Stingers & accessories

Stingers are used as an extra hook when fish bite short or attack from behind. They are most common when fishing with larger soft baits, where the fish do not always take the entire bait in one bite. By supplementing the bait with a stinger, the chance of hooking the fish properly increases, without having to change the bait or fishing method.

In practice, stingers are most often used when fishing for perch, pike and zander, especially when the baits are longer and softer. They are used both as ready-made rigs and as accessories when building your own solutions. Having stingers in your equipment makes it easy to adapt your fishing when the bite is far back or when the fish is cautious.

What is a stinger?

A stinger is an additional hook that is mounted behind or under the bait. It is usually attached to the main hook with wire, line or fluorocarbon and placed where the fish usually bites. The idea is not to replace the main hook, but to complement it.

Stingers are used almost exclusively with soft baits. This is where the need lies, as soft baits are often long and can fold up when struck.

When to use stingers

Stingers are especially useful when:

• The fish strikes short
• The stinger is located farthest back on the bait
• You fish with longer soft baits
• The bait folds without hooking the fish

When fishing for perch with larger jigs, or for pike and zander where the fish often attack from behind, stingers can make a big difference. They are used both in spinning and vertical fishing.

Different types of stingers

There are both ready-made stinger rigs and loose accessories for building yourself.

Common variants are:

• Wire stingers
• Fluorocarbon stingers
• Stingers with single or triple hooks
• Ready-made stingers adapted for jigs

Which variant is best depends on the size of the bait and how you fish.

Accessories for stingers

The following are often used for stingers:

• Swivels
• Split rings
• Shallow screws
• Wires or fluorocarbon

Mounting and placement

The length of the stinger should be adjusted to the bait. The hook should end up where the fish usually bites, but not be so loose that it gets tangled or interferes with the bait's movement. Many people attach stingers with a bait screw, spring ring or by pushing the hook into the body of the jig.

It is important that the bait can still move naturally in the water.

To think about when using stingers

• Extra hook helps with short bites
• Adjust the length to the bait
• Avoid interfering with the bait's movement
• Have both finished and loose parts with you

Stingers are not a must for all fishing, but in the right situation they are an effective complement. When the bite is wrong or the hook fails, a stinger can be the difference between a bite and a landed fish.