Yea saying VMC doesn't make premium hooks is absurd. Lots of quality brands use their hooks including lucky craft.
Im a big fan of their stand up shaky head, spinshot hooks , sureset trebles for my top water and shallow cranks, and the swinging rugby head. They also have a nice shaky head and neko hook.
I also don't care for turning the hook sideways into the bait. Although this method will work, I lose fish because of the hook position , and IMO hinders the action in stickbaits under 5" . ..
If there are too many weeds , weightless t rig the darn thing and catch some bass. It works just as well if not better.