Magnum vs. Super Magnum Meat Head Fit Guide
Which King's meat head fits your bait? Here's how the Magnum and Super Magnum heads compare, with Capt. John King's tips for rigging each one.
Quick answer
| Your bait | Magnum head | Super Magnum head |
|---|---|---|
| Rip Teezers™ artificial herring strips, Regular, Glow or XG (Capt. John's choice after 2021) | ✔ No tuning needed | ✔ No tuning needed |
| Cut or sliced bait and meat strips (prepared strips or homemade hand-cuts) | ✔ Designed for it | ✔ Works fine |
| Whole herring, Orange Label (4" to 5") | ✔ Fits | — |
| Whole herring, Red Label (5" to 6") | — | ✔ Perfect fit |
| Whole herring, Green Label (6" to 7") | — | ✔ Perfect fit |
| Whole herring, Blue Label (7" to 8") | — | ✔ Also works |
Rule of thumb: the Magnum is designed for cut or sliced bait, meat strips and Rip Teezers™, plus the smaller Orange Label whole herring. The Super Magnum is for all forms of bait: cut or whole bait, meat strips, Rip Teezers™, and Red or Green Label whole herring, with the larger Blue Label also working. Both heads never need tuning.
Magnum Meat Head
- Introduced in 2005 for cut and sliced bait.
- Designed for cut or sliced bait, meat strips and Rip Teezers™. The smaller Orange Label (4" to 5") whole herring also works.
- Rip Teezers: zero tuning ("add water, splash and go"). Push the strip all the way into the head and let the hook hang freely near the end of the strip; don't peg it into the bait. 2.2 mph is the sweet spot.
- Strip size (real bait): John trimmed strips to just over 1" top to bottom and no more than 6" long, with the front angle-cut to match the head. Longer strips may not spin.
- Leave the backbone in. It stiffens the strip for a natural spin.
- Always check a strip in a spare head before brining a batch.
How-to: Rip Teezers Use and Care · Cutting Your Own Herring Strips
Super Magnum Meat Head
- Introduced in 2007 so anglers could fish whole herring straight from the package.
- For all forms of bait: cut or whole bait, meat strips and Rip Teezers™. Green Label (6" to 7") or Red Label (5" to 6") whole herring is the perfect fit, along with prepared strips and homemade hand-cuts. The larger Blue Label (7" to 8") whole herring also works.
- Rip Teezers: Regular, Glow and XG strips all fit with zero tuning. Push the strip all the way into the head and let the hook hang freely near the end.
- The flared opening helps spin whole bait and gives strips a wider, looping roll.
- Not speed sensitive.
- Rigging whole bait: snip the head behind the gill plate, trim the belly of fat bait to about 3/4–7/8", slide it in, push a toothpick through and trim it flush, and set the first treble in the very tail.
- At 2.2 mph and slower, give whole bait a slight bend. It should roll, not twirl.
How-to: Rigging Whole Bait in a Super Mag Meat Head · The Story of the Super Magnum Meat Head
Herring label sizes
| Label | Length | Best head |
|---|---|---|
| Orange Label | 4" to 5" | Magnum (whole) |
| Red Label | 5" to 6" | Super Magnum (whole) |
| Green Label | 6" to 7" | Super Magnum (whole); also John's choice for cutting strips |
| Blue Label | 7" to 8" | Super Magnum can take it, per John's 2006 design notes, but he preferred Red and Green Label |
Bigger bait doesn't mean bigger fish. Every King over 30 lb in John's 1983–2003 charter career hit a 4–5" bait.
Bait care
- Rip Teezers: no brine needed. Store in the original bag; for winter, a zip-top bag with a few drops of Re-Scent, air squeezed out. Keep out of long sun.
- Break the vacuum seal on frozen herring before thawing.
- Brine: a handful of Borax and a handful of kosher salt in a large jar of water. Keep it cold and reuse bait.
- Don't refreeze thawed bait; it gets softer each time.
Shop
Rip Teezers · Meat Heads · Glow Meat Heads · Complete Meat Rigs (available with Mag or Super Mag heads)
