Most Northeast anglers never see a live ballyhoo, but almost everyone who fishes offshore relies on them. This slim, beak-jawed surface baitfish, a warm-water relative of the halfbeak, is the classic rigged trolling bait, and a spread of ballyhoo pulls tuna, billfish, wahoo and more.
What they are
Ballyhoo are long, silvery, surface-oriented baitfish with the family's extended lower beak. In life they skip and skitter at the top; on the troll, a properly rigged ballyhoo swims and skips just the same, which is exactly why predators eat it so readily.
Why they dominate offshore
The ballyhoo's shape and swimming action make it the ideal trolled natural bait: it tracks straight, skips enticingly, and holds up behind the boat. Anglers buy them by the pack (brined or frozen) and rig them for the spread. It is the single most-used offshore trolling bait for good reason.
Tip A ballyhoo only fishes well if it swims right. Rig it so it tracks straight without spinning, a spinning bait twists your leader and gets refused, and check each one in the water beside the boat before you set it back.
How they are fished
- Naked or skirted: run alone for a natural look, or paired with a skirt for color and a bigger profile.
- In the spread: a core part of tuna trolling and yellowfin spreads, run behind teasers and spreader bars.
- Behind dredges and daisy chains for billfish, where a natural trailing bait triggers the bite.