Bent treble hooks on crankbait

[Jonny15678]

I have recently gotten into crankbaits. I bought a cheap lunkerhunt crankbait $4.00.  I've caught a number of fish on them but tonight I caught some big bass 5-6 pounders and now the hooks on the treble hook are bent outwards.  Is this just cause the lures cheap? Would replacing the cheap treble hooks with some quality ones make a difference?

[38 Super Fan]

Nope, even the best trebles wear out. And yes, upgrading will absolutely help. While fishing always keep a close eye on how sharp your trebles are, and check for bends and bad barbs too. Sometimes you need to change trebles quite often...grinding them around rock, hang ups, and just unhooking fish with pliers can all cause problems.

[Jrob78]

Treble hooks are attached via split rings for a couple of reasons but one of the main ones is so that you can change them out when they need to be changed. A lot of baits come stock with crappy hooks, I change them out before the bait ever gets tied on. Buy some Mustad, Gamakatsu or Owner trebles in the appropriate size and change them out. 

[Ksam1234]

7 hours ago, Jonny15678 said:

I have recently gotten into crankbaits. I bought a cheap lunkerhunt crankbait $4.00.  I've caught a number of fish on them but tonight I caught some big bass 5-6 pounders and now the hooks on the treble hook are bent outwards.  Is this just cause the lures cheap? Would replacing the cheap treble hooks with some quality ones make a difference?

This is completely Normal specially for a big fish like that. What hurts worse is I live by Lake Erie and in the spring time I throw megabass vision 110 and the smallmouth pull so hard I actuslly break trebles or bend them out all day.. and that’s a 25$ bait ? .. 

[Big Rick]

Just make sure you don't upsize the hook or wire size too much or you'll kill the action of your baits. In most cases softening your rod and downsizing your line to 10-12 lbs will help keep your hooks from bending out for a much longer time. The hooks will get dull and wear out, but if you're bending hooks all the time your crank bait set up is too stiff. A crank bait rod needs to be parabolic and have a moderate action. Almost floppy, but not quite. One more thing, always be prepared to loosen your drag when you get a big fish on a crank bait. Horsing a big one almost always insures she becomes another big fish tale.....

[DINK WHISPERER]

I never fish a crank without upgrading the hooks first. You never know when that giant is going to hit. 

[Angry John]

I upgrade my hooks when the originals are wasted or if the initial quality is just not there.  If you start crankbait fishing a lot, hooks will become one of the bigger expenses you have.   Lot of good advice above talking about not changing the weight to much.  A lot of pro anglers upsize one on their cranks and most baits are not negatively affected by this.  Be cautious when upsizing and upgrading.  Going bigger then increasing to a 2x hook is a double-up on increasing weight.  Time of year will also effect what hook you want.  During the warmer season you may want a stronger hook because the bass have more strength for the same size than during the winter.  If you run a faster rod you may want to go stronger because you have the power to set while if you run a more moderate rod you may want a thinner hook for better penetration.  I love the owner st 41 for most baits but there not cheap and i dont upsize.

[Jonny15678]

I have some old treble hooks laying around they seem longer than the stock ones on the crank just by a bit though. I don’t have a clue what size the stock trebles are on the crank bait though. How far up in upsizing can I really go. It’s a squarebill lipped 1/4oz crankbait.

[MickD]

I would not up-size at all.  But I would go up on strength.  Trebles come in slightly different lengths, but that doesn't have  a significant effect on action or hooking.  Going shorter rather than longer will help prevent the front hook from tangling with the rear on some lures.  Find a quality 2x strength treble and buy it in a few sizes, like 4, 6 , and 8, and they will probably serve you well on most all your lures.  A good quality split ring plier is well worth a few bucks extra (Texas Tackle).

 

In general, cheap lures have cheap, weak, hooks.

[islandbass]

On 9/7/2018 at 10:25 AM, Jonny15678 said:

I have some old treble hooks laying around they seem longer than the stock ones on the crank just by a bit though. I don’t have a clue what size the stock trebles are on the crank bait though. How far up in upsizing can I really go. It’s a squarebill lipped 1/4oz crankbait.

If this is a crank bait that wiggles, I honestly would not upsize. Manufacturers chose that size for a reason. Many lure stores that sell hooks have size charts online that can be to real life scale that you can use. Another way is to call the company directly. Or go to a local shop with the treble you want to replace. Mustard, Owner, Gamakatsu, VMC (stock on rapalas) are all good.  

 

But if you did upsize, all you need to do after you install the new hooks is try work. It will be obvious whether or not not the action was negatively affected