Hook replacement on lures

Rik · Post by **Rik** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:05 am

I bought a lure at the tackle shop that was sure to catch fish. It looked so good that I hardly noticed the $7.99 price tag. Small price to pay for fishing success - even if that small price a few years ago was only $4.99. But that is another topic.

You find the spot, cast it out and WHAM, your hopes have been answered. Your line is stripping out and you're thinking, "Do I know how to pick good lures, or what?". Then the "or what" happens and your line suddenly goes slack.

When you reel in the no fail lure, you find that the treble hook has failed. You didn't realize earlier how wimpy the hook really is.

As the anger passes, you ask yourself why lure manufacturers spend a great deal of time making an excellent lure only to attach bargain basement hooks on them.

mauso1 · Post by **mauso1** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:12 am

Your darn right. Although I've never had that problem with a lure (fingers crossed) It ought be top quality if you're paying a top quality price.

Unfortunatley I think some manufacturers have scrimped a little on their most recent products. A reel manufacturer comes to mind here

justabucup · Post by **justabucup** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:34 am

If I am paying big money for a lure.... more then $6 then I want it to have good hooks. Conversely if I am going and pulling out of the $1.99 bin at Sports Authority (which by the way is the place I get small pins type minnow baits) I know they are going to have the cheap hooks.

Erick · Post by **Erick** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:45 am

Many lure companies use either Mustad, Gamakatsu or Matzuo hooks. It will usually state the hook company on the packaging. I will try to research this topic a little further. Any specific lures that are more troubling than others?

$1.99 bargin bin lures are usually closeouts of colors from a prior year that have not sold well or some off brand that never reached its full potential or lures that might have been sent in that sell well in another part of the country but somehow made it to Florida. And they are usually hard baits. With all the changes in soft plastics in recent years, overall sales of hard baits (topwaters, spoons, plugs) have steadily declined.

Price increases.....many companies have not yet taken full price increases from adjustments back in 2003. Reality is lures could be much more expensive, however the companies are certainly aware of the consumers price sensitivity. It is a fine line they walk to stay in business. This industry is tough, trust me.

TroutTracker · Post by **TroutTracker** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:52 am

I change out the hooks, usually on the Storm Chug bugs, they never seem to last long once they hit the water thats itrust city.

Also the Tsunami Corky's, change those hooks out in an instant....they are too small and not strong enough.

justabucup · Post by **justabucup** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:58 am

Any specific lures that are more troubling than others?

Mirro-Lure she dog, top-pup and Heddon zara Spook that I have had 1st hand knowledge of.

phishon · Post by **phishon** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 8:20 am

I have had similar results with some of the same lures. I'm always having my hooks straightened out on my zara spook by redfish. I just get too lazy to change them out sometimes.

Mako · Post by **Mako** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 8:42 am

I basically use 2 types of topwaters: skitterwalk and zara spook jr.
The skitterwalk comes with strong hooks (Mustad in most cases) so I don't change them. When I've done it in the past is because I wanted to try larger hooks. The zara spook jr on the other hand comes with crappy hooks so I do replace them with 3x trebles.

Tip: also check your drag when the hook gets straightened.....sometimes it's not the hook

dunfly · Post by **dunfly** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 11:25 am

Not exactly on the point, but does anyone swap out treble hooks for single hooks? I don't particularly like hard lures anyway, but I HATE treble hooks. The are dangerous for both the fish and the fisherman.

Uncle Tommy · Post by **Uncle Tommy** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 12:41 pm

While we're on the subject, another thing to consider is the difference in size and weight of replacement hooks. Heaver hooks will "de-tune" a topwater, usually making it arse heavy. A quick drop in a clean toilet will tell the tale (I gotta get me a pool).

Dustin · Post by **Dustin** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 1:14 pm

Dunfly,
I have great success with single hooks on larger topwater plugs. I use 6/0 Owner Aki's on my Skitterwalks.

Monkey · Post by **Monkey** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 1:33 pm

See...this is KARMA....if you guys would just convert away from the dark side and start fly fishing, tie your own flies on hooks you know are strong, you wouldn't have to worry about this!!!

(i really hate it when it happens though)

justabucup · Post by **justabucup** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 4:40 pm

A quick drop in a clean toilet will tell the tale (I gotta get me a pool).

I think I will go with the kitchen sink full of water instead thank you very much

FishingDL · Post by **FishingDL** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 4:55 pm

Never change them but a couple of times I cussed an awful lot.

Phnd · Post by **Phnd** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 9:22 pm

I've always prefered topwater but hate treble hooks and frankly don't see the need for all that extra hardware. I'll usually change them out to singles with the exception of mirrolure. They use a good, strong sharp hook so I've left them alone, until today. Today was a suspending twitch bait day. After catching a few fish and hiding from the rain for an hour I got into some lady fish. Of course they never sit still. Even though I had ahold of one, like a dummy I took my eye off him. Needless to say I spent the afternoon in the hospital getting two hooks removed from the back of my hand so I'll be changing those out to singles real soon.

Phil

Paddle-Fishing.com

Hook replacement on lures

Are you tired of weak hooks on expensive lures?

Hook replacement on lures