How to Rig a Whole Anchovy
- 1). Tie your line or leader directly to the hook. Any secure fishing knot will be suitable.
- 2). Hook the anchovy. There are several effective places to hook an anchovy, including the tail, the nose and the collar. If hooking through the tail, be careful not to pierce the backbone. To rig an anchovy through the nose, pass the hook up from the bottom jaw so it comes out the top of the nose. Be careful not to pierce the eye and kill the anchovy. For a collar rig, hook the anchovy through the covering plate behind the gills on one side. Do not pierce the gills.
- 3). Drop the anchovy rig in the water. The tail rig cannot be cast because the anchovy will likely fly off, so drop it in the water and let the anchovy swim. The nose rig and collar rig are safer to cast, but can also be dropped straight down.
Source...