Replace treble hooks? Or sharpen?

[Bassin' Brad]

I was throwing a brand-new Heddon Zara Spook Jr this morning on a small lake and I had three awesome blow ups and I waited until they went totally under water before I set the hook on my 7' med rod and I didn't get even one to the boat. I feel like I was setting the hook right but they were coming unbuttoned. Anyone have any experience with the stock hooks on this lure? Are they worth sharpening? Or do I just need to replace them? And if I replace them what hooks do I need to use?

[IndianaFinesse]

Brand new hooks don't usually need replacing or sharpening these days (unless the hooks are defects), I would suspect there is another problem.

[Bassin' Brad]

I know for sure they don't feel as sticky sharp as my KVD square bill cranks. 

And a week ago Saturday I caught 12+ fish on a KVD square bill and only lost one while fighting it back to the boat on that rod. It may be something I'm doing but I'm suspicious of those hooks now. 

[fishballer06]

Those stock hooks on the Heddon lures are very low quality. Replace them with some quality Gamakatsu/Owner/Mustad hooks. 

[Bassin' Brad]

A week ago Saturday I caught 12+ fish on a KVD square bill and only lost one while fighting it back to the boat with that rod. It may be something that I'm doing but I'm suspicious of those hooks now. 

[IndianaFinesse]

6 minutes ago, Bassin' Brad said:

I know for sure they don't feel as sticky sharp as my KVD square bill cranks. 

And a week ago Saturday I caught 12+ fish on a KVD square bill and only lost one while fighting it back to the boat on that rod. It may be something I'm doing but I'm suspicious of those hooks now. 

You could try sharpening them up real quick with a hook hone or file, I keep a hook hone with me in the boat for when a hook point gets dulled.  If you decide to upgrade them, I would recommed either the kvd 2× short treble hooks or the gamakatsu magic eye trebles.

[Bassin' Brad]

3 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

Those stock hooks on the Heddon lures are very low quality. Replace them with some quality Gamakatsu/Owner/Mustad hooks. 

Okay thanks will do. 

[NHBull]

Got to agree, those hooks suck!

 

i replaced mine with shorts and wider gaps , It is hard to beat owner.

i went with a lot of 35's but many go 36

[scaleface]

I always had trouble landing fish on Spooks too .  

[RoLo]

4 hours ago, Bassin' Brad said:

I was throwing a brand-new Heddon Zara Spook Jr this morning on a small lake and I had three awesome blow ups and I waited until they went totally under water before I set the hook on my 7' med rod and I didn't get even one to the boat. I feel like I was setting the hook right but they were coming unbuttoned. Anyone have any experience with the stock hooks on this lure? Are they worth sharpening? Or do I just need to replace them? And if I replace them what hooks do I need to use?

 

I seriously doubt that your problem is due to dull hooks.

If your hook-set is delivered when the lure is engulfed in the bass's mouth,

even a dull hook is bound to penetrate beyond the barb, 'especially' if you're using braided line.

 

Although the following statement is not a crowd-pleaser, try setting the hook 'immediately'!

That is to say, try to take the lure away from the bass, and you might be very surprised to find

that you are cranking a lot of bass to the boat. I'm not alone in that approach,

as Dean Rojas (the frog master himself) sets the hook immediately.

 

Roger

[WRB]

Zara Spook JR is an inexpensive lure, I would't spend too much on replacement treble hooks. VMC 9651, size 4 treble hooks are sharp and stronge enough for the Spook jr.

Take a look at Owners Zip n Ziggy in lieu of the Spook Jr., good hooks and easy walking lure, baby bass is a killer now!

Tom

[davecon]

Use a Spook for Snook often. Little bit different than bass but I change them out to usually Owners before I ever use them. 

[Angry John]

So i am that one guy that makes fun of people for putting 4k worth of rims on a 500 car but turn around and put 5 dollars of owner hyperwire split rings and st-41 hooks on a 2 dollar bargin bin lure.  My favorite lure was a bass pro popper that just seems to get more bites than any other top water i own.  Some lures just have it and those i am willing to put the good hardware on.  I have grown fond of the st-41 as they are 2x strong and sharp as hell.  Some people dont like cutting points on topwater but this have never been an issue for me.  The other way to go is to use lite wire hooks which will stick them good but will bend if you try and horse them in.  The link is to the trebles i use on jerk baits and they are amazing. 

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

[brent245]

Don't wait to set the hook. As soon as they blow up on it pull back and start reeling. You shouldn't need a hard hookset just a firm sweep of the rod will do.

[Bluebasser86]

I replace hooks if I don't think they're sharp enough, which is on pretty much any bait straight out of the package and any bait after a good amount of use. 

[Deleted account]

7 hours ago, Brent Heermans said:

Don't wait to set the hook. As soon as they blow up on it pull back and start reeling. You shouldn't need a hard hookset just a firm sweep of the rod will do.

 

This ^. Its not a frog.

[smalljaw67]

I don't think hooks are your problem, the spook is a hard bait, when the fish grabs it they will often try to spit it really fast. The only topwater baits I wait until I feel the fish are frogs and buzzbaits and the reason with buzzbaits is my line is tight and the fish often miss it as they short strike. If you feel the hooks aren't good enough I'd replace them but if you haven't already you can grab a Super Spook or Super Spook Jr., those have spit rings and good hooks, those rotating trebles don't last a long time but while they are new they really hold.

[SFL BassHunter]

19 hours ago, Bassin' Brad said:

I was throwing a brand-new Heddon Zara Spook Jr this morning on a small lake and I had three awesome blow ups and I waited until they went totally under water before I set the hook on my 7' med rod and I didn't get even one to the boat. I feel like I was setting the hook right but they were coming unbuttoned. Anyone have any experience with the stock hooks on this lure? Are they worth sharpening? Or do I just need to replace them? And if I replace them what hooks do I need to use?

Spooks don't come with good hooks. I've bent their hooks on fish that weren't that big.

 

The hooks I am going to recommend aren't cheap, but they are excellent! I haven't lost a fish since I switched my spooks and some cranks to the Mustad Ultrapoint KVD Triple Grip hooks.

They also have them in a short shank style which I like too.

 

Most decent priced cranks and lures these days have pretty good hooks. The spooks don't. Even the saltwater spooks have crappy hooks.

[Bassin' Brad]

43 minutes ago, SFL BassHunter said:

 

The hooks I am going to recommend aren't cheap, but they are excellent! I haven't lost a fish since I switched my spooks and some cranks to the Mustad Ultrapoint KVD Triple Grip hooks.

They also have them in a short shank style which I like. 

That's what I bought yesterday day at BPS. I'm also going to try setting the hook differently like some are suggesting. 

[SFL BassHunter]

I don't set the hook in the normal sense of setting the hook. I side sweep my rod like I would with a crank bait. But yeah don't wait long to sweep. No need for it.

[Bassin' Brad]

I was trying to sweep my rod.....but I was waiting till the fish was submerged. I'm going to try setting the hook sooner. 

[iceintheveins]

The Heddon Original Zara Spook has really bad hooks, the super spook series has Excalibur Rotating Trebles and they are quite good. I lose a few fish on them but not many. Most of the time, it's better to replace a treble than sharpen it IMO.