Straight shank hooks, for what & why besides flipping?

[TxHawgs]

Hey guys, the only straight shank hooks I have in my box are heavy flipping hooks. Can u guys tell me what baits u use em on and why, or the benefits of using one over an offset, ewg, owner twistlock ect? And are u using a snell knot? Thanks guys!

[crypt]

snell knot on a straight shank,if tied proper will cause the hook to set in the roof of the fishes mouth. I use beaver style baits,craws,short fat worms 5" or shorter,flipping heavy cover. that being said I still use ewg hooks when flipping lighter cover,reeds,kissimee grass etc. and on ewe hooks I tie a double pitzen knot.

[TxHawgs]

1 hour ago, crypt said:

snell knot on a straight shank,if tied proper will cause the hook to set in the roof of the fishes mouth. I use beaver style baits,craws,short fat worms 5" or shorter,flipping heavy cover. that being said I still use ewg hooks when flipping lighter cover,reeds,kissimee grass etc. and on ewe hooks I tie a double pitzen knot.

So u only use them for flipping like me. I know people use them for other applications and that's what I was wondering. If I'm missing out on something. Like I know some guys use them with Roboworms on a dropshot. 

I just realized I put this under the wrong thread. 

[Catt]

Wide gap hooks have the hook point directly in line with the eye of the hook or slightly above the line eye on "extra wide gap" hooks. When you set the hook, the sinker and the front of the lure clear a path for the hook point to escape a bass’s mouth without imbedding. On straight shank hooks the point rides substantially above the eye of the hook and aims for the roof of the bass’s mouth, resulting in a more hook-ups. The extra wide gap hooks do an excellent job of holding fish if you manage to get the hook through the bass’s mouth on the hook set. There are plenty of times when a bass completely takes the bait and even on a short pitch with braided line, the hook flies cleanly out of the bass’s mouth on the hook set. Missing an extra fish every once in a while doesn’t sound like a big deal, but if that fish is the Lunker of a lifetime, losing it is a huge deal.

[ww2farmer]

I am not in the straight shank fan camp. I use EWG for everything.................EXCEPT punching with large sinkers. It's the only place I want the extra bite of a straight shank hook, because with a large 1oz. + sinker, with an EWG hook you have the tendency to "pop" the fishes mouth open with the sinker, and the EWG hooks will follow that sinker right out of the fishes mouth. Plus the large "keeper" barbs on the straight shank flipping hooks require a lot less bait readjustments when putting it into super thick cover.

[Knightiac]

I typically use an EWG as much as possible... but when I have days where I miss one or two I typically switch to a straight shank and that fixes things for the day. Straight shanks are just a little more difficult to keep your bait on if fishing more horizontally through brush rather than vertically like flipping. Like another poster said, EWG are tremendous at staying in a fishes mouth for a long time if you set the hook, with a straight shank you'd typically want to keep a little more pressure on the fish and get him in quicker. 

One time I really prefer a straight shank over a EWG is when the fish are hardly biting. They sort of swipe at it but don't really take it, that's when a straight shank is really nice cause you can set the hook a little easier. I like switching to a straight shank when using a fluke when the bass are just swiping at it, cause a lot of the times the bass will straight hook itself. 

[Wildbillb]

I use straight shank worming all the time.

[Airman4754]

I prefer straight shank on everything but a jig rig and a Senko. I drop shot, shakey head, pitch, punch, and C-rig with straight shank hooks. If you rig them right they are just as weedless and I think the hookup percentage is higher. 

They do destroy plastics way faster. You can get four fish out of a worm if you flip it, bite it down and flip it again. 

[Raul]

There used to be a time when the only kind of hook available was -------> a straight shank hook and we used them for everything.

[DelcoSol]

I went to a seminar this past winter and Ish Monroe was talking about this. He said he doesnt use EWG hooks for anything. His reasoning was hook up percentages. He said with the EWG the mouth must go between the bend at the eye and the point of the hook which if you look at it is only an inch or so. With the straight shank there is nothing to prevent the fish from getting hooked especially if the hook is snelled. 

[BassThumb]

I think the advantages regarding hookup percentages with straight-shank hooks are sometimes a bit exaggerated. Missing fish due to them seems pretty rare.

Overall, I believe I'm getting more bites with an EWG due to my bait hanging straighter and requiring less adjustment time. 

So in the end, that adds a whole new facet to the argument that needs to be considered by the straight-shank-leads-to-more-fish community.