Single hooks on lures

[fishing_in_israel]

Hi Guys and Gals,

Haven't been around for a long time so please forgive me. Main reason is that unfortunately Rapala don't really make lures that fit my ultra shallow fishing needs - the MaxRaps get snagged quite easily on our shallow reefs The Skitter Pops are OK but to be honest there are other that work better - sorry if I have upset anybody - it's just the way it is.

Anyway, I don't get out that much and there aren't so many fish left in the Mediterranean so if I do catch anything it really is something to write home about.

I have an offer to make: I just got some freshwater single plugging (lure) hooks (it was a mix-up - I ordered Saltwater ones) in size 1 and was wondering if anyone wants to test them.
There are quite a few good reasons for single hooks on lures - better hook ups, less snagging and less damage to the fish.

The reason that I would like someone to do some testing is that I'm not sure if it matters if the belly hook faces up or not. Obviously facing upwards reduces the chance of snagging but would it reduce the chance of a hook-up? Do fish 'chomp' on a lure or 'suck' it in? If the latter then the hook, regardless of which way it is mounted, would get in the fish's mouth.

These are #1 hooks which would be suitable for medium sized lures such as anything from 12cm and up.
Here are a couple of photos to get an idea of how they look:


Some medium sized lures (guess them if you can )


Some smaller sized lures (guess them if you can - OK so the Patchinko is an easy one )

So if anybody is interested in testing some #1 single lure hooks drop me a PM and I'll get back to you.

Nigel

[cdj711]

well,
i dont know if the front hook pointing up is such a good idea, i never tried and all i can find for single hooks on plugs tells me the hook should look down.
even then i think you will not get many snags, i started to use single hooks on some lures to be able to release some of the smaller pikes in my pond, and it works just fine, sometimes you dont even have to touch them, just take off some pressure and they wiggle themselves free.
and even with 3 trebles on some lures i still get strikes which i can not hook, so the number of hook points doesnt seem to matter much; if the fish takes the lure, a single hook will just catch as well, and sometimes maybe even better than a treble.
lthough all this is just based on a couple days of fishing, because for all other water i am still going for trebles, but one of these days, maybe i will use singles on all my lures.
best,
wolfgang

[fishing_in_israel]

Jan 13, 2013 16:30:47 GMT -4 cdj711 said:

well,
i dont know if the front hook pointing up is such a good idea, i never tried and all i can find for single hooks on plugs tells me the hook should look down.
even then i think you will not get many snags, i started to use single hooks on some lures to be able to release some of the smaller pikes in my pond, and it works just fine, sometimes you dont even have to touch them, just take off some pressure and they wiggle themselves free.
and even with 3 trebles on some lures i still get strikes which i can not hook, so the number of hook points doesnt seem to matter much; if the fish takes the lure, a single hook will just catch as well, and sometimes maybe even better than a treble.
lthough all this is just based on a couple days of fishing, because for all other water i am still going for trebles, but one of these days, maybe i will use singles on all my lures.
best,
wolfgang

Hi wolfgang,
A friend of mine that gets to go fishing almost everyday before work and switches between soft plastics and [mostly] topwaters for sea bass told me that he has never lost a fish due to the hook getting thrown when using [single hooked] soft plastics but has lost quite a few fish whilst using topwaters fitted with trebles.
It seems that the hook bend of trebles are relatively small for the overall size of the hook and don't give as good a hookset as a similarly overall sized single hook which has a larger hook bend.
Of course single hooks on lures can only benefit the fish as there is less damage. I have had a few fish on which the belly treble was in their mouth and the other were snagged in their head or body causing unnecessary suffering and damage.
There is also less chance of getting 'fish-hooked' with singles and less tangles in one's lure box.

Have you tried the special single hook lures for lures (plugs)? The hook eye is much larger than a normal hook allowing it to freely move on the split ring of the lure.
To get an idea of what is available have a look at this listings on eBay:
Single lure hooks on eBay

If you want to try some of the freshwater ones I have a pack of 8 size 1 Gamakatsu ones that I would be only too glad to send you for free to try. Let me know....

Nigel