Straighting a hook

[Dan N]

I’d like to know how often someone can straighten a hook. With jigs or large hooks for Texas rig, it seems impossible to me to actually bend out a hook , with the give of the rod, and the line. Even with pliers in hand it’s hard to bend. 

[Smallies]

Good question, I'd like to know too...

[gim]

Hooks on jigs are heavy gauge. I highly doubt there’s any way you could bend one out while fishing.

 

I have personally bent a couple other thin wire hooks though. Years ago when I started fishing the Ned rig, I used the Zman mushroom head jigs. I bent the hooks out a couple times when I piled into a bigger fish. I have also straightened a gamagatsu skip gap hook rigged with a tube once. But I am pretty sure it was a muskie that did that.

[WRB]

Anglers claim they straighten hook all the time.

I have only been bass fishing 65 years and may have opened a few hooks fighting bass. Lighter wire hooks can be opened or straighten when removing the hook from a bass. Usually lighter wire hooks are used with smaller dia line under 10 lb test, so the hook is strong enough for the line force.

Hooks get bent open if the heat treatment is poor or poor quality hook to start with. 

I have opened a few hooks when snagged the point on a rock but usually shake loose without any problem. Always check the hook point.

Tom

[Bdnoble84]

Ive been pouring ec lil nastys for my lightwire jigs and i have broken a few of those after nending them out a couple times from snags. Using 10lb braid. But im fishing in some very, very rocky areas

[rtwvumtneer6]

When you get into a quality flippin or superline hook, not often.  I'd also be curious to hear from folks who regularly wrestle with fish that are bigger and angrier than the typical fish I'm around.

 

This year, I can think of one TK130 that I opened up, but I was hung up and really leaned on it.  Side note, aside from a quick shock, 50# PP is hard to break.  

 

Also important to suggest that heat treat (I've seen a gammy superline snap) or QC issues (multiple failures in a given batch) can exist.  

 

That's a lot of rambling and didn't really answer your question, but I like talking fishing ??

[Dan N]

I realize light wire hooks, as in finesse can be bent out, although typically this Is light line stuff. I’m curious about the heavy hooks. For example, some guys say swim jigs have lighter hooks, as compared to flipping jigs, yet even swim jig hooks seem impossible for any bass ever to straighten out. 

[Bdnoble84]

10 minutes ago, Dan N said:

I realize light wire hooks, as in finesse can be bent out, although typically this Is light line stuff. I’m curious about the heavy hooks. For example, some guys say swim jigs have lighter hooks, as compared to flipping jigs, yet even swim jig hooks seem impossible for any bass ever to straighten out. 

Ive always wondered about this myself. If your equipment is right….? Idk. But then again im fishing northern strain, but even the bigger northern ive gotten into, i put a ton of pressure on those and havent had issues.

[Deleted account]

I'll second that in 50+ years of fishing, when it comes to bass, I have only opened a hook while pulling in a fish a handful of times. Matching the tackle and force applied to the hook is a part often over looked by some. I do fish light wire hooks sometimes on some baits, particularly lipless, cause I want them back when they get snagged. 

[Team9nine]

Literally "straightening" might be a little hard to do unless you simply abuse a hook, but certainly "opening up" a standard worm or jig hook isn't nearly as hard you might think. I have it happen quite frequently. If you want to test this idea out, simply attach some frogging braid (65#) to whatever hook/jig you want, put on a good pair of leather gloves, and then wrap the braid around your gloved hand securely. Next, simply insert your hook into the eye of any standard 10# or 15# anchor and lift it off the ground. Hooks with inherently weak designs like EWG and Kahle style will easily bend out in most standard diameters. Even a lot of round bend hooks will start to open up. Superline hooks, as well as things like 2X/3X hooks hold up pretty well.

 

Another big factor is whether the hook actually penetrated and the fish (and pressure) is actually down in the bend of the hook like it's supposed to happen. This doesn't always happen though. If the pressure is actually centered at the hook point because the hook hit bone and didn't actually penetrate, it is considerably easier to open up a hook because the leverage changes rather dramatically.

 

Most anglers probably never reach any of these thresholds because they set their drags at 2#/3#/5# like you're supposed to, and as such, those higher pressures never actually materialize. Lock your drag down though so the pressure can build up, especially with any superline/braid, and you'll be opening up standard hooks pretty regularly, even with fluoro/mono leaders.

[DitchPanda]

My largest largemouth was just under 9lbs..I caught that on a crappie jig with a very light wire hook and didn't straighten it out.

[padlin]

I use Owner hooks, I've bent a couple J Light's or similar over the years, but it only takes one to stop using them. I don't recall the exact circumstances but I fish heavy weeds a lot, seems sometimes the weeds weigh as much or more then the bass. As far as I know I've not bent a non "light" hook.

 

 

 

[WRB]

You also need to:consider the force any bass rod can apply...XH is about 8 lbs before it bottoms out. To deform a hook you need to rod lifting force out of the picture. A reel can have 15 lbs of drag force but the rod failed unless you point the rod at the hook.

I have caught 100’s of DD bass on hooks 5/0 hooks with .047D wire jig hooks.

Tom

[Kenny Yi]

i have never straightened out a single hook, even a 2/0 ewg gamakatsu, i have straightened light wire trebles thou

[jbsoonerfan]

I've straightened a lot of hooks...............but never on a fish. Hung or rocks, wood, etc. and using braid, yea, it happens. No one is straightening a hook on a fish if they are using the correct gear (line, rod, reel). I assume we are talking bass fishing. 

[smalljaw67]

Most hooks are bent out on the hook set. The force of the hook set causes the hook to flex at the point and that is when the hook begins to bend. If you are bending hooks then you are at fault, not the hook. It means you are using tackle that is too heavy for what you are doing. I've landed countless numbers of 5lb smallmouth on 1/16oz hair jigs with a size #2 hook and never came close to having the hook bend out. The secret is balanced tackle, using the right rod, proper line size, and the right hook to match the tackle you are using.

[OkobojiEagle]

Bronze hooks can open somewhat easily both pulling free of snags and fighting large fish such as musky, catfish, carp, ect.  I purposely open them very slightly when kirbing the point.  I can't remember losing a bass due to a bronze hook opening though.

 

oe

[Bankc]

The biggest hook I've ever straightened was the stock hook on an old Cotton Cordel Rattletrap.  I don't even know how it happened, and it was a serious pain to bend it back without snapping it.  

 

But I'm with you.  Straightening a hook is a once in decade event for me, at best.  I'm much more likely to snap my line or occasionally uncoil a split ring than straighten a hook.  Good hooks are usually tempered to hold a point longer, so they won't often bend very far before they snap anyway.  

[gim]

9 hours ago, smalljaw67 said:

The secret is balanced tackle, using the right rod, proper line size, and the right hook to match the tackle you are using.

When I first started using a ned rig, I admit that I was using gear that was over kill for it.  Its supposed to be an ultra finesse tactic on spinning gear.  I was using spinning gear, but I was primarily using braided line and definitely setting the hook too hard.  That plus the light wire chinsy original zman mushroom head jigs is what caused it.

 

I stopped using those jigs and switched over to a more durable one with heavier gauge hooks after one season.  I still use spinning gear and braided line but now my tackle matches my gear for this setup.  And I don't really set the hook either anymore, its more of a sweeping action with a ned rig.

[steve-pierce]

I'm a braid on everything fisherman so I have sprang a few hooks pulling up trees or rocks but never on a fish.

[Munkin]

Twice in 40 years of fishing have I straightened out hooks on fish with two hooks. Both were bad batches of hooks and I threw them out. 

 

Allen

[Jaderose]

I've never straightened a hook fighting a fish.  I've opened LOTS of hooks on snags.  As far as straightening a jig hook?  No friggin way.  

[Fallser]

I've never had a fish straighten out a hook.  I've had a couple come back straighten by snags if it was a jig I just tossed it, a lure I just replace the hook.  I've had them come back opened up but most times I can bend them back, mainly jig hooks.  Not sure how many times that can be done before it breaks.  I'm mainly a fly fisherman, the hooks I use by your definition would be light wire.  I do use straight shanked bass hooks and jig hooks for some of my flies, but they're either standard wire or light wire ones.  I'm a member of what they call the twenty-twenty club meaning I've caught a 20 inch trout on a size 20 hook.  That's mighty thin wire.  I use Eagle Claw Aberdeen Crappie hooks for my crayfish patterns, but at 3/0 they're less flexible than the smaller sizes.  As mentioned if a fish straightens hook, it's probably a cheap, badly made hook or from a bad batch of a good hooks.

[RDB]

When I think of a straightened hook, I think of anything other than it’s original shape.  Heavy hooks have very little flex and I have never “straightened” one of those.  Team9nine makes a good point about how the hook penetrates.  If the pressure is down in the bend, it’s harder to flex v. the closer to the point.  When you get hung on wood, often just the point penetrates, so all the pressure is on the front length of the hook and you may get back a slightly bent hook…same with bass.  I have had a number of smaller wire hooks flex or bend (most often trebles).  I always switch the trebles on 110’s because they bend so easily.  You can bend those by hand.