RE: Hooks for GT popping and jigging

[Poenie]

Nothing tests your tackle, and your HOOKS like a GT on lock-drag, and many of us have had hooks open up on some decent fish!
Out of interest, what is  your PREFERRED hooks for stickbaits/poppers, as well as you preferred hook for Jigging (and why)?

[Kegan]

hey poenie, there always a debate  whether to use singles or trebles, i think your hook choice depends on where you fishing, if i was fishing Seychelles for example where you going to be seeing a lot of smaller fish in between the bigger ones, then id go with a single inline like a decoy on the back and then two back to back on the front, probably owner sj51, and matching the size of the hook to that of your lure, if fishing a place like southern oman where you might only get 2 strikes in a day then i prefer to fish gt recorders super strong and they are barbless aswell which is a bonus..another thing to take note of is the gauge of your hooks, some guys are just not physically capable of setting a very thick gauge hook like a owner st76 or a gt recorder rather downscale your hooks to a st66 and get better hook up ratios, yes you run a bigger risk of opening them up but that doesn't happen often..on the jigging side of things i personally prefer to use decoy cutlass js2 in various sizes or the owner series of jigging hooks, but this is personal preference, i know of many guys including myself that use mustad hoodlums and various cheaper brand short shank hooks with great success..i forgot to mention the shout series of jigging hooks, they are really tops but also expensive.

[Kegan]

The fish in my profile pic was taken on a 9/0 shout kudako...here u can see it perfect in the corner

[FishStyx]

I only fish with singles and generally JM 9s and 11s on jigs (nice wide gape) though I do find them to be a very thick guage. I have Mustad hoodlums and Gamakatsu (can't remember the series offhand) on some of my smaller poppers as well as JM in lines and recently bought but not tested VMC in lines.

[Prego]

I have been using the Mustads on my jigs and yet to have one open.

I don't have much experience with pulling big fish on poppers and sticks but most will say use an inline on the tail of the lure but I have seen those in line hooks tips break off. I was shown a neat trick by a friend recently so you can use the stronger and thicker gauge hooks on the back with out being an inline. He simply made another turn on the wire so no need for an inline any more.

As for the thick gauge jigging hooks Owner SJ, JM.

 I've just bought a whole lot of VMC jigging assist which Johan from fishing Pro shop swears by and they MUCH less $$$$$$$ for the 13/0 they R50 for 2 instead of R120-R150 for 2  keen to get these pressed soon

[FishStyx]

I have been using the Mustads on my jigs and yet to have one open.

I don't have much experience with pulling big fish on poppers and sticks but most will say use an inline on the tail of the lure but I have seen those in line hooks tips break off. I was shown a neat trick by a friend recently so you can use the stronger and thicker gauge hooks on the back with out being an inline. He simply made another turn on the wire so no need for an inline any more.

As for the thick gauge jigging hooks Owner SJ, JM.

 I've just bought a whole lot of VMC jigging assist which Johan from fishing Pro shop swears by and they MUCH less $$$$$$$ for the 13/0 they R50 for 2 instead of R120-R150 for 2  keen to get these pressed soon

I use that trick wherever I can (depends on the stickbait/popper construction but I buggered up a starwalker trying it. The acrylic cracked and messed with the action of the bait. That's why I bought a hand full of in lines.



You're not gonna get those hooks pressed if you don't have a reel on the other end bud... I'm very concerned about you selling off the two Stellas.

[REEFMAN]

Owner SJ41's. Baker rig for popping and Assists for jigging.

[Kegan]

instead of twisting your wire just add an extra split ring and your hook is inline..

[Prego]

I have been using the Mustads on my jigs and yet to have one open.

I don't have much experience with pulling big fish on poppers and sticks but most will say use an inline on the tail of the lure but I have seen those in line hooks tips break off. I was shown a neat trick by a friend recently so you can use the stronger and thicker gauge hooks on the back with out being an inline. He simply made another turn on the wire so no need for an inline any more.

As for the thick gauge jigging hooks Owner SJ, JM.

 I've just bought a whole lot of VMC jigging assist which Johan from fishing Pro shop swears by and they MUCH less $$$$$$$ for the 13/0 they R50 for 2 instead of R120-R150 for 2  keen to get these pressed soon

I use that trick wherever I can (depends on the stickbait/popper construction but I buggered up a starwalker trying it. The acrylic cracked and messed with the action of the bait. That's why I bought a hand full of in lines.



You're not gonna get those hooks pressed if you don't have a reel on the other end bud... I'm very concerned about you selling off the two Stellas.

Martin that was silly to try on a star walker as they don't have the turned wire  those need inline for sure

Don't worry about the Stellas seems no one is looking for those at this stage, seems I will just have to buy JM Spools instead of buying the newer model SW's 

[FishStyx]

instead of twisting your wire just add an extra split ring and your hook is inline..

I prefer to have as few components as possible. Also find that too much movement of the tail hook and you get a lot of snagging with the mainline during casting

[Nepptune]

Poppers and Stick Baits:
I use a mix of Barbless Trebles and Singles... I love big Treble hooks, and happy to admit it... on big fish, and fished barbless, they do no more damage than a single hook, and they do help some tricky lures swim better ( they look fekkin sexy too ) ... But getting good quality large Trebles is often more hassle than its worth. I fish GT Recorders in 6/0, 7/0 and 8/0 sizes...
I also fish large Assist rigged singles on bigger lures than can handle them, poppers and stick baits. These are rigged with a mix of either JM Monsters or Shout Kudako's.
Single tail hooks are JM Monsters again, or Shout Ringed Kudako's...


Smaller lures ( up to 100grams ) I will often fish the Inlines... and really love them on the small lures like the JSA Starwalkers for example....


One VERY important thing - ALL casting lures hooks should be barbless... whether singles/inlines/assists or trebles... they ALL need to be barbless... seriously.. I'm at the point now where I will refuse to fish on a boat with other anglers casting who don't have crushed barbs.... just not worth it...


Jigs:
JM Monsters..... love these hooks on the jig... perfect gape, size, shape sharpness..

[Poenie]

I've been using the JM Monsters for jigging and no probs so will CERTAINLY stick to them!! Been using Viper/JS Inline on sticks, BUT have seen them open - hence the question!! The Inline's weigh the lure down effectively changing some floating lures into a sinking lure!
More importantly, WHERE IN SOUTH AFRICA can one get:
Shout Kudako?
GT Recorders
Owner ST76
- no one in Cpt stocks any of these!!

Nepps, what size Recorders or Owners are best on the Starwalker 180's, and 160's? 5/0's and 6/0's?

[Nepptune]

I've been using the JM Monsters for jigging and no probs so will CERTAINLY stick to them!! Been using Viper/JS Inline on sticks, BUT have seen them open - hence the question!! The Inline's weigh the lure down effectively changing some floating lures into a sinking lure!
More importantly, WHERE IN SOUTH AFRICA can one get:
Shout Kudako?
GT Recorders
Owner ST76
- no one in Cpt stocks any of these!!

Nepps, what size Recorders or Owners are best on the Starwalker 180's, and 160's? 5/0's and 6/0's?

Christo,


Unfortunately the answer to most of your questions on where can one get these hooks in this country is: NO WHERE
I believe that Lions Tackle may be getting in, or already have brought in the ST76's, but in small amounts... Best ask one of the tackle stores to call and check if they can get, I don't think Lions deals with the public directly..


On the Starwalker 160's I wouldn't fish bigger than a 3/0 Owner ST66 size Treble.
On the Starwalker 180's I would suggest a 4/0 Owner ST66 size, or maybe a 5/0 at a push, but it more than likely will sink the floating version... Which in itself isn't always a bad thing..


GT Recorders are on a completely different scale in size... I would imagine the 2/0 or 3/0 would be the right size for the Starwalkers... definitely not 5/0 or 6/0, those are huge... I use the 7/0 on 200 gram stick baits....
Personally I prefer Inline singles or assist rigged hooks on the Starwalkers though...


Keegan made a very good point about hook up ratios and hook penetration on smaller vs larger hooks... sometimes a smaller hook is a better route as it penetrates better, and is easier to get sunk in deeply... also as there is less leverage over the hook, because its shorter, there is less chance of the hook straightening...
But of course its always a double edged sword... because if you don't get a deep enough or good enough penetration, you gonna come unbuttoned and either pull or straighten hooks on a big fish..


That being said, 10000's of GT's and such round the world were landed on what some circles would now consider "inferior" hooks... the upgrade in tackle ( Heavy drag spinning reels, super powerful rods, non stretch 130lb braid etc ) has put an enormous amount of pressure and stress on the last connection between you and the fish... the Hook... there are more high end hooks on the market than ever before, and there are far more failures than ever before... Case in point one of the GT worlds most travelled anglers has just come back from a trip to PNG cursing the Shout Kudako Ringed hooks because he had one of the eyes open on him.... I've seen first hand, or pictures of, every single top end hook bend/straighten or break on some fish... I broke 3 VMC inlines in Oman in September... fishing PE 2....
Its gonna happen, no matter what, there is no answer to "the perfect Hook" unfortunately...


Probably not really helping you any here boet, cause I'm not really giving you any solid answers, but I would definitely look at rigging a lot of your lures with Assists where you can, and try get some decent Trebles to go along too... Belly Treble and Single off the tail, or Assist off the head and a big single or treble on the tail is a good option...

[Poenie]

Thanks Dre.... for NOTHING!! 

[Nepptune]

Thanks Dre.... for NOTHING!! 

You know me bud, always trying to help.... 

[travelmember]

How much of the damage to hooks is caused by the fishes jaw chomping and grating rather than the drag. I tested some basic Hoodlums last week and 40kg pull on the eye didn't open it nor bend the shank. I would think it difficult to bend the metal via a rod and line?

[Nepptune]

How much of the damage to hooks is caused by the fishes jaw chomping and grating rather than the drag. I tested some basic Hoodlums last week and 40kg pull on the eye didn't open it nor bend the shank. I would think it difficult to bend the metal via a rod and line?

Hey TM,


A lot of hooks will be absolutely fine in a Dead pull test... hell we've hung off a couple hooks, and I'm 105 kilos and had no issues... but seen those same hooks snap/bend/straighten on fish... The reasons are multiple and varied I guess, but mainly have to do with angle of pull, and the force created by the leverage from the lure and how a fish is hooked... I've had a hook straighten on a big fish that was hooked for barely 4 seconds, but must have hit the bone in the fishes mouth, and my angle of pull just straightened it out... in a split second... I've hung off that same hook and not even noticed a single millimetre of distortion....


So its up to a number of factors, mainly pertaining to the kind of force and leverage a fish can exert based on where its hooked...

[Poenie]

...and that's why you STRIKE a fish, to TRY and get the hook to penetrate (hoping you don't strike bone), thereby putting all the tension/stress on the BEND rather than the tip. I recon ANY decent hook will perform well in deadlift testing off the BEND, but has anyone tried testing off the TIP?

[Cam Mundy]

The bigger the hook the more prone they are to opening it comes down to leverage a large gape hook with a long point is easier to apply leverage to.
In most situation hooks that have opened are from badly hooked fish a go hit can be messy and he doesn't always get it right so they will sometimes get a hook in the mouth and one in the flank as it turns and hits the lure, when the fish straightens out again the pressures are immense and the hook bends. This also accounts for a lot of 'unstoppable fish' then the rear hook is in the fishes mouth and the middle hook in the flank you are gonna have a bad time.