Sam Milazzo | Get Your Live Bait DEEPER With Belly Hooking | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 518

Sam Milazzo is an experienced saltwater angler who joins Tom Rowland at Hawks Cay to demonstrate the belly hooking method for getting pilchards and other live baits deeper without using lead weights. When yellowtail and other predator fish turn finicky and stop eating surface baits, most anglers reach for a jig head or add weight—but those fish can see that extra lead. Sam reveals a technique taught to him by more experienced anglers that creates a natural presentation and triggers immediate reaction strikes. The secret? It's all about where you place the hook and what happens the moment that bait hits the water.

Why Belly Hooking Changes Everything

The scenario is familiar to anyone who's fished live bait: you're throwing pilchards, the fish are crushing them on the surface, and then suddenly they stop. They're still there—you can see them—but they've moved deeper or gotten spooky. Most anglers instinctively reach for a jig head or pinch on some lead to get the bait down. But Sam explains why that's exactly the wrong move when fish are being particular. He's throwing freebies—live bait without hooks—to chum them up, and every one of those baits is behaving naturally. When you add lead to your presentation, it doesn't match what the fish have been eating. The belly hook technique solves this problem in a way that actually increases your strike rate. Sam demonstrates the exact hook placement and line tension technique at 1:53.

The Predator Instinct That Triggers Strikes

Tom and Sam dive into the psychology behind why this technique works so well. When you're throwing freebies and all the pilchards are schooled up on the surface doing basically the same thing, there's strength in numbers—there's safety there. But predator fish aren't looking for the healthy ones swimming with the pack. They're searching for the weak one, the easier meal. That's exactly what happens when your belly-hooked bait hits the water and immediately darts downward with that slight line tension. It separates from the school, it's behaving differently, and yellowtail and other predators key in on it instantly. Sam noticed the fish were looking and being spooky, but the moment that one bait shot down, they got it almost immediately. Tom connects this to lure fishing and why a single artificial works in a mullet school. The full explanation of predator behavior starts at 3:21.

What Baits Work Best With This Technique

Sam doesn't limit this technique to pilchards. When Tom asks if he belly hooks anything else, Sam's answer opens up the possibilities: everything. Sardines work. Some baits cooperate a little better than others, but the principle remains the same. There's one bait Sam specifically calls out that doesn't work as well with this method, and it has to do with the body shape and how the bait responds to that line tension when it hits the water. The technique is versatile enough to use across multiple live bait species, which makes it valuable whether you're fishing the Keys, the Gulf, or anywhere else predator fish are feeding on small baitfish. Sam breaks down which baits work best and why starting at 4:22.

The Setup: When to Use Belly Hooks vs. Nose Hooks

Context matters with this technique. Sam didn't invent it—he's clear about that—it's something that was taught to him by people with a lot more experience. But he's refined when and how to deploy it. The situation that calls for belly hooking is specific: you've had fish eating on the surface, they've gone deeper or gotten finicky, and you need to get your bait down without the unnatural presentation of lead. You're still throwing freebies to keep them interested, and those baits are staying up. Your belly-hooked presentation is the outlier that dives immediately. Sometimes you get that initial reaction bite right as it hits. Other times the fish are just deeper and you need to match the depth. Either way, the natural presentation without lead is what seals the deal. Tom emphasizes how well it worked for the yellowtail they were targeting. The full discussion of when to deploy this technique starts at 1:56.

Final Thoughts from Tom

I love these quick How 2 Tuesday episodes because they're the kind of tactical adjustments that make an immediate difference on the water. When Sam showed me this belly hooking technique at Hawks Cay, I could see it working in real time. Those yellowtail were being finicky, and the moment that pilchard dove down, they were on it.

What I appreciate about Sam is that he's honest about where he learned this—from people with more experience—and he's refined it through his own time on the water. That's how knowledge spreads in fishing. Someone shows you something that works, you test it yourself, and then you pass it along. The predator instinct piece is fascinating too. It's the same reason lures work in bait schools. Fish are looking for the easy meal, the one that's different.

This is one of those techniques you can use immediately the next time you're live baiting and the bite slows down. Don't reach for the lead—belly hook that pilchard and watch what happens. Listen to the whole thing, it's a quick one but it could change your approach to live bait fishing.