Hard Baits and Trebles

[CrustyMono]

I am on a pretty limited budget. I spend no more than $50 on tackle a month. The only exception is rods and reels. I have an ok crank bait and jerkbait selection. Its not great, but will get the job done.

 

I want to know if I am better off saving my money and buying more hardbaits and not bothering to replace the trebles, or should I buy fewer of them and buy nice trebles and split rings?

 

Also, what are good hooks for the money, hamamatsu and owner are nice, but expensive, i will spend the money if i have too.

[Angry John]

Expensive hooks are worth it, and i know it hurts.  You can try and sharpen the hooks to increase there life to cut down costs.  You may not need more baits if you have the ones that work for you, and maybe the money would be better spent elsewhere.  I use the same hooks you mentioned but the 

Daiichi Death Trap Round Trebles are great to!

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Daiichi_Death_Trap_Round_Treble_Hook_5pk/descpage-DAIDTHK.html

I use these mostly for jerkbaits that need light hooks to suspend properly.

 

[IndianaFinesse]

16 hours ago, CrustyMono said:

I am on a pretty limited budget. I spend no more than $50 on tackle a month. The only exception is rods and reels. I have an ok crank bait and jerkbait selection. Its not great, but will get the job done.

$50 a month is not most peoples idea of a limited budget, that's abut four times mine.  Be thankful for what you have.

 

I use kvd 2× short triple grip for crankbaits (unless they already come with good hooks), and I usually just leave the stock hooks on jerkbaits unless they're junk.  The sharpness is more important with jerkbaits cause the fish will often bit on the pause or just slap at it, but quality jerkbaits often already come with good hooks.

[CrustyMono]

2 minutes ago, IndianaFinesse said:

$50 a month is not most peoples idea of a limited budget, that's abut four times mine.  Be thankful for what you have.

 

I use kvd 2× short triple grip for crankbaits, and I usually just leave the stock hooks on jerkbaits unless they're junk.  The sharpness is more important with jerkbaits cause the fish will often bit on the pause or just slap at it, but quality jerkbaits often already come with good hooks.

 

I average out to about $50 I bought several rod and reel combos last year, which brought that average way up. I have the setups that i can use to effectively present most baits. now I can invest into more tackle. I am only fifteen. I have saved all my money up. I have spent some of it on a boat and a computer. I don't spend money on much else. I will likely only spend around 25$ probably less. once I have a dece t tackle arsenal, i will spend 25$ a month and also replace lost baits

[Scott F]

What kinds of problems are you having with the hooks that you feel the need to replace them?

[Raul]

Good quality cranks have good quality hooks, so, unless you want something special, you don't need to upgrade hooks. I do replace hooks on baits like Jitterbugs cuz the factory hooks on them are trash.

[WRB]

VMC 9650 replacement treble hooks are good and not too expensive @ $2.50 for 7. Test the hooks before changing them usiing your thumb nail, if the stick or scratch the nail you are good to use them.

Tom

[TxHawgs]

The Fletcher Shryok trebles at Walmart are sticky sharp if your lookin for a short shank EWG style hook. They come in sz 2 4 6 and 15 in a pack and are made by Eagle Claw. They sell them at Walmart and are on sale right now for $3.42-$3.47 you can't beat em for that price.

[Team9nine]

I agree with a couple of the posters above - most stock baits come with decent trebles already, especially if you take the time to hone them as needed. Unless you get into tournaments or some similar situation where losing fish will cost you money, don't sweat the high end details, especially at 15 y.o. and being on a limited budget. Take a few bucks and instead just buy a good file ?

 

-T9

[Logan S]

I've found that most baits these days don't need to have the trebles changed.  I will swap hooks on certain baits but it's more for adjusting float/fall rate or to get a stronger hook, not becasue the stock hooks aren't good enough.  There are very few baits that I regularly use where I consider the stock hooks to be junk...

 

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it at all right now.  

[SFL BassHunter]

I used to never replace the trebles on my cranks or topwater lures. Then I lost a few fish on cranks and had a fish bend a treble on one of my spooks. At that point I did some research, ended up getting the Mustad KVD Triple Grip hooks and I love them. They are tough, and sharp as heck. Haven't lost a fish or bent a hook since. I have replaced most the hooks on most of my lures that I feel needed replacing.

 

I think it is well worth having less lures with the right hooks. Or find a brand of lures that has great hooks already even if they cost a little more. But I prefer changing them, so I know exactly what I have on the lure.

[ww2farmer]

The only reason I replace trebles on stock baits, esp. Strike Kings, is because I fish with braid, and have bending issues with their stock lighter wire hooks. If I used mono or fluoro the stock hooks on SK baits are fine. 

 

That being said, all my SK baits get their hooks replaced with either Mustad KVD Elite 2x strong, 2x short triple grips. I tend to like the triple grips when I am fishing around grass, which is most of the time, as the slight inward bend allows them to come through a little better, and also when I am up-sizing hooks, SK, Mustad, and KVD worked together well to have a system where ups-sizing the hooks  do not negatively effect the bait, and in some cases actually enhance a few things, the same can not be said about other brands..........Normally all my SK squarebills, lipless cranks, deep diving cranks and jerkbaits get the mustad hooks.

 

I also fish with a lot of the Storm Arashi baits, those baits get fished as is out of the package with their stock hooks. They are a good quality, heavy duty, black nickle treble. When they need to be replaced, I usually opt for VMC short shank heavy wire hooks, as that's what they come with, were designed with, and work well with. Those VMC hooks are of decent quality and are affordable. The Mustad hooks get a little pricey.

[NCbassraider]

I switch most of my hard bait treble hooks out and use Gamakatsu only.  The difference is huge, IMO.

 

A lot of baits now come with upgraded hooks, like Spro uses Gamakatsu and Yamamoto uses Mustad but brands like Rapala, KVD and Heddon have junk hooks.  

 

I find with the switched out stronger and sharper Gamakatsu hooks I am able to drive the hooks through the fish instead of just skin hooking it.  I rarely lose a fish with upgraded hooks. 

[junyer357]

I also prefer to run an upgraded hook. I use the mustad tg76's (kvd 2x short 1x strong) so u can upsize one size on most of my cranks. 90% of the ones i use are #2 and #4 and i buy them in bulk at captain hooks wharehouse. I think it was $60 for 100 each #2 and #4 and shipping when i restocked last month. 

[CrustyMono]

17 hours ago, Scott F said:

What kinds of problems are you having with the hooks that you feel the need to replace them?

 

Not many, I don't throw hardballs much, i am very afraid of losing them. I lose most of them by casting and they break off. The hooks sometimes bend out and aren't super sharp

[Scott F]

There's a saying that goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  With limited funds for tackle purchases, spend your money where you'll get the best return. When your hooks break, or can't be sharpened, replace them but wait until you need them.

[TxHawgs]

3 hours ago, junyer357 said:

I also prefer to run an upgraded hook. I use the mustad tg76's (kvd 2x short 1x strong) so u can upsize one size on most of my cranks. 90% of the ones i use are #2 and #4 and i buy them in bulk at captain hooks wharehouse. I think it was $60 for 100 each #2 and #4 and shipping when i restocked last month. 

Man thanks for the heads up on the bulk price. I forget how much the bulk packs I was looking at were but they were priced really well. I will let u know if I find them cheaper.

[CTBassin860]

11 hours ago, TxHawgs said:

The Fletcher Shryok trebles at Walmart are sticky sharp if your lookin for a short shank EWG style hook. They come in sz 2 4 6 and 15 in a pack and are made by Eagle Claw. They sell them at Walmart and are on sale right now for $3.42-$3.47 you can't beat em for that price.

I bought a couple custom wood lures that came with those.Absolutely sticky.

11 hours ago, TxHawgs said:

The Fletcher Shryok trebles at Walmart are sticky sharp if your lookin for a short shank EWG style hook. They come in sz 2 4 6 and 15 in a pack and are made by Eagle Claw. They sell them at Walmart and are on sale right now for $3.42-$3.47 you can't beat em for that price.

I bought a couple custom wood lures that came with those.Absolutely sticky.

[Angry John]

you might want to spend the winter time practicing on some old hooks that may not be in top shape.  Knowing how to sharpen a hook correctly is a skill that takes time and will save you time out on the water and money in some cases.

[aprestonSEK]

Stick with Gamakatsu 

[RB 77]

On 1/10/2017 at 9:07 PM, WRB said:

VMC 9650 replacement treble hooks are good and not too expensive @ $2.50 for 7. Test the hooks before changing them usiing your thumb nail, if the stick or scratch the nail you are good to use them.

Tom

 

Yup. Any bait that doesn't come with a decent factory hooks gets these.