Treble Hooks

[Scotty58]

I imagine this topic has been brought up alot but im planning on replacing alot of the treble hooks on any crankbaits or jerkbaits i used alot this past season. I was wondering how do you guys determine what to go with? As in how do you know when to use EWG treble hooks or round bend treble hooks? Long shank or short shank? I was thinking about putting short shanks on all my jerkbaits unless thats a bad idea? Thanks for the help!

[scaleface]

I use short shanks on baits that the hooks are to close to each other and are prone to tangling . Rebel Deep Wee R is a good example. Otherwise I use inexpensive VMC round bend  or Mustad round bend trebels.

[Angry John]

Use normal length round bend on jerk baits. I use short shank on square bills the rest is dependant on cover.

[FloridaFishinFool]

I use short shanks on baits that the hooks are to close to each other and are prone to tangling .

 

Definitely follow this advice here! Stick close to the size that comes with the lure stock. Too long a shank will cause them to tangle up with each other.

 

Also, be aware that polarity of installation is important for treble hooks directly under the body of a lure.

 

There are only two ways to put the treble hooks on. One way does work better than the other and here is why...

 

If you put a treble hook on a lure under the body of the lure, when you pull it through the water the hooks are pushed back and up into the body of the lure. If one single hook is facing the rear of the lure, when it swings up into the body of the lure it has no choice but to skew off to one side or the other throwing the balance of the lure off a little bit.

 

but if you turn the treble hook around and make the "V" between two hooks face the rear of the lure, when you pull it through the water and the hook is shoved backwards, the V between two hooks can now straddle the lure body and remain relatively balanced on the retrieve.

 

Some would argue doing it this way would decrease chances of a hook set when two of the hooks are up against the lure body and only one hook is down, but then again the rear hooks are still dangling freely and can be put on either way. And when a fish hits the lure I doubt if those front treble hooks stay up against the body once the water is no long pushing them back when it is in the fish's mouth.

 

But, hey, put them on however you want to. All of this could be 100% true or just plain BS!

 

But KVD says polarity matters!

[papajoe222]

There are advantages and disadvantages to the different styles.  In general, I would say to replace the original hooks with a similar style and size hook (your brand of choice).  Wide gap or 'tripple grip' style hooks are good replacement on lures that fish have a tendancy to throw easily like lipless cranks/  Short shanks are an option for not only eliminating tangling, but for upsizing the size of hook without making the lure more prone to snagging, or adjusting the way a particular bait suspends.  Changing styles and size from the originals can improve the lure's action and your hook ups, but sometimes can give you the opposite results. The only way to know for sure is to try them out.

[SirSnookalot]

I use about the same size that came on the lure, mostly use 4x Eagle Claw.  For saltwater I use VMC 4x, about the same size for lures but with spoons I jump up a size, sometimes use a 2/0 or 4/0  siwash hook instead.

[smalljaw67]

Changing hooks on suspending jerkbaits is very critical because the bait was designed with the original hooks as part of the weight. I saw a friend lose 2 good jerkbaits because he put 2X strong hooks on his Pointer figuring the hooks won't bend out, what happened was the 2X trebles added just enough weight to make the bait sink and they got hung up and broke off. As for determining which style to go with there are a few things to look at, round bends hook better but EWGs hold fish better so for a bait like the X-Rap, it has a lot of movement and fish will swipe at it and so I want a hook that will get them on quickly so I like a round bend, for baits that have 3 sets of trebles, those I like the EWG style because there are enough hooks for the fish to get hooked with, the problem is these baits tend to get thrown so I want hooks that hold better but there really isn't a wrong or right. If you are unsure try experimenting and then let a season or two help you decide, for example start with a triple grip type hook and after a full season you can tell if you were missing a buch of fish that hit and lost a lot because they weren't hooked to well, then try some round bends and see if they solve your problem or you may find you land a high percentage of fish so you may opt to stay with the same style. Look at your current bait for clues as to which hook to use, if the bait you have is a RC STX for example, those suspend really well and are very finicky when it comes to hooks as they are made with a really light wire VMC, they tend to bend out as we often use heavier line than what most baits are designed for but that is another discussion, anyway, one of the best lighter wire hooks for jerkbait is the Owner Stinger ST-36, the number is important, ST-36, that hook is what I would go with for the RC STX or the LC Pointer. If you have a bait that floats up too fast, then you can try a heavier hook to balance it out and as far as whether to go with a short shank or not, for jerkbaits I say no, short shanks are made to use a larger hook on a lure without the problem of it tangling so baits like square bills and lipless cranks are popular baits for the short shank.

[Montanaro]

Let me try to sum this up for op

Short shank ewg for brush bumping cranks. Short shank means less likely to snag.

Regular shank for jerkbaits as it's more open water and the added length helps snag bass who tend to swipe at jerks.

Lipless cranks can use either

[Choporoz]

I have a pretty strong aversion to changing out trebles that aren't bent or rusty or otherwise 'done'.  Maybe its laziness....(probably laziness)....or maybe its the sense that when I pay 6 or 8 bucks for a lure, it better not need an overhaul before it gets wet.  At any rate, when I do change out hooks, I get good ones and try to match size as close as possible to OEM.  I just don't have the sense, touch, or patience to work to adjust diving depth by changing treble sizes. 

[scaleface]

Most of my crank-baits were manufactured at a time when hooks were just an afterthought . So I have to change hooks. Some baits just have bad designed hook hangers. Two of my favorites the already mentioned Rebel Deep Wee R and the Rapala Fat Rap are approximately the same size and both are medium divers but I use different hooks for each.The Deep Wee R is a great fish catcher but the hangers are too close and I put the short shanks on those  and other baits with the same problem. With the Fat Rap the hangers are farther apart and  I can just use regular and less expensive round bend trebels on them. 

[fishballer06]

I like to use the EWG trebels on lures that the fish are more likely to inhale, rather than lures that a fish will slap at. The point of the hook is more exposed to grab on a standard round bend, rather than on an EWG. So if it's a lure that the fish may not be swallowing, it gets a round bend.

 

Most common lure I put EWG's on is a lipless crankbait. Fish just seem to inhale these style lures the most in my opinion.

 

Most common lures I'll put a round bend on is topwater and jerkbaits. 

 

Crankbaits (squarebill/shallow/mid/deep) can go either way really, it's all in what you feel confident in. In some of my lures that I use a lot, ex. a DT6 in perch color, I keep two in my box. One with round bends, one with EWG's.

[Scotty58]

thanks for all the replies guys! yeah i wanted to get some info before i went blindly into changing hooks and possibly screwing things up on alot of my baits. I plan on going through and sharpening most of the hooks on my baits that are rusty or look worn out. may just change my squarebills to short shanks though cause it seems like that is just a good idea.

[SirSnookalot]

Changing hooks, don't forget split rings, is a major project if planning on doing it to every lure you own.  I do it only when needed with 2 exceptions.  I use 2 lures that catch a lot of fish for me but the rings and hooks are terrible, those get changed right out of the box.   Not unusual for me to use trebles with 2 hooks instead of 3, still get plenty of hook ups before I get around to replacing.  My freshwater hooks do not rust, but my saltwater ones do.  I carry a small diamond file in my fanny pack for a touch up.

[Master Bait'r]

I mostly use EWG hooks as they seem to catch on cover less. Also I am looking forward to getting a few barbarians on some baits to see how the heavy gauge outbarb point works. The smaller outbarbs (katsuage hooks) are pretty sweet and tend to keep fish buttoned very well even though they're so light so I think they'll be great.

My favorite point is a trokar lazer though. @ $7 for two though, they're only going on like a $30 lure or up haha.

[Master Bait'r]

Also "which hook" depends largely on what else I want to accomplish besides hooking a fish. Am I trying to match, reduce or gain weight? You can make a floater suspend and a suspender dive if you want, but it's all about what you're trying to do.

I know the question seems simple but like anything else in fishing it's just the cover page to a very long novel

[fishballer06]

Also "which hook" depends largely on what else I want to accomplish besides hooking a fish. Am I trying to match, reduce or gain weight? You can make a floater suspend and a suspender dive if you want, but it's all about what you're trying to do.

I know the question seems simple but like anything else in fishing it's just the cover page to a very long novel

 

To add to that, hook size/weight can make a diving crankbait run deeper or shallower. Putting a larger/heavier hook on a deep diving crankbait will actually make it run a little bit shallower because the larger hook causes more drag in the water, making the lure not dive as deep (same theory when using a heavier line). 

[fisherrw]

i use vmc and there only 2 bucks a pack on TW

[primetime]

I buy the triple grips in bulk, same with vmc and daichi trebles so they end up costing almost nothing, I also use Eagle Claw Lazers, and I keep the Owner Hooks from all my Sebiles I change to larger hooks, and I experiment.  I like to buy a few of my favorite lures and I will put at least 2x strong if I know I am throwing them on 50lb braid without a leader all day, or using 20lb test with a 3" Ripbait or crank.....

 

If you use light line you are better off using thin trebles for better penetration, and barbless is great for lipless cranks especially if you rip them out of the grass, they come out much easier and the grass falls off the hook. 

 

If you look at all your lures, you can almost always go up hook size quite a bit on many if you use a smaller ring but make sure it is a quality ring, I also always put an oval ring for a line tie no matter what. 

 

I have alot of cranks with a triple grip on front and ewg on rear and on stick baits, I like to often cut off a treble to make them more weedless, buy the double hooks from mustad- #4 is size I use the most and I will use them for a weedless presentation on cranks, jerkbaits and topwaters so they are weedless, I mess around with the way they face etc.

I would say after I changed out hooks on maybe 10 of each lure I can almost just know if I am doing something wrong as I change out my trebles an awful lot, if I use a crankbait for a few hours, get a few fish, I change both as soon as I get home, and I save stock hooks, saves money since the hooks on the Evolve Soul I just purchased were silly small, #8 and #10 I think, so I upped to a #5 and #6, 2x short, and one short daichi in red ewg.

 

Vmc makes a #3 and #5 which is really helpful, same with gamakatsu but I would never pay retail pricing, I buy in bulk from Captain Hooks of the world or Hagens and get triple grips elites for under a .25 each...Deathtraps are only $88 for 1000 or something silly.

[Weld's Largemouth]

I buy the triple grips in bulk, same with vmc and daichi trebles so they end up costing almost nothing, I also use Eagle Claw Lazers, and I keep the Owner Hooks from all my Sebiles I change to larger hooks, and I experiment.  I like to buy a few of my favorite lures and I will put at least 2x strong if I know I am throwing them on 50lb braid without a leader all day, or using 20lb test with a 3" Ripbait or crank.....

 

If you use light line you are better off using thin trebles for better penetration, and barbless is great for lipless cranks especially if you rip them out of the grass, they come out much easier and the grass falls off the hook. 

 

If you look at all your lures, you can almost always go up hook size quite a bit on many if you use a smaller ring but make sure it is a quality ring, I also always put an oval ring for a line tie no matter what. 

 

I have alot of cranks with a triple grip on front and ewg on rear and on stick baits, I like to often cut off a treble to make them more weedless, buy the double hooks from mustad- #4 is size I use the most and I will use them for a weedless presentation on cranks, jerkbaits and topwaters so they are weedless, I mess around with the way they face etc.

I would say after I changed out hooks on maybe 10 of each lure I can almost just know if I am doing something wrong as I change out my trebles an awful lot, if I use a crankbait for a few hours, get a few fish, I change both as soon as I get home, and I save stock hooks, saves money since the hooks on the Evolve Soul I just purchased were silly small, #8 and #10 I think, so I upped to a #5 and #6, 2x short, and one short daichi in red ewg.

 

Vmc makes a #3 and #5 which is really helpful, same with gamakatsu but I would never pay retail pricing, I buy in bulk from Captain Hooks of the world or Hagens and get triple grips elites for under a .25 each...Deathtraps are only $88 for 1000 or something silly.

Jeff you know your stuff!!! Sent a PM to you, hope you get a chance to read it! Thanks! Stay well!

[scaleface]

Ive been wanting to try some double hooks on cranks.

 

I buy the triple grips in bulk, same with vmc and daichi trebles so they end up costing almost nothing, I also use Eagle Claw Lazers, and I keep the Owner Hooks from all my Sebiles I change to larger hooks, and I experiment.  I like to buy a few of my favorite lures and I will put at least 2x strong if I know I am throwing them on 50lb braid without a leader all day, or using 20lb test with a 3" Ripbait or crank.....

 

If you use light line you are better off using thin trebles for better penetration, and barbless is great for lipless cranks especially if you rip them out of the grass, they come out much easier and the grass falls off the hook. 

 

If you look at all your lures, you can almost always go up hook size quite a bit on many if you use a smaller ring but make sure it is a quality ring, I also always put an oval ring for a line tie no matter what. 

 

I have alot of cranks with a triple grip on front and ewg on rear and on stick baits, I like to often cut off a treble to make them more weedless, buy the double hooks from mustad- #4 is size I use the most and I will use them for a weedless presentation on cranks, jerkbaits and topwaters so they are weedless, I mess around with the way they face etc.

I would say after I changed out hooks on maybe 10 of each lure I can almost just know if I am doing something wrong as I change out my trebles an awful lot, if I use a crankbait for a few hours, get a few fish, I change both as soon as I get home, and I save stock hooks, saves money since the hooks on the Evolve Soul I just purchased were silly small, #8 and #10 I think, so I upped to a #5 and #6, 2x short, and one short daichi in red ewg.

 

Vmc makes a #3 and #5 which is really helpful, same with gamakatsu but I would never pay retail pricing, I buy in bulk from Captain Hooks of the world or Hagens and get triple grips elites for under a .25 each...Deathtraps are only $88 for 1000 or something silly.

 

The double hooks are a good idea. I may have to try that .