer wraps. With the 175-pound cable, I like to make four wraps on the hook, but try it for yourself and use whatever feels good. Here’s how I do it:

1. Thread the end of approximately 18 inches through the inside bite of the hook eye and make a loop about the size of a baseball. Hold the loop between your left thumb and index finger.

2. Make four wraps around the hook shank from the back of the bend going forward.

3. Pull the tag end of the cable with pliers until “snug” on the hook shank, and push the wraps forward toward the eye of the hook before cinching down on the cable.

4. Next, wrap the cable around one hand a couple of times and pull hard on the main line, and the tag ends simultaneously with pliers to cinch down tight on the snell.

5. The main line end of the cable now needs to be cut to the correct length and crimped to the proper diameter to fit around the main hook and for the proper length of the ballyhoo.

For a detailed video of this clean and super strong stinger hook and how to apply it, click “Snelled Cable Stinger Hook.”

Or check out Tim Barefoot’s website, barefootcatsandtackle.com, for fishing tackle and how-to videos for Freshwater or Saltwater.

Additionally, you can view more fishing videos on Tim Barefoot’s YouTube channel.

For smaller freshwater fish try:

Size #6: Target fish include Panfish including Bluegill (Bream), Sunfish, and Crappie. Also great for Trout, Carp, White Perch, and more.

For larger freshwater fish try:

Size 1/0: Target fish include Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Larger Trout, Carp, Walleye, and more.

Barefoot Jig: Target fish include Trout (speckled and gray), Drum (red and black), Flounder, Striped and Hybrid Bass, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye and more!

For larger catfish fish try:

7/0 Catfish Circle Hook: Target fish include Blue, Bullhead, Channel, Flathead, and White Catfish.

SALTWATER TACKLE YOU MAY WANT TO TRY:

7/0 and 11/0 J-Hook Chin Weights: Target fish include Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi or Common Dolphin, King Mackerel, Wahoo, and more. Easy to rig!

4 oz. Crab Decoy Jig: Target fish for Striped Bass, nearshore Drum, Snook, Grouper, west coast bottom fish, and more.

4 oz. Tuna Squid Decoy Jig: From the eastern, western, Alaskan, and gulf coasts, target fish include: Tuna, Dolphin, Wahoo, Fluke, Flounder, Striped Bass, Seabass, Amberjack (east coast), Yellow Tail (west coast), California White Sea Bass (west coast), Grouper, Snapper, Halibut, Ling cod, and all Alaskan bottom fish.

8 oz. - 12 oz. 10/0 Squid Decoy Jig: Catch BIG Grouper, Amberjack, Giant Stripers, and more.