In my book pictures can explain things better than my mediocre word-smithing skills.  Keeping mind, there's 12 photos and 2 videos to clear up any mysteries concerning running whole bait.  There's a small 4 meg movie for dial-up users that shows how a properly tuned piece of whole bait performs. An expanded 7 meg video is for those with high speed internet connections will showcase the wide looping alluring roll of whole bait in my Super Magnum Meat Heads.

Snip off the head

Scissor off Belly

Angle to cut

Trim on angle

Above photos shows simple bait prep right of the package. 
Using freshly thawed straight from the package that requires no prior preparation. 
Keep a jar of cold brine onboard and use it to preserve any bait used, or unused.
 

Trimmed shoulder

Insert hook in tail

Close up

Slack line

Adjusting the bend for the perfect looping roll.
 

Pulling slack

Setting the Bend

Proper curvature

Overall length

Final tweaks and visual tips that guarantee success!

If one picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words, then my short movies will speak volumes.  Whole bait is very EZ to run.  The above steps can have your bait in the water in less than 30 seconds.  Whole bait is always more readily available than commercial strips and offers a double sided more natural looking presentation.

As demonstrated in the below videos with fishing ...presentation is key!

Click 4 meg video suitable for dialup   Click 7 meg video for high speed

When you want the fish bite, just get the roll right!