Muskie Innovations Spring Dawgs......had some good results lately, pike are mad for them.

I removed the treble hook though, one big single hook works for me and the pike don't mind either.

Check them out here.

'I removed the treble hook though, one big single hook works for me and the pike don't mind either.'

That's unusual Ian. Most anglers seem to reccomend removing the single.

Any particular favourite colours? I'm a big fan of the 'Cisco' pattern, or a plain Black and Yellow.

Orange and yellow worked well the other day, but I'm sure it's the action of the lure that gets them going.

Never liked treble hooks much, they are job to get out and they tangle in the landing net. I may lose the odd fish but I can live with that, I'm not fishing to feed any hungry orphans

slodger - a few of us that I know of (and probably some additional lurkers) have played with substiuting a circle hook in place of a treble on lures.

I can't speak for the others but I've been very happy with the change. If it's 2 trebles replaced with two circles, the balance is usually fine as is. If there was only a single treble, the circle is a little lighter and I have to add some weight to bring the lure's action back to where it should be.

Interesting Newt.

Just about every aspect of lure fishing is still a big learning curve to me. I've heard Peter W touting the effectiveness of circle hooks in the past. Forgive my ignorance, but I've always percieved them as a commercial hook used by longliners at sea. Are they really that fish friendly?

They really are Slodger, brillient things for safe piking.

What exactly is a circle hook?

A circle hook is one whose design causes it to slide over larger objects but dig into small, round ones (twig size). That basically means it will slide out of a fish's gullet but dig itself into the lip very nicely. Great for avoiding deep hooking. Once it takes a hold, it rarely moves around or comes loose while there is any pressure on it but unhooks easily when you take the pressure away and remove it.