I went out last weekend targeting them and 3 out of the 4 I caught had the hook come out the gills. Wondering if shortening the leader would fix that

Yes, the hook link should be around 4 inches to prevent them from expelling the hook out their gill plate. I have a rig I tie that includes a hair rig that I attach to a swivel. It doesn't prevent catching me from carp. Buffalo don't fight right when they get gill hooked. I'll see if I can post a pic.

Kabo,

That an interesting setup you got there, I have never had one spit the hook as you guys mention here, but will darn sure be aware of it. I don't want to mess up the gills and jack the fish up. Just what sort of bait you guys using, if you don't mind me asking?

I use a small offset hook and like to use the fish guts if I keep anything and clean up for lunch, I keep all that for later that night. I have always had really good luck with the fish entrails if I am spelling that right. The smaller offset hook is easy to get out as well. Really like a tank in the water. Have not fished for them in way to long of a time... Going to have to make time for that.

With no fish to clean, guess I will mix up some of the strawberry dough bait, I have used that also. The other thing they like to eat are the smaller crawfish. I have to seine them from creeks to get them but the smaller ones are really light brown in color, almost see through them. Those Buffalo love them and they stay on the hook really well too.

I been wanting to see if I could make a trap that would get them instead of me seine them, it's really hard and hairy stuff, best if I can get someone suckered into helping, usually once doing that I get a really short answer the next time. Lol

You get more chiggers on you than you can ever imagine, you get through you need to get in the lake with a bar of soap to help get the bigger portions off of you, sooner the better lol. Learned that the hard way as a kid. It's a lot of fun getting them though once you get past the chiggers lol...I have had almost a 5 gallon bucket of them many times and not do lots of seining to get them, still more chiggers than crawfish lol.

Soap in the lake and a piece of ice on each of the ones that anchor in you, the ice seems to get rid of them or whatever. But chiggers are some bad little monsters and worst thing of all, their to small to catch and use for bait. If you could believe you me, they would be bait lol.

Really curious as to what you guys use for bait though, if it's not some really good bait that is a secret, heck if so, I get that and don't bother telling me here. There are just some things that are secret treasures...

I got to ask also about what that is between the egg sinker and the hook? Looks like something from copper. That a rattle maybe, as mentioned that is a very interesting setup man..

Not a rattle...just something I had that was supposed to represent a swivel for the pic.I always use boiled deer corn on the hair and usually pack bait made from quick oats and fruit loops. I save the liquor from the boiled corn to mash-up the pack bait. The rig I tie is a single strand of 20# mono, while my main line is 40# braid, same as the hair. If I get broke off, it's always the mono.

I got it now. Thanks. I also like to have a piece of mono that will break off.
I rig my swivel on the braid, as to hopefully keep the main line from getting twisted.

I will some times tie my sinker on with a lighter weight mono so it will break off if the sinker gets snagged. This saves the leader and hook. Never seen this hair setup you have, I like the way this looks. I just like to see and share things that have been used and adapted to help land the fish.

When I go to the Gulf fishing, we have to use such a big sinker to get the even bigger live bait down, the sinker becomes your worse enemy when you get the big fish on... The fish has a much better chance throwing the hook, as the sinker gets to slinging and thrashing while the fish is trying to spit the hook. A guide told me that some of the trophy fish that have been caught before know exactly how to use the weight of the sinker and sling it to spit the hook.

There was a flats fishing guide that would always tell me where to get the live bait, and he was the one that told me why I was having such trouble getting the bigger fish in the boat and he told me if you can rig up anything that once you hook up, to allow the fish to throw the sinker really easy once the fight begins... I starting rigging sinkers with 6 pound mono I use when crappie fishing, this hard thrashing fish and those fish that like to run you through the brush and rocks break the sinker off easy and it does help me get some of the fish in the boat.

I second Kabobooms opinion on the short hair rig. Its hard for me to tell if he is using an inline weight or method feeder weight or not. but that is what your guide Austin uses and its the only way I have ever fished and it works phenominally! Austin was probably using around a 3 ounce inline weight or 3 ounce inline method feeder weight to pack the bait on and about a 4 and a half inch hair rig or between 4-5 inches on the hair rig. Back in the day when I was an active carp and buffman this is exactly what I always used and even up to 5 inches when I first started out,. and out of the about 500 or so carp and buff my son and I CPR'd every single one of them were hooked perfectly on the lip. Hooking deep or out the gill has never happened. This is the reason we choose this fish friendly euro- style since we wanted to capture photo and realease them in great health and it is incredibly productive for both numbers of captures and monster pb's! Good luck and hope this helps!!

I usually put some (golf ball size) pack bait around the egg sinker. Don't need to cast past where I chum off the back of the boat in the marina so I just flick it out. The idea of the bottom weight is to keep the fish from vacuuming the bait thru its gills. Seems to work...mostly lip hooks.

Yes exactly you are using the same principles! Small weights like an ounce or so would do the trick like you say. I mainly used a heavy weight for where I needed long casting distance and large bodies of water that had waves or a river current that a large weight would keep my pack bait where I throw it.

I go ahead and cut the rig and pull the rig out thru the gills to minimize harming the fish and just re tie a new rig . Maybe you do this already but it may help some .

I use range cubes as bait and never have that problem. Here is how I rig them and a video catching them.

Shortening the rig will definitely help! Buffalo feed differently than Carp and rather than expel debris back out of their mouths they expel debris out of their gills, which causes this phenomenon. The rigs I use are almost always 6" or less to both keep the hookbait closer to the method feeder and help prevent blowouts. When the fish are heavily on the feed they'll still blow them out, and when this happens you can cut the rig like Jesse suggested or you can use your hookbait to cover the hookpoint and feed the rig back through the Buffalo's mouth.