Terminal Tackle Help

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DirtyD64
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Terminal Tackle Help

Post by DirtyD64 » Sun Mar 03, 2019 11:05 pm

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So I caught a decent one a few days ago, 5.9lbs, right at 22 inches or so. She almost got away due to stock treble hooks (second picture) so I decided it is time to upgrade my most used jerkbaits. Currently the bait you see got some short shank Gamakatsu EWG Magic Eye hooks that were on sale at Academy with Owner #2 Hyper Wire Rings. I have a few MB 110's and some other nice jerkbaits (the SPRO ones do not need upgrading) so I was just wondering what everyone's common place replacements are. I have considered the bulk pack Owner ST-36's or the bulk pack Gamakatsu RB's. I really like the Owner Short Shank ST-35's, think that is what is on a Jackall jerkbait I have.

I know some issues can arise with suspending lures, too short of a shank takes away too much weight, too thick of wire adds to much, you end up with a floater or a slow sink. Just seeing what anyone's tips or experiences were, thanks.

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Hobie-Wan Kenobi
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Re: Terminal Tackle Help

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Mon Mar 04, 2019 7:56 am

Could weight the stock hooks on your favorite jerkbaits and start there, buying of hooks similar weight. The size of the hook can affect the action of the jerkbait as well.
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Re: Terminal Tackle Help

Post by Jeffbro999 » Mon Mar 04, 2019 9:42 am

Nice work getting that fish in on those light hooks! =D> Owner ST-36 seem to be closest size/weight while having more strength compared to most factory hooks, and are sticky sharp. Gamakatsu TGW Nano Finesse are good for Megabass baits that need to be very exact. I carry a pretty good variety during the cold months to allow swapping to find that perfect suspension. After doing this for a little while, you learn quickly what works best for different situations. Our bayous can start out salty and turn to fresh as you get to the creeks that feed them, and can be maddening as you try to dial in that suspension with temp and salt/fresh changes throughout the system. Using a Pointer 78 for example, salty water would need a size 4 Mustad KVD Elite SS on front and st-36 size 6 in back. Brackish water would need a size 4 st-36 in front and a size 6 in back. Get near the creeks, and size 6 ST-36 front and back. Not rocket science, but takes some thought. Just need to add ssome variety to your hooks, and play around with them to figure out what you need.

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Re: Terminal Tackle Help

Post by DirtyD64 » Mon Mar 04, 2019 7:24 pm

JBcrankaddict wrote:Nice work getting that fish in on those light hooks! =D> Owner ST-36 seem to be closest size/weight while having more strength compared to most factory hooks, and are sticky sharp. Gamakatsu TGW Nano Finesse are good for Megabass baits that need to be very exact. I carry a pretty good variety during the cold months to allow swapping to find that perfect suspension. After doing this for a little while, you learn quickly what works best for different situations. Our bayous can start out salty and turn to fresh as you get to the creeks that feed them, and can be maddening as you try to dial in that suspension with temp and salt/fresh changes throughout the system. Using a Pointer 78 for example, salty water would need a size 4 Mustad KVD Elite SS on front and st-36 size 6 in back. Brackish water would need a size 4 st-36 in front and a size 6 in back. Get near the creeks, and size 6 ST-36 front and back. Not rocket science, but takes some thought. Just need to add ssome variety to your hooks, and play around with them to figure out what you need.
Thanks for the info. I have read a few different places, some people even use different size/styles on front/middle/back too. I am thinking of ordering a few different packs of size 6, rather than one bulk pack (for now). I need to get some 4's, 2's, and maybe even some 1's for SQBills and a few other lures. I ordered some micro trebles for SK Bitsy Minnows, might have to get some #10's or #8's from the auction sites, just takes so long to come in... As far as rings go, I assume the #2 Owner Hyper Wires work for the most part??? There really aren't many rings I would consider an upgrade outside of the mentioned Owner's or SPRO rings. Never tried the VMC on Tacklewarehouse, but they are cheaper for sure.

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Re: Terminal Tackle Help

Post by Jeffbro999 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:29 am

I usually don’t swap out split rings. Shadow Rap Shads are the only bait I’ve used that really need them, and used the Owners in #2. Most factory rings are pretty solid though. They can help getting that proper suspension if having trouble dialing in hooks though.

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Re: Terminal Tackle Help

Post by reason162 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:12 am

DirtyD64 wrote:As far as rings go, I assume the #2 Owner Hyper Wires work for the most part??? There really aren't many rings I would consider an upgrade outside of the mentioned Owner's or SPRO rings. Never tried the VMC on Tacklewarehouse, but they are cheaper for sure.
If you're looking for quality smaller split rings, Decoy makes them down to 00. Ebay, slow shipping, relatively cheap.

Here's a size 1 on a pointer 65DD:

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Re: Terminal Tackle Help

Post by DirtyD64 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:28 pm

Thanks for the replies, I wasn't sure which all rings (stock) were good. I have never had a damaged ring on a lure, bent out a few hooks and as pictured above had my first ever hooks broken... So funny because I had a fish in that exact same area of the ledge straighten, and I mean STRAIGHTEN out a Keitech FB Jig hook (pretty light hook, but still).

I would really like to try single hooks on hardbaits sometime, are there any distinct advantages or disadvantages???

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Re: Terminal Tackle Help

Post by toddmc » Wed Mar 06, 2019 8:18 am

The Owner ST-36 is a great hook, and I use a lot of them, but one hook style for all applications is a bad Idea. You often need a stronger hook for smallmounth. KVD has spent a great deal of his career developing different treble hooks for different applications. You can google his videos and articles about treble hooks and find all that you will ever need. Any experienced hardbait fisherman will have several styles/strengths of replacement hooks on hand for replacement as needed. I often replace my hooks several times a day, especially when fishing hard cover/structure that tends to dull hook points.

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Re: Terminal Tackle Help

Post by reason162 » Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:48 pm

DirtyD64 wrote:I would really like to try single hooks on hardbaits sometime, are there any distinct advantages or disadvantages???
The advantages are obvious: safety for yourself and the fish...how many tail trebles find their way into gills and eyeballs and fingers? One tackle variable that opens up by switching to singles is you can probably get away with faster/heavier action rods. That's sort of interesting when you consider traps and grass ripping etc. They'll presumably come through cover a lot easier as well.

Hopefully I can stay with freshwater long enough this Spring to test out how they work on various jerkbaits and crankbaits. My guess is...4"+ jerkbaits with only 2 single hooks will suffer from poor hookup %, esp in the early season. 3 hook baits and smaller jerkbaits will do significantly better. Overall, if the fish are hitting on the pause...hookup % will suffer compared to trebles. I've watched enough TB underwater videos to see how easily bass can inhale/reject a bait with 3 trebles, so I imagine singles will fare worse if the bite is tentative.

Crankbaits...the thinner models (shad raps, flatsides etc) will do better than the fat globe bodies. Overall I predict better hookup % on moving baits vs. jerkbaits, but still worse than trebles, esp on full size crankbaits. I don't buy the reports of 0 reduction in hookup...maybe hook to land ratio, but there's a reason hardbaits come with treble hooks for the past 50 years lol.

Even if that is the case, I won't be going back to trebles anytime soon.

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