Decreasing Hook % While Wacky Rigged

[Procious]

Before I started this new thread I looked in the Senko FAQs and saw some posts on favorite hooks but nothing directly on point. That having been said...

I switched to Gamakatsu Weedless Finesse and Drop Shot hooks a few weeks ago. I switched to try to find a good (or at least better) hook for Wacky rigging a Senko in timber (lay downs) and weeds. While I may have achieved my purpose of finding a better hook for lay downs and weeds I noticed that my hook % has decreased significantly especially with bigger fish.

Has anyone else experienced this or am I possibly not setting the hook correctly? Doing something else wrong? I didn't have this problem with the regular non-weedless Gamakatsu Finesse and Drop Shot hooks.

What are good hooks and sizes to use to Wacky rig a Senko in lay downs and weeds that will not get hung up nearly every cast but will yeld a good hook %? Basically, I'm looking for a good all purpose Wacky rig hook. The lakes I fish usually have a good amount of timber/laydowns and a small amount of weeds. Thanks for any suggestions?

[J Francho]

Reel set is all you need to do with those hooks. They both work fine for me.

[Wayne P.]

The space between the hook point and hook eye of the finesse wide gap hook being very close causes missed hook sets and weak hookups. A better hook design is the Octopus hook. It is not available with a weedguard so I put one on them. Size 4/0 Gammy #02414

Also if you rig the hook parallel with the Senko (rubber O ring style), the most plastic is in place to block hook penetration.

Do it this way with 3/8" electrical heat shrink tubing (no heating required) to make the Senko last longer:

[BassinMD]

I have been using these hooks in 1/0 size for about 2 week now and I missed a few in the beginning but like j francho said just a reel set or easy sweep set works a lot better than a hard hook set. Sweeping really increased my hook ups and helped land the hook into more solid parts of the lip

[n8cas4]

The weedless guards that 'hook' behind the barb can sometimes get caught and not allow the hook to go past the barb makin it easy for the fish to shake free. I haven't used the gamas like that, but I have used other brands and that was the case for me. Now the weedless version I use are fiber guards only. Has this happened to anyone else?

[BassinMD]

I haven't missed many fish with the gama hooks but it is very possible the ones that do shake it fast or pull out are from that guard getting stuck

[Procious]

Thanks for the replies and tips. I will try the sweeping hook-set this evening. If that doesn't work I will definately try the electrical tubing after a visit to the local hardware store.

For you guys that use the weedless Gamakatsu hooks what size(s) do you use? I've been using the 2/0 and 1/0.

[J Francho]

some, but I don't generally use the weedless hooks. The senko itself becomes a weed guard. The times I have used the weed guard hooks, there hasn't been any hook up issue.

[Crestliner2008]

When fishing Senkos wacky style, there are two types of hooks that I've used very successfully for a lot of years. First is open water, in which I'll go with a 1/0 Gammy INLINE circle hook and no other. (I always crimp down the barb - no need for it.) If I was forced to use just one hook for everything, this is the bad boy I'd be using. For cover, I'll go with any one of the weedless finesse style hooks out there. VMC makes a dandy that works just fine. Never had much of a problem with the Gammy's though either. However, why not just Texas rig the Senko if the cover is bad? That works fine too.

As far as rigging goes, there is a pinned topic (under the Smallmouth Forum) here on slip floats & Senkos. There, I've outlined the technique I use, using cheap "Goodys" for wacky style rigging. This has worked flawlessly for me for about 8 years now. And here is the thing you really need to think about. There is NO one method that works all the time, every time. Fishing still has about a 10% luck factor. If it didn't, you wouldn't see the pros loosing as many fish as they do in high pay tourneys. And it really doesn't matter all that much for us regular fishermen, now does it? Do you "have" to land "every" fish you catch? I don't see that as good common sense. No golfer hits the putt every time. And no one can say they know the one method that is fool-proof. Think about that. And stop worrying so much about catching every fish. Just enjoy the day.

[BassinMD]

For the gama weedless hook I use a 1/0

[jkarol24]

I use 1/0 or 2/0 gammi weedless finesse hooks and love them. I've never had any problems with hookups. My setup consists of 20 lb braid to a 3-5 ft leader of 12 lb fluoro. The hookset consists of a combination sweep and reel which sets that hook right in top of their mouths.

[MikeinFresno]

For the heat shrink I found it real cheap at Harbor Freight, comes in a roll of 50' for under $10. I used to loose a Senko every fish or two, now it will last for several fish.