I saw a buddy catch several in the 4 - 5 lbs range on it last week on Eufaula and several over 3 lbs.
He has a pretty ingenious way of rigging the bait. He starts with a 1½-inch cotter pin and measures it so that it will barely protrude from the urchin. He then bends the legs of the cotter pin into a "T" shape and trims them to the desired length. Next, he slides a nail weight onto the shaft of the cotter pin, followed by a piece of heat shrink tubing. The heat shrink is positioned down to the T-shaped section, just above the looped end of the cotter pin, and then shrunk with a heat gun. Afterward, he trims the heat shrink just above the loop. The rig is then pushed through the urchin bait so that the covered loop protrudes slightly from the outside of the bait. From there, you can use whatever hook you prefer—a frog hook, a 3- or 4-hook treble, a circle hook, etc. Simply run the hook through the heat-shrink-covered loop while catching a small amount of urchin material with the hook point. This secures the bait well while allowing you to change hook styles as needed.
It worked like a champ.
He said this guy had a similar idea but the cotter pin is more robust.
"Some men are mere hunters; others are turkey hunters."
