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Single hooks for pike


chrislee342

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Hi Chris I will try and answer the question you have asked.

Sprats are a very good pike bait but being small can be swallowed very quickly so make sure you have good bite indication and strike as soon as you get any indication of a bite.

I use a single hook for all my piking and would be quite happy mounting a sprat the way you have described. You will not however be able to cast very far without the hook ripping out.

My favourite hook is an ESP raptor T6 in size 2. I hair rig my baits using a tagging gun but you should have no trouble. Any similar pattern carp hook should work just as well.

With such a soft bait you should have few problems with the hook being masked by the bait as it will easily rip through on the strike.

Not wishing to get into the treble versus single debate I will just say that I fish regularly with a pal who uses conventional trebles. Our run, hook up and catch rates are very similar but the ease of unhooking is so much better. I very rarely have to go inside a fishes mouth except to remove other anglers traces.

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Tony, I did look at the doubles but due to the sprats being a small bait I thought a single would be the better way to go.

 

As for hair rigging the bait, I've not though about doing so. Would this be okay if twitching the bait or is it more of a static bait method?

 

Distance shouldn't be a problem as I will be on the local cut and I can reach the far bank no problem in most places.

Can I have your bank account number and sort code please?

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Hi Chris I will try and answer the question you have asked.

Sprats are a very good pike bait but being small can be swallowed very quickly so make sure you have good bite indication and strike as soon as you get any indication of a bite.

I use a single hook for all my piking and would be quite happy mounting a sprat the way you have described. You will not however be able to cast very far without the hook ripping out.

My favourite hook is an ESP raptor T6 in size 2. I hair rig my baits using a tagging gun but you should have no trouble. Any similar pattern carp hook should work just as well.

With such a soft bait you should have few problems with the hook being masked by the bait as it will easily rip through on the strike.

Not wishing to get into the treble versus single debate I will just say that I fish regularly with a pal who uses conventional trebles. Our run, hook up and catch rates are very similar but the ease of unhooking is so much better. I very rarely have to go inside a fishes mouth except to remove other anglers traces.

Well said,I hair rig my sardines thru the tail and can give it a big cast and the bait stays on,no prob,and another plus is more often than not you get your bait back,Happy days
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Tony, I did look at the doubles but due to the sprats being a small bait I thought a single would be the better way to go.

 

As for hair rigging the bait, I've not though about doing so. Would this be okay if twitching the bait or is it more of a static bait method?

 

Distance shouldn't be a problem as I will be on the local cut and I can reach the far bank no problem in most places.

Go for it,Use ONE size 4 SINGLE hook and hair rig your bait,it doesn't matter if it is a sprat or a whole herring
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By all means use single hooks if you don't mind missing the odd run or only use small baits. Circles are a slightly better option. BUT PLEASE DONT use big singles (1/0 +) as these are pike killers simple as that. The depth of penetration on a big single is far more likely to kill a pike than the relatively shallow depth a (for example) size 6 treble will. A semi barbed treble is the time proven choice of most experienced pikers. By all means have a play around with alternatives and learn this for your self (as indeed we all did) but lets not kill fish unecessarily whilst learning these lessons! BIG singles are killers simple as! Now I can here many of you saying but treble hooks can be swallowed and be equally dangerous/hard to remove... yes true but you can avoid deep hooking and learn correct unhooking techniques to negate these issues....no matter what you do with a BIG single you can never avoid the depth that it will penetrate possibly puncturing vital organs.

 

Lastly can I ask why you want to go to singles and not stay with the proven treble hook?

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And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

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By all means use single hooks if you don't mind missing the odd run or only use small baits. Circles are a slightly better option.

 

.no matter what you do with a BIG single you can never avoid the depth that it will penetrate possibly puncturing vital organs.

 

These days about 99% of my pike fishing is done with lures, or a mounted moving bait, but if I should use a static bait, then, depending upon bait size, a single circle hook or semi-barbed trebles (ie barbed hook in fish, two other hooks with crushed barbs) would be my choice.

 

Incidentally, I de-barb the trebles on my lures also.

 

On the cons side, It seems to make little difference to the chance of losing a fish (providing it is played on a tight line)

 

On the pros side, it makes hook removal a damned sight easier, not only from the pike, but from landing nets, clothing, your left ear, your mate's welly, or anywhere else you are clumsy enough to put it. :)

Edited by Vagabond
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"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

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A single size 4 single hook in a whole Herring Mick?

Because that's what I did towards the end of last season and I am happy with the results,if I remember right most of the time the bait was half way down its thoat,(what ever bait I was using)and the hook was in the sissors,and I struck as soon as I had a bite even with a whole herring,i will not go back to trebles,you lot can do what you want.
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Why not try a treble and a single? Put the treble (size 4 or 6) by the dorsal then have a sliding single hook of a similar size (ESPs are good) in the tail root to secure when casting. Use shrink tube along the shank of the single to keep it in line with the trace and it allows you to move it to suit different baits. As for lives a single treble seems to work well...keep it simple and all that.

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"you lot can do what you want"

 

Mick Smith I don't know why you bother posting on here! Unless people agree with what you say you get the arse! Same as you've said mate you do what you feel happy with and what you think works for you. However if you don't want people who think your "advice" is bad commenting and adding what they feel is better advice/a different view for the benefit of others reading what you've wrote then I sugest you don't bother! Certainly no need for the attitude! When people on AN post something its usually as they are trying to help not criticise.

 

Yes the "Uni Rig" is a good rig Neil G admittedly I don't use it with livebaits but its a good rig for casting deads long range. Again though the single needs to be kept a sensible size and IMO the size 6-4 you mention is spot on.

And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

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