Wats the best way to rig a ballon and a livie for mackeral.

[ranga7]

Hi going to give balloning a try this mack season, got some sort of an idea what to do but would love some advice from those who have done it sucessfully. Wats the best way to attach the balloon and what rig from main line to hooks. Be using yakkas and slimies mostly. Thanks.

ps, have already done a seach and got some good ideas.

[Camhawk88]

2 ways I use-

1 Tie a bimini double and attach a wind on leader (I do this with pretty much every rig anyway). Tie on a set of gangs or single hook if live baiting to a short length of single strand wire- 60lb will do. tie ballon around wind on leader- the albright or whatever knot you use to join to the double, will act as a stopper. You can slide the baloon up to the wire to cast and it should pull down to the knot. Use leader length to set your depth.

2 -Tie a similar rig but about a meter up from the hook put in a 3 way swivel. Tie a lighter piece of mono to the swivel to the depth you are after and tie on baloon.

[tunaticer]

I uni-knot a 2kg dropper to the mainline about 30cm long and tie the balloon to that. If the balloon does not pop on the initial strike the 2kg will soon pop with water resistance. The uni-knot is adjustable for depth and does not interfere with the integrity of your main line. I generally do not run wire and use 80lb Jinkai leader, but have been known to occasionally use 44lb single strand monel wire.
Generally for livies i run a #1 treble stinger mid tail (directly above the anal fin) only just under the skin to hold it there without hurting the livie and a 5/0 Owner 5111 SW hook through the nape of the fish, just behind the head and shallowly hooked. Sometimes substitute the 5111 with a 5179 SSW Inline Circle (http://www.########.com.au/index.cfm?pr=product&product_id=5263) if i am to set the rod down and wait for a hookup. (http://www.########.com.au/index.cfm?pr=product&product_id=5263)

If your livie is a small bonny or large yakka that swim hard it is best to reverse the hooks so the stinger is just behind the head and the main hook midriff back.
(http://www.########.com.au/index.cfm?pr=product&product_id=5263)