HOOKS ON LURES

[Guest busconvenor]

I'VE JUST STARTED LURE FISHING FOR PIKE, THING IS THE HOOKS ON SOME OF THE LURES I'VE BOUGHT ARE HUGE . DO I CHANGE THEM FOR SMALLER HOOKS OR LEAVE THEM AS THEY ARE?

[Guest Steve Burke]

Contrary to popular belief changing the hooks on lures will not ruin the action. What it will do is change the action of some lures, notally plugs. For instance putting a lighter hook on a plug will increase both the wobble and the buoyancy and so slightly decrease the maximum depth it will dive to. This can be an advantage or disadvantage according to what you need at the time.

 

However, changing to a smaller size hook could cause you to miss takes. For this reason I much prefer to switch to hooks that are the same size but finer in the wire. Bear in mind that manufacturers often put heavy gauge hooks on lures to cope with any fish anywhere in the world. For fish like pike lighter gauge hooks are usually far superior at penetrating the bony mouth. Only on very small lures with corresponingly small hooks would you need a heavy guage treble for pike.

 

Have a look in your local tackle shop and see if they have anything suitable. In my days at Caliber we used to distribute Graycoat trebles for just this purpose. These are the same as used on many Rapala lures but are finer in the wire. They have a rust-resistant coating for long life but, unlike stainless steel hooks, are dead sharp. If your local shop doesn't have any Greycoat trebles I can tell you that Gold Label distribute the same hooks, calling them Lure Replacement Trebles, but at a much higher price. They're made by VMC and shops like the Friendly Fisherman (01892-528677) could order them direct from VMC.

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm

[Guest Peter Waller]

It isn't only the thickness of hooks that is the worry, I agree with Steve on that one, but also the positioning on big lures. There is clear evidence to suggest that generously over hooked lures can be a problem when a pike is hooked on one of the belly hooks of a mega long lure and the tail hook is flying free, free to hook into the outer face or the eye of a pike. So, don't go for over long multi hooked jobs. This is a subject that various consultative bodies are aware of and one that will be debated shortly, atleast at Broads level. As for Grey Coat trebles, I would suggest avoiding 'em like the plague. My feeling, and its open to debate, is that a conventional hook can rust away. This is important if a lure is lost, snagged to an obstruction. Eventually the hook will rust & the lure will either float away or drop away. Whilst the hook is complete it remains a hazard. The same can be said of a lure should a hook, or the lure be left in a fish due to tackle breakage, the hook will rust away. I have to say that most of the lure fishermen that I know avoid stainless or Grey Coat hooks for this reason. However, since the advent of braids, the chance of lost lures has been greatly reduced.

[Guest Steve Burke]

I couldn't agree more with you about too many hooks on lures, Peter. In fact at Wingham I ban lures with more than 2 hooks.

 

Greycoat trebles - whilst I don't use them for bait fishing for the reason Peter mentioned, I much prefer them on lures, especially as I also use the same lures for sea fishing.

 

The difference is that a tethered bait is going to be taken by a fish, whilst a tethered lure is unlikely to be.

 

On the other hand I've seen rusty trebles on lures snap and, unless completely barbless rather than crushed barbed, I reckon such a piece of metal in the pike would be hard to get rid of.

 

As Peter wrote, lures are lost a lot less now that so many lure anglers are using braid. In fact, I can't remember the last time I lost one! This is because most of us are fishing with braid that's stronger than the nylon monofilament we used to use, even though it's the same diameter or even thinner. This means that the hooks (especially the finer wire ones like Greycoats) will bend before the line snaps when you pull for a break. Of course the hooks are perfectly strong enough when you're actually fishing as the rod absorbs the pressure.

 

BTW, as a snagged bait is a potential death trap, I'd strongly urge pike anglers to use at least 15lb. main line if choosing nylon plus 25lb wire traces when bait fishing. With most lures I step this up to 40lb wire.

 

So, whilst I accept Peter's point, I believe the safety advantages of a rust resistant lure hook outweigh the disadvantages.

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm

[Guest Peter Waller]

Steve, the hazard I refered to was not to the fish but to bird life. Swans, for example, rummage amongst lily stems and reeds searching out food. It may never have happened but the hook could become snagged on a diving bird. Obviously this only applies to a lure lost within a couple of feet of the surface.

[Guest Newt]

For replacements, you might also like the Gamakatsu hooks. They have trebbles in an Extra Wide Gap (my choice) in sizes 2,4,6 and a round design in 1,2,4,6,8.

 

I have started removing all the front hooks on my 3-hook lures and have removed some of the fronts on 2 hook lures. Occasionally have to add a little weight back to make them run as I wish but haven't noticed and fewer hook-ups as a result.

[Guest Chris B]

Eagle Claw do some robust patterns and they're only £2 for 10.

 

A great source of cheap lure bits is a guy called Nick Green - e-mail him for a catalogue

 

nickgreen@fishingdiyandfly.fsbusiness.co.uk

 

In my limited lure fishing career I've been surprised how often I have to change hooks on lures.

 

Multi-hook advice from PW is spot-on. Lures with three trebles - like some of the long minnow baits - are hard to remove if the fish really whacks 'em and ends up with three sets of trebles stuck in it.

 

I'd rather have a biodegradable hook than one which lasts forever.

 

Lures don't rust anything like as fast if you rinse 'em off in clean water when you get home, dry 'em off and give split rings etc a squirt of WD40.