VMC Drop Dead Weighted Hook and Toads

[5/0]

Hi All,

While searching past posts this was mentioned several times as good for fishing toads on a weighted hook. I have not seen them personally, only online pics. They look similar to Owner Weighted Twistlock Lights which I do have. I have fished slimmer boot tails on the Owners, but not toads because the gap is pretty small for the Rage and Horny Toad baits. Will the VMC have a bigger gap and fit them better? Another hook I looked at is the Gamakatsu Weighted Superline Spring Lock.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

Joe

[ChrisD46]

Good idea ! ... I'd start with the VMC Drop Dead 5/0 size in 3/32nd. oz. which definitely has a wide enough gap for any toad . The 4/0 size is a maybe size in the same weight (depending on the toad length / thickness) . 

[Cbump]

I tried weighted hooks once and It was a pain to burn the toad fast enough to keep It working right. 

[5/0]

44 minutes ago, ChrisD46 said:

Dead 5/0 size in 3/32nd. oz. which definitely has a wide enough gap for any toad .

Thank you. The 5/0 was the one I was looking at.

[5/0]

34 minutes ago, Cbump said:

I tried weighted hooks once and It was a pain to burn the toad fast enough to keep It working right. 

I can see your point, but I think the keel weight will help keep them upright and get me added distance.

[fin]

5/0 is too big (long) in my opinion. I bought several packs of those on clearance at Academy for like 50 cents a pack thinking they'd be good for toads, but it didn't work out. Great hooks, but I can't find a good use for the 5/0 size. I could post a picture of a horny toad rigged on one if you haven't ordered them yet.

[5/0]

56 minutes ago, fin said:

I could post a picture of a horny toad rigged on one if you haven't ordered them yet.

That would be appreciated! Thanks!

[fin]

As I was rigging it up, I remembered I don't care for the design of the center pin spring. It's not symmetrical. Hard to explain why that can be a bit of a problem sometimes.

[5/0]

2 minutes ago, fin said:

As I was rigging it up, I remembered I don't care for the design of the center pin spring. It's not symmetrical. Hard to explain why that can be a bit of a problem sometimes.

Thanks for the pic. Have you tried stepping down to 4/0 or 3/0? Also with the centering pin, how about replacing them with Owner CPS. I like the gap, way better than the Owner Lights.

[fin]

That was the only size Academy had on clearance. I don't remember if I ever tried the VMC in 4/0 or 3/0. I don't fish toads much anymore - they're a lot of trouble. Other lures do the same thing much easier and cheaper. I do love fishing toads though.

 

Owner CPS is a definite solution.

 

It’s hard to find the perfect toad hook. I don’t know what it is. I like it so the length of the hook is equal to or shorter than the length of the body so that the chin sticks up out of the water, but hooks that short usually have a gap that is too narrow for the thickness of the body, like you are saying.

[PhishLI]

On 7/16/2022 at 4:18 PM, 5/0 said:

Hi All,

While searching past posts this was mentioned several times as good for fishing toads on a weighted hook.

Timely.

 

This isn't a perfect solution, but one which has worked for me. I had trouble finding just the right weighted hook for Keitech Noisy Flapper toads. I didn't move heaven and earth looking, but I looked. Frustrated, and by chance, I lined up some Trokar 3/0 1/4oz Swim Blade hooks with the toad and found happiness size-wise. I lopped off the blade hanger, filed and hammered the lead a little, and have been using this rigging ever since. Just about to Frankenstein one for my new Big Bite toad. No problem getting this particular Keitech toad on plane and keeping it there. Pausing and letting it swim down with legs kicking has gotten bites also. We'll see if the BB toad is happy with this rigging.

 

Perhaps there's a dead-ringer weighted hook in their line, or someone else's, but nothing I've found locally, and with this solution at hand, I 'aint buying a bunch of hooks and hoping for the best. This works for me. If nothing else, seeing this packaging and this hook rigged up might lead you down the right road.

 

[5/0]

PhishLI

That is some outside the box thinking! I’ve even thought to myself, how about an underspin. Then thought no way, the blade will screw it up. This never dawned on me! Thanks for the tip!

[Munkin]

On vacation now but I will be working on one when I get back home. Buddy started making frogs in a custom mold and asked me to make him on with 1/16oz of weight on the rear.

 

Allen

[ChrisD46]

7 hours ago, 5/0 said:

Thanks for the pic. Have you tried stepping down to 4/0 or 3/0? Also with the centering pin, how about replacing them with Owner CPS. I like the gap, way better than the Owner Lights.

*I was incorrect about size - the VMC Drop Dead is a little larger in size , so the WMC Drop Dead 4/0 is really a 5/0 in other brands of EWG hooks . 

[5/0]

12 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

*I was incorrect about size - the VMC Drop Dead is a little larger in size , so the WMC Drop Dead 4/0 is really a 5/0 in other brands of EWG hooks . 

Thank you, I’ll check out 3/0-4/0. I can always use them for boot tails.

[ChrisD46]

16 hours ago, 5/0 said:

Thank you, I’ll check out 3/0-4/0. I can always use them for boot tails.

I meant VMC ... **I also use the VMC Drop Dead 3/0 and 4/0 in various weights for a T-Rigged Senko or other stick worms from Yum BPS , etc. I just cast and let it fall with the VMC Drop Dead hook and stick worm for a little more action from the soft plastic as well as a faster fall in warm water .

[the reel ess]

I also use VMC drop dead weighted 1/8 oz. Not sure of the size though. I'm pretty sure what I did was go to Academy, get the hook and get a toad and see which looked the right size. If you get a Seizmic Toad the hook should rest perfectly in a slot in the back of the toad with the point barely stuck into plastic, making the bait very weedless. This toad gives me the best hookups, not that I've tried every toad on the market. I also like the Zoom Horny Toad.

[the reel ess]

On 7/17/2022 at 10:18 AM, Cbump said:

I tried weighted hooks once and It was a pain to burn the toad fast enough to keep It working right. 

Try a very light one. I use the 1/8 oz. I tried every EWG hook in my box before settling on the VMC Drop Dead. But I've noticed fish don't know or care if the toad is upside down. It's just a personal preference for me.

[5/0]

I decided on the VMC Drop Deads. Got the 3/0 & 4/0 in 1/16 & 3/32. Haven’t fish them yet, but did size them to toads I have. The gap in the 3/0 is on the small side, but will work in a pinch. The 4/0 fits best. The spring lock on them is not great, but better than ones on Gamakatsus. Can always change them out with Owner CPS.

[fin]

1 hour ago, the reel ess said:

But I've noticed fish don't know or care if the toad is upside down.

 

It drives me crazy though! ?

 

Seriously though, the toads I prefer are pearl on the bottom and dark green on top. I've tried the all-green color in the same brand and never got a bite on them. They're still sitting in a drawer. They like that pearl. So it makes a difference in that situation, but you're right, they don't care if it's upside-down, just like they don't care if flukes are upside-down.