In the December 2006 issue of In-Fisherman, Editor In Chief Doug Stange covers quick-strike rigging for pike. Here are instructions for making your own quick-strike rig.

To make your own quick-strike rigs, start by assembling the necessary components. For trebles, Stange opts for the Lazer Sharp 374 by Eagle Claw. He keeps sizes #8, #6, and #4 on hand. The L384 has a beaked (curved) point, which helps hold the hook on baits and hooks pike well. Mustad offers the V.B. Instant Strike Hook by Partridge. The V.B. Partridge is a double-tined hook, with the smaller tine used for hooking bait while the bigger tine remains exposed. VMC offers the Double Ryder hook with a small and large tine set off at 90 degrees.

The standard wire for quick-strike rigging is 18- to 27-pound test Sevenstrand uncoated stranded. Another option is American Fishing Wire's Surfstrand, also a seven-stranded uncoated wire. They also produce a more flexible Surfstrand Micro Ultra (19 strands) and an even more flexible Micro Supreme (49 strands), which is knottable.

About the only drawback to using thin stranded wire is that it tends to curl after icing a fish or two or three. Curled leader material is more visible to fish and doesn't hold baits as cleanly, so have some replacement rigs to tie on as needed.

Single-strand wire like Sevenstrand Magnum is another option. The 32-pound test has the same diameter as 27-pound Sevenstrand stranded wire. Although single-strand wire is stiffer than stranded wire, wire testing under about 20 pounds is supple because it's thin. Single-strand wire tends to bend and curl after a pike's caught, so carry extra rigs. The life of a single-strand rig can be extended by removing kinks and bends with a wire-straightening tool, like the one available from DuBro.

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