Hook Sizing For Soft Plastics

[custer]

Just got done fishing a tourney and got my tail fin handed to me.

 

I missed 7 fish (2 nice ones that actually saw hit the bait) fishing a Texas rigged craw dad from Dave's Tournament tackle.

 

I used:

3/0 Gamakatsu EWG

4/0 Gamakatsu offset shank round bend

1/0 Gamakatsu EWG

 

I "texsposed" the hook by going all the way through the bait, then tucked the tip pack into the "skin"

 

In the past I mainly was a crankbait/spinner bait fishermen. But, as I've learned soft plastics get most of the pigs.

 

What hook do you prefer and what size? Typically I use a light (<1/8oz) unpegged weight as we are flipping wood in less then 10' of water.

 

Thanks

 

Custer

 

[Mccallister25]

Most of the time I use a 4/0 EWG for about all my plastics. Maybe it could have been poor hooksets? Im sure this is very common knowledge, but with t-rigs, in my experience you get a much better hookup percentage if you set the hook vertically as apposed to a diagonal hookset.. You may already do this, but I didnt hop on board until about a month ago.

[bclark7b]

Ive always had bad luck with ewg hooks.. I usually just use offset worm hooks for everything.. probably has something to do with how I set the hook idk, but I have missed alot of wide gap hooks...

[Pz3]

Never had an issue with 4/0 ewg hooks being set unless I was using a real beefy plastic or didnt give the fish enough time.

[Mccallister25]

Never had an issue with 4/0 ewg hooks being set unless I was using a real beefy plastic or didnt give the fish enough time.

 

Spot on..

[geo g]

Usually the thicker the bait the bigger the hook. That being said I use #3 and #4 ewg gama hooks on all my plastic choices. I also use a thin wire hook rather then the super hooks. I get a better stick with the thin wire. It might be why your missing hook sets. Only use super hooks when flipping with 65 pound braid.

[papajoe222]

I base the size hook to use on the size of the plastic I'm fishing and by that I'm refering to the thickness of the bait not the length.  I want a gap that has roughly twice the thickness of the bait I'm throwing.  If you T-rig, push the plastic down on the hook shank and see how much of the hook's gap is exposed.  This, in essence is the hook size you'll be fishing with.  If you don't see enough hook for you, go up in size. 

One other thing I'll mention although if you fish tourneys, I'm sure you're aware of; at this time of year you get a lot of pick ups from bedding bass. Often they'll spit out your presentation before you can set the hook and more often than not, they won't have the hook far enough into their mouth if you can.  The result is missed hook sets, not because of poor hook choice or bad technique, or too soft of a rod. The fish just never had your bait in it's mouth.

On the other hand, if you have a fish on and end up loosing it, it's likely because of a poor hook set and the hook size will have a big impact on it.

[ABW]

Generally I use EWG for thick plastics, round bend for thin.

 

For your ribbontail worms, 7" and under I will use a 3/0 hook, EWG or round bend depending on how thick it is.

 

If you are using a lure like a tube, then I would use an EWG, due to the thickness.

 

Hope this helps

[Mike L]

I base the size hook to use on the size of the plastic I'm fishing and by that I'm refering to the thickness of the bait not the length.  I want a gap that has roughly twice the thickness of the bait I'm throwing.  If you T-rig, push the plastic down on the hook shank and see how much of the hook's gap is exposed.  This, in essence is the hook size you'll be fishing with.  If you don't see enough hook for you, go up in size. 

One other thing I'll mention although if you fish tourneys, I'm sure you're aware of; at this time of year you get a lot of pick ups from bedding bass. Often they'll spit out your presentation before you can set the hook and more often than not, they won't have the hook far enough into their mouth if you can.  The result is missed hook sets, not because of poor hook choice or bad technique, or too soft of a rod. The fish just never had your bait in it's mouth.

On the other hand, if you have a fish on and end up loosing it, it's likely because of a poor hook set and the hook size will have a big impact on it.

This...Listen to the Papa.

Mike