Does anyone here share my dilemma of treble hook lures?

[Spankey]

Crankbait fishing is a big part of my fishing. In and around heavy vegetation there are other way around it. I have no plans on changing anything have just learned to deal with over the years. 

[Bird]

Jerkbait is a go to bait of mine but i never lip a fish with one in it's mouth. 

[TnRiver46]

Getting treble hook lures stuck on the bottom also breaks my heart. If there’s an academy sports near you, get some H20 express hard baits with trebles, they are affordable and effective. About the only treble lure I throw when bank fishing is a floating jerkbait 

[the reel ess]

I fished a day with a guide for peacocks once throwing a Super Spook and a Walking Boss most of the day. Those peacocks do not just give up like largies when you lip them. So I wanted to boat flip the fish. After a few the guide told me to lip them. He said they can be damaged more easily than a largemouth. I informed him I've lived a half century without getting a hook sunk into my flesh past the barb. And I didn't intend to lose that streak with a 2-5 lb. peacock flopping around the boat. Later we used some shiners with a small circle hook on spinning gear. Much easier to handle. He made me lip those because the rods were custom made and high mod graphite.

 

But that was the worst case of bass thumb in the history of bass thumb. It was basically all of both hands. My wife suggested I use Chap Stick on it and it worked wonders.

[Spankey]

15 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Getting treble hook lures stuck on the bottom also breaks my heart. If there’s an academy sports near you, get some H20 express hard baits with trebles, they are affordable and effective. About the only treble lure I throw when bank fishing is a floating jerkbait 

Are they a shorter shank treble?

[J Francho]

Much like fishing a jig effectively, navigating a crankbait through cover is a art that isn't learned in a few casts.  My tip to those that want to try to learn: slow it down, and imagine what that bait is running into, and what it's doing after.  Not all baits act the same.  

[TnRiver46]

12 minutes ago, Spankey said:

Are they a shorter shank treble?

I don’t know, I’m not terribly observant..... haha. I’ve heard they use VMC hooks. They have a million different lures so I’d say they come with all manner of hook sizes on them

[galyonj]

17 minutes ago, Spankey said:

Are they a shorter shank treble?

 

Nah. Just regular old round bend treble hooks. If I've got any without a home, I'll change the hooks for just about every hard bait I get out for short-shank EWG trebles.

 

Which doesn't really do anything but make me feel better because I like that style of treble hook better.

 

The H2O Xpress hard baits are nice, though. They're cheap enough you don't feel too bad about losing one, and they (in my experience) work pretty well. Used to you could get their lipless cranks in a color called Green Terror, and that was fire for me the last couple years.

[Deleted account]

"Does anyone here share my fear of treble hook lures?"

 

One of my Bomber Long As takes my lunch money and gives me wedgies, so yeah...

[Spankey]

1 hour ago, Spankey said:

Are they a shorter shank treble?

 

1 hour ago, galyonj said:

 

Nah. Just regular old round bend treble hooks. If I've got any without a home, I'll change the hooks for just about every hard bait I get out for short-shank EWG trebles.

 

Which doesn't really do anything but make me feel better because I like that style of treble hook better.

 

The H2O Xpress hard baits are nice, though. They're cheap enough you don't feel too bad about losing one, and they (in my experience) work pretty well. Used to you could get their lipless cranks in a color called Green Terror, and that was fire for me the last couple years.

I’ll order a couple of those H2O’s and try them. I can’t go to an academy because I don’t know of any. 
 

I read through the treble post and all but in all honesty with Rapala, Strike King and older Bandits that I’ve had for years I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced much if any major treble hook problems. 
Im not gonna lie and never say I lost a fish I had hooked on a crankbait. 
 

But fishing crankbaits with a moderate action does help. I do believe some of the fish I lost on crankbaits over the years was because my rod was not soft enough. 
 

Just my thoughts on my problems I’ve experienced. 

[mikey z]

I just watched a video of a pro (don't remember his name) say that he cuts the front hook of the front treble off as close to the hook shank as possible. He said it snags far less than if he didn't cut it, and said it doesn't affect hookup at all. I noted how he went so far as to say he has a greater opportunity to catch more or bigger fish because he's spending less time trying to free snags and/or tying on new lures and more time actually fishing in good cover spots. Sounds pretty legit, I wish I could report back on my own experiences trying it but, I think I might try that moving forward, seeing that I lost a brand new lipless I just bought the first day I fished with it lol

 

Edit: I think he was specifically talking about lipless crankbaits btw

[soflabasser]

13 hours ago, Kenneth Yi said:

The irony for me is that I throw jigs, spinnerbaits, and t-rigs with this mindset ("throw it like you already lost it"), but just can't cross that threshold for treble hooks.

I have lost several expensive lures since I fish these lures in places many people are afraid to fish. These are places with heavy aquatic vegetation, rocky areas, and other places. It has paid off since I have caught bass over 10 pounds and many over 8 pounds. Many bass fishermen hire fishing guides to catch bass like the ones I mentioned so it is worth losing a lure every once in a while.

12 hours ago, GreenPig said:

I fish all my baits like they were free. Memories of catching fish are priceless.

Well said! The memory of catching a big bass is far more valuable to me than the price of a lure.

[Deleted account]

12 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

Just requires some concentration and a little lot of practice, or a chatter bait.

FIFY.

[Kenny Yi]

5 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

About the only treble lure I throw when bank fishing is a floating jerkbait

For jerkbaits, I use a soft zoom super fluke because of its versatility and weedless capability.  But this winter got me interest in hard jerkbaits since the fluke would get stiff in the cold water

FOR ANYONE WHO MADE IT THIS FAR: The title has been changed from "fear" to "dilemma".  I do appreciate all the advice on avoiding trebles to the hand (it is also a concern that adds to the overall dilemma), however, I'm not necessarily afraid of the actual hooks

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, Kenneth Yi said:

I'm not necessarily afraid of the actual hooks

I am.

 

[MIbassyaker]

2 hours ago, BassWhole! said:

FIFY.

 

Eh. Depends.

[Fishlegs]

I'm equal opportunity when it comes to losing lures. I can lose a single hook lure just as easily as I can a treble hook lure. As a matter of fact, I lost one of each on my lunch break today. Brand new lures that had never been in the water before. Now I have to feed the bait monkey again.

 

[throttleplate]

i have never been stuck with a trebble, just poked good but i may now buy one of those fish grabbers as my luck may run out in 2021.

 

My biggest problem with trebbles is always getting them stuck in my fishing gloves and have to cut the glove to get it out. Also today i was putting a feathered treble hook on a large spook and i dropped the lure onto the carpet floor and had to fight with it to pull it out.

8 hours ago, mikey z said:

I just watched a video of a pro (don't remember his name) say that he cuts the front hook of the front treble off as close to the hook shank as possible. He said it snags far less than if he didn't cut it, and said it doesn't affect hookup at all. I noted how he went so far as to say he has a greater opportunity to catch more or bigger fish because he's spending less time trying to free snags and/or tying on new lures and more time actually fishing in good cover spots. Sounds pretty legit, I wish I could report back on my own experiences trying it but, I think I might try that moving forward, seeing that I lost a brand new lipless I just bought the first day I fished with it lol

 

Edit: I think he was specifically talking about lipless crankbaits btw

cool, i may just do that to a lipless and give it a try. Maybe do it to a square bill also.

[LCG]

19 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I fish treble hooked baits, but I prefer single hooked baits. It's not the fear of getting snagged, or hooking myself, I just like fishing with the single hooked baits more.

 

On that hooking yourself part, you don't even have to be fishing for that to happen. Last time it happened to me, I was rigging up in my shop the day before a trip.

Ouch. Never had it happen to me before, but I always fear it. Trip to the ER tends to ruin a day

[Bluebasser86]

9 minutes ago, LCG said:

Ouch. Never had it happen to me before, but I always fear it. Trip to the ER tends to ruin a day

Pushing it through a callous by yourself with your off hand isn't much fun either. That flexible outbarb hook didn't want to pop through, it was just tearing instead. 

[LCG]

1 minute ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Pushing it through a callous by yourself with your off hand isn't much fun either. That flexible outbarb hook didn't want to pop through, it was just tearing instead. 

I would be afraid of tearing a tendon or muscle, I don't know if I would try it. That's why I always use a net or lip grippers or both. I bought a few lures wraps this year too, just be extra cautious. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

On 2/22/2021 at 10:08 PM, Kenneth Yi said:

As an angler who grew up fishing ponds in Virginia, I find that I never use lures with treble hooks.  I will throw chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs (especially swim jigs), t-rigs of all kinds, buzzbaits, frogs, and finesse rigs around weed edges and brush all the time with confidence, but not treble hooks.  If I were to use a lipless or squarebill in some of my ponds, it would seem like I was decorating all the weeds like it was Christmas.  It gets more confusing when I see these videos and hear people say, "... I was bumping a crankbait down there off trees and rocks" and I go "Huh, ok i guess." then I try it and last two casts.  Only times I caught fish on a treble hook bait is when I caught two on a Mike Bucca's Bull Shad, which doesn't sink or dive.  I do sometimes want to throw poppers, spooks, and whopper ploppers, but I don't really feel motivated to tie them on over frogs and buzzbaits.

 

I don't really intend on changing my ways (as I have pretty good success with single hooks), just trying to see if anyone shares my confusion.

Some baits like square bills are designed to come through cover, the width and angle of the bait while its moving keeps the hooks from contacting the cover.  If you slow down the angle becomes less steep and you are more likely to snag.  

I dislike trebles for the damage they do to the fish.  Single replacement hooks are a good option, they hold better, are more snag resistant and dont cause nearly as much damage.  It can be a pain finding the right size you need, but once you have a few different sizes you get a better idea of the size hook you need for a particular sized bait.

[Russ E]

22 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I fish treble hooked baits, but I prefer single hooked baits. It's not the fear of getting snagged, or hooking myself, I just like fishing with the single hooked baits more.

 

On that hooking yourself part, you don't even have to be fishing for that to happen. Last time it happened to me, I was rigging up in my shop the day before a trip.

At least I am not the only one. I have hooked myself a lot more at home changing hooks on baits, than I have on the water actually fishing with them.

[Michigander]

I don't bother with trebles anymore. Between getting hung up in vegetation/sticks and the fact that they seem to get stuck on my clothes, other rods, boat carpet, etc it's not worth the hassle to me. I replaced mine with inline singles and won't look back.

[Kenny Yi]

1 hour ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

I dislike trebles for the damage they do to the fish.  Single replacement hooks are a good option, they hold better, are more snag resistant and dont cause nearly as much damage.

+1.  For the few fish that I caught with trebles, it was so frustrating to unhook.  The fish chokes the bait, you unhook one, then hook the back one near the gills, unhook that one, then the belly hook catches the lip, unhook that one, then the tail hook catches the tongue... just not worth my time on the bank