Greenback Herring BTD 4-fly Vegan Rig
The popularization of meat rigs for trolling for trophy sized Great Lakes trout and salmon has skyrocketed over the previous decade. Mainstream manufacturers have developed andoffered a series of advanced Howie-style mylar or tinsel-based teaser flies located in close proximity to the trailing baithead.of a meat rig. As effective as meat rigs have been for aggressive and non-aggressive fish, some anglers still favor non-bait trolling preferences for their entire trolling repetoire. Fundamentally, this is where vegan rigs (e.g. House of Herring rigs in Alaska) have the advantage. Vegan rigs are trolling systems which consist of multiple teaser flies connected to a larger-sized trailer fly in similar color combinations with an absence of bait and contains a double single octopus hook or tournament single-treble hook stinger system. Previous vegan rigs offered an improper bead stopping system consisting of waterlogged toothpicks or barrel swivels on the main flurocarbon leader. The latest version from Musky Mike Flies solves that dilemma. These traditional systems poses three problems: (1) teaser flies slide into each other, (2) crimps weaken fluro leader and (3) and ineffective swimming performance. Musky Mike Flies Vegan Rig systems consist of a 6-turn sliding nail knot of 80-pound Dacron behind the 6mm stopping bead. Thus, this allows for easy manipulation of the teaser flies. Similar to the BLUEBACK HERRING BTD Vegan Rig system, THE GREENBACK HERRING BTD VEGAN RIG is offered in four length formulas for the 3 teaser flies and larger trailer fly. The four length formulas are offered as follows: 3-3-4-6", 3-4-4-7", 3-4-6-8", and 3-4-6-10". The 3-4-6-10" was designed specifically for trophy lake trout. All vegan rig systems are tied onto a 50-inch 60-pound Seaguar flurocarbon leader, thus consisting of a double #4/0 Gamakatsu octopus hook. The 3-4-6-10" comes with 54-inch 60-pound flurocarbon leader. A tournament single-treble hook system is also available. The 60-pound flurocarbon leader allows for superb swimming performance compared to lighter leaders because Musky Mike Flies greenback herring BTD patterns contain more material than traditional Howie-style flies. This allows for easier turnover when attached with flashers. Overall this is the most advanced level of artistry and realism ever observed in a Vegan Rig trolling system. This is the system required for a trophy 30-plus pound Great Lakes or 50-plus pound ocean Chinook!!
TROLLING RECOMMENDATIONS
Musky Mike Flies vegan rigs can be presented with multiple trolling techniques. Downriggers, leadcore and copper wire via planer boards, and weighted divers are all effective. Given that Musky Mike Flies vegan rigs contain more material than traditional Howie-style flies, additional power is needed to result in best swimming performance possible. Larger planer boards such as Church Tackle's TX44 or Offshore Pro Magnum are best choices with 11-inch paddle and 12-inch double-fin fish blade flashers. The 10-inch double-fin fish blade flashers suffice with standard sized planer boards.
FLASHER RECOMMENDATIONS
To maximize the performance of Musky Mike Flies Vegan Rigs, it is best recommened to use larger flashers compared to standard 6-inch Coho Dodgers/Flashers and 8-inch flashers. Both 10- and 12-inch double-fin fish blade and 11-inch padde-style flashers are excellent choices. Effective examples of these style of flashers are from companies such as Screaming Drags Tackle, Pro King, Spin Doctor, and Gator Tackle. Attach 11-inch paddle and 12-inch double-fin fish blade flashers to Church Tackle TX44 or Offshore Pro Magnum planer boards for best results.