Michigan Muskie Alliance

What is your oppinion on the double hooks on the Lokes? I am thinking of trying these on my baits to save on the hook wear and tear on the bodies . Do they hook and hold as good as a treble ?Do you think all trolling bait hooks should be on split rings ? I see a lot of good baits out there not using split rings, mostly LSC baits.
Tom

I love the idea since you'll get better hookups with fewer hook-points, however I wish they were welded. The simple solution would be to cut and file a treble so that you achieve the same result with a stronger hook. A hook that is T'd correctly will nearly eliminate wear on a lure. The drawback is that you have three points in a smaller area making penetration a concern. As far as the use of a split ring is concerned it is primarily going to save wear and tear on the hook hanger. I've got a Jake with a hook hanger that is completely twisted and this happened even with a split ring.

As with everything muskie realted I probably over analyze this and I could go on and on about hooking theories. God knows I have tried many ways to improve hooking. Some were a miracle cure, others made only a minor improvement and a couple seemed good in concept but created structural or balance issues.

Some thoughts:
- many lures have too many hooks (this includes hook points)
- many lures have hooks that are too small (two or even one bigger hook is better than three small hooks)
- certain hook types DO NOT hook well (round bend vs. O'Shaughnessy)
- consider how the lure is attacked (is it usually hit from the side or from the back)
- just because it's a popular or proven lure doesn't mean it was designed correctly with regard to hook placement, hook size or type of hook
- barbs on hooks make penetration more difficult

Like I said... over analyzed.

OK. Lets over analyze this. With the Mustads that I have, if I dont use a split ring I can cut off the brazed on hook point and it will work perfectly(no twisting or bending). Am I going to lose more fish without a split ring? I've seen videos saying to cut off hooks and replace hooks with split rings on jerk baits.
Second, am I better off going with a short shank larger hook, or standard shank? Lately I have been using short shank wide gap hooks. My theory is that I want a bigger hook but not added weight. I have not lost any fish on any of the hooks , so I dont know which are better(I have not caught very many either)LOL! Cutting one hook point off a treble is a great idea being that they are cheaper than buying doubles. All oppinions are welcome!
Tom

I broke a hook the other day trying to 'T' it. I did not put it on the lure, just got another treble. I have 5/0's, 3x or 4x and some 7/0 reg duty that I bought for my larger trolling baits. It was the 7/0 that snapped. I would like to try anything that would make releases quicker. I'd lean towards pinching the barb before cutting it down to two. That would make an interesting poll; how many out there have gone barbless. finn

Cool Tom,
I caught 3 fish on lokes this season,none got away.The 42" was barely
hooked and fell off in the net,but did get landed.I was a little sceptacle
at first,but so far so good.I like em.

Some things I do...
I use single hooks on almost all my bucktails. I think I lose some smaller fish doing this but most of the time (especially on bigger fish) I can drive the single through the top of their snout (something that is really tough to with a treble and you should never lose a fish doing this). It is also easy to release fish quickly without even netting them.
I remove a hook on almost all cranks (usually the middle hook) for better hook penetration and quicker releases.
I remove the tail hook on most jerkbaits as long as isn't critical to the baits action. They seem to hit jerkbaits in the head a high percentage of the time and the tail hook ends up doing damage or slows the release process.