I was looking through my Dads tackle box to kill some time in between that storm a few weeks ago just to kill time, and I found a bunch of Fast trac minnows! Score!!!!!!! They are all all brand new except for some that have some serious yellowtail chew marks. My dad strictly dives now so he said its OK to take them. I changed the hooks all to regular hooks since Ill be releasing all the fish I catch on them except halibut. My questions are: Do you fish them with all three hooks on or do you take some off? Do you have diferent hook sizes like a larger hook on the end of it? Do you use scents on them? Do you need to give them a fast retreive to make them kick?
Thanks
Tommy

Tommy,
I'd suggest changing out the hooks to VMC trebles. The stock hooks that come on the baits rust, and bend out really easily. One guy I talked to said he uses the stock hooks for trolling in baja for dorado, tuna, yellowtail etc. because he thinks other hooks mess up the action. I haven't seen a difference, and haven't caught any less fish after the VMC upgrade. These hooks are tough, you're not gonna bend em out. I've straightened the stock hooks on white seabass, I couldn't imagine yellowtail or tuna. No real need for scent, it won't stay on the bait very well since it's a hard plastic bait, but if you've got confidence in the scent, go for it. Can't hurt. The good thing about fastracs is you wind em really slow and they'll still kick. The yo zuris and even rapalas need to be cranked a little bit faster to get the right action, but the fastrac can be run really slowly and still kick, which is probably the main reason it's so effective. Good luck, let us know how you do on em.
-Brian

I've experimented quite a bit with different hooks and how many. If you're going to take any off I'd recommend the front hook. Most of the fish I've gotten have been on the middle or tail hook. When I first started fishing them I took the center hook off thinking they'd either strike the head or tail but I think I missed a few fish because of it.

I searched high and low for the perfect hook and found it but it's not available in the U.S. (VMC 9651 PS). It is available in Bronze and Nickel but those will rust - Perma Steel is the way to go. The next best hook is the VMC 9623 PS. They can be special ordered through Stamina Quality Components (http://www.staminainc.com/). Size 4 works best on the smaller fast trac and size 2 for the large one.

In my VMC catalog they show a VMC 9655 PS hook which looks alot like the 9651 but is 2X strong. I haven't tried these yet but I have found that the thicker trebles (more than 1X strong) impede the action of minnow baits.

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You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.