One red hook or two ?

[kyron4]

On most of my rattle traps and crakbaits I put a red hook on the front and nickle on the rear. If I put a red on the rear also, will it make any difference at all as far as the number of hits or where the fish hits ? -Thanks

[fishfordollars]

If I happen to put one on it's only on the front.

[Grey Wolf]

Not really.  JMHO

[Hot Rod]

I usually change out both with red hooks but only because of the style of hook.  I have a stock pile of mustad triple grips I bought and they just all happen to be red.

I don't think it matters if you put on one or two red or none for that matter on a reaction type bait.

[tnbassfisher]

I think as long as the bait has good motion and presentation, they will hit it either way. 

[Needemp]

Touchy subject. Some people on this forum think if you like red hooks you are a victim of hook manufacturers marketing plot to manipulate you out of your money. Kinda makes me chuckle.

Look, if you use cbs often, then you will be replacing hooks frequently. Therefore you will be buying after-market hooks. Don't let anyone here tell you it is stupid to buy red hooks. If they do, you can stop reading and just ignore their advice. If a red hook gives you confidence, then buy red.

My personal experience is that with one red hook on the front, my catch ratio after the hook-up went up dramatically. Could be a coincidence, but I don't think so. My theory is that one red hook will not help you all of the time, but it will not ever hurt you. If it gets you 1 extra fish out of 20, then it is worth it. Besides, it won't cost you an extra penny to use red.

To answer your question about the 2 red hooks, with my opinion, I don't do it. The purpose of the one red hook is to appeal to the bass's predatory nature. He attacks the red hook because it's blood. If he attacks the red hook up front, you increase your hook-up ratio. If the fish comes off the front hook, he still may get hooked by the back hook. I have caught several bass that the front hook wasn't in his mouth, but the back hook was stuck in the side of his face. That is my experience.

Also, red hooks don't always come into play. If the cb is digging on the bottom, I doubt that a bass sees the red hook. Also, a lot of cb bites can be reaction bites and I don't think color of a hook or even the cb itself comes into play. He just reacts. It's the feeding strike where the red hook could come into play. Hope this helps.

[5bass]

[movedhere] General Bass Fishing Forum [move by] five.bass.limit.

[VABassin'14]

Another thing that I believe can be a factor is the color of the crankbait. If I am using a red crankbait, I want to have both hooks red.

[Blue Streak]

All of the red hooks I ever tried were dull and I stopped using them

[adclem]

The only fish I have ever caught on a red hook was on a Cavitron Buzz Bait and after a couple of vicious strikes the hook was no longer red and is still catching them like crazy.  So I believe it is has more to do with the style and color of the bait and presentation then it has to do with the color of the hook.

Later,

[Jake.]

I didn't notice any improvements from using red hooks whatsoever. The red paint fades after a few fish anyway so I don't see the point. But if they give you more confidence in your lure, use them.

[Needemp]

All of the red hooks I ever tried were dull and I stopped using them

The Gammies are very sharp and the new Mustad hooks I like as much as the Gammies (the point is elongated like the Gammies). They are perfect right out of the box. Trust me, if you start using all newer, quality, sharp hooks, you will notice a lot more initial hook-ups. I used the same hooks for the life of a bait until I was 30. I used to miss a lot of hits, and the ones I would hook up would jump and spit my lure out. I'm glad to say that my hook-up to land ratio increased exponentially.

Side note- I have found that the hook goes bad before the red wears off. I rarely have the red come off a hook because I usually replace it after a few fish or snags. By then it is too dull for my likings. But sometimes I get a hook that stays sharp for quite a few fish. By then, a lot of the red is gone but there is still enough red that in the right light, the red is still visible. But usually by the time the red wears off, don't worry, you will soon find an almost microscopic bend on the tip of one of one of the trebles, or a slightly dull hook. Either way, it's time to replace it. Don't take a chance on losing a big fish.

PS I use brand new hooks when I go serious fishing. But I take the old hooks and resharpen them and use them on old lures, or when I am fishing from shore. Hope this helps and happy hookin'

[Needemp]

Another tip that might help you. There is no need that I see to use red hooks on any deep diving crank. Red is the first color to disappear. That doesn't mean that red becomes invisible when it reaches that depth (like some line companies try to tell people), it means red turns to a shade of gray. So in clear water, on a high sun day, that depth might be 30'. But most lakes I fish, I never have more than 4' of visibility, usually 1 to 2'. So depending on how much light is penetrating the water depends on when red disappears. So therefore I do not see a reason to use red hooks on deep divers, although I still do.

[Stasher1]

My personal experience is that with one red hook on the front, my catch ratio after the hook-up went up dramatically. Could be a coincidence, but I don't think so. My theory is that one red hook will not help you all of the time, but it will not ever hurt you. If it gets you 1 extra fish out of 20, then it is worth it. Besides, it won't cost you an extra penny to use red.

From what I've seen in the past year or so, the red ones are sometimes cheaper or on clearance. I picked up a couple packs of BPS "pear head" spiral lock jig heads with red hooks the other day for $1.77 each when the regular hook models were about $3 a pack.

[KYntucky Warmouth]

My personal experience is that with one red hook on the front, my catch ratio after the hook-up went up dramatically. Could be a coincidence, but I don't think so. My theory is that one red hook will not help you all of the time, but it will not ever hurt you. If it gets you 1 extra fish out of 20, then it is worth it. Besides, it won't cost you an extra penny to use red.

From what I've seen in the past year or so, the red ones are sometimes cheaper or on clearance. I picked up a couple packs of BPS "pear head" spiral lock jig heads with red hooks the other day for $1.77 each when the regular hook models were about $3 a pack.

same thing here....I bought some owner stingers the other day and they only had nickel in one size that I needed and red in the other for $1.25 less