Load the well with a day’s worth of live baits

Everyone appreciates a packed livewell, but minding the details of kingfish bait collection can advance your trip’s success.

Here’s a roundup of important points to consider:

• If you remove an entire Sabiki rig from its package prior to securing both ends, you’ll have a mess on your hands. Make life easy by tying your line to the rig, affixing the weight to the swivel clip first and then pulling each Sabiki segment off the packaging card one at a time.

• In a hurry, it’s easy to reel the upper-end of a Sabiki rig into the eye of your rod tip. To avoid tangles and eye damage, add a plastic bead to your line before tying to the Sabiki.

• Fresh, lively baits perform best and look the most attractive to predators, so use a de-hooker to minimize touching — and drop each bait off the Sabiki rig directly into the livewell.

• Keep watch for surface “raining” — baitfish rising to the surface. Sling Sabiki rigs around the school’s perimeter, but don’t bomb the school or they’ll sound.

• Multiple Sabkis will maximize the bait effort, but watch your spacing and give everyone room to operate because hooked baits tend to tangle adjacent lines.

• When sharks detect your bait gathering, they’ll be naturally drawn to the feeding opportunity. If bite-offs persist, find another bait spot or you’ll end up burning rigs — and valuable daylight.