A rigging needle and a rubber band or a short trace of floss are all it takes to make live bait more effective. Use the needle to thread the rubber band or floss through the eye socket of goggle-eyes, small tuna or bonito, or through the nasal cartilage of tinker mackerel, threadfin herring or other small baitfish. Pass the hook point through one end of the loop then girth-hitch the second loop to the bend of the hook. This minimizes trauma to the baitfish, allows it to swim more freely, and leaves the hook exposed — in front of the bait instead of in it — for better hookups.
