Roboworms and Hooks

[PeshtigoST]

I thought Roboworms were just a bunch of hype, until I tried them last year.  What a versatile worm that can be fished a bunch of different ways.  Also the color selection is mind boggling!  My favorite (so far) has been Bold Bluegill.  I fish on river systems for smallmouth, largemouth, and walleye.  I have the following Roboworm products:

4 1/2" Ned Worm

4 1/2" Fat Worms

4 1/2" Regular Worms

6" Fat Worms

6" Regular Worms

4 1/2" Curly Tail

4" Alive Shad

4" Sculpin

 

I only got to fish these for a short time last fall before the water starting freezing over.  I want to do a fair amount of drop shot fishing and have a few hook questions.  My river system has a snag infested bottom full of stumps and lumber.  I also fish a lot around deep weed edges.  River depth is a max of about 13'. 

 

I just got some Owner Cover Shot hooks in sizes 1, 2, 1/0, 2/0.  What size hook do I use for the 4 1/2" and 6" fat and regular worms with these rigged weedless?  I also have Owner Offsett Worm Hooks.  Could I use these?  I am not a fan of EWG hooks overall.  I personally feel an offset worm hook has a better hookup ration than an EWG.

[WRB]

I use Owner #5133 size 1/0 or 2/0 depending on worm diameter.

This is a Down Shot off set hook light forged wire and strong yet light weight.

Roboworm ReBarb Gamakatsu hook also works good for weedless rig.

Tom 

[Brian11719]

1 hour ago, PeshtigoST said:

I just got some Owner Cover Shot hooks in sizes 1, 2, 1/0, 2/0.  What size hook do I use for the 4 1/2" and 6" fat and regular worms with these rigged weedless?  I also have Owner Offsett Worm Hooks.  Could I use these?  I am not a fan of EWG hooks overall.  I personally feel an offset worm hook has a better hookup ration than an EWG.

I actually really like a 1/0 EWG for the 6" straight tail and the alive shad (Owner J hook specifically) but a 1/0 or 2/0 cover shot also works. 

[RRocket]

3 hours ago, WRB said:

I use Owner #5133 size 1/0 or 2/0 depending on worm diameter.

This is a Down Shot off set hook light forged wire and strong yet light weight.

Roboworm ReBarb Gamakatsu hook also works good for weedless rig.

Tom 

This.

 

The Down Shot Offset Hook is great for weedless. I have used this one often.

 

As is the Rebarb. Super, super sticky hook in the fine wire version.

 

I've have also used a VMC Finesse Neko hook in the same way as the Rebarb when the Rebarb were out of stock.

 

These days I mostly use and prefer the weedless versions of the Hayabusa Spin Muscle or Nishine DS Hook.  I prefer their versatility.

 

 

[FishTank]

I use the Owner Cover Shot and Cover Shot HD depending on the diameter. Great hook. 

[KDW96]

Owner 5133 for me.

 

[WRB]

The Owner 5133 Down Shot hook is a modified sickle bend hook with about .033D-.034D wire forged bend, very strong and light weight, excellent to hook set ratio.

Owner 4107 Cover Shot is a Sproat bend hook with keeper barb, .038-039D round wire, strong medium weight with good strike to hook set ratio.

I use 5133 for both drop and slip shot rigs. 
The 4107 for finesse T-rigs with sliding sinker.

Both are excellent weedless rigged finesse soft plastic hooks.

Tom

 

[woolleyfooley]

On 1/15/2025 at 9:50 PM, WRB said:

The Owner 5133 Down Shot hook is a modified sickle bend hook with about .033D-.034D wire forged bend, very strong and light weight, excellent to hook set ratio.

Owner 4107 Cover Shot is a Sproat bend hook with keeper barb, .038-039D round wire, strong medium weight with good strike to hook set ratio.

I use 5133 for both drop and slip shot rigs. 
The 4107 for finesse T-rigs with sliding sinker.

Both are excellent weedless rigged finesse soft plastic hooks.

Tom

 

Would it be a bad idea to use the down shot hook on light Texas rigs with tungsten bullet weights?

[WRB]

I put a 8mm glass faceted bead between the bullet weight and hook to help protect the knot and add sound. I haven’t used the 5133 larger then 2/0 w/  1/8-3/16 oz for finesse 6” Roboworms. 3/0 I use 4107 Cover Shot hook with a bead.

Tom

[Big Hands]

If I am not mistaken, the Rebarb is a Gamakatsu hook that Roboworm has added their own unique keeper to.

 

The Owner Cover Shot and the Rebarb are two of my go-to's for that style of hook. I still often peg them with a whittled down flat toothpick, because if it gets pulled down, the keepers (especially on the Cover Shot) are pretty destructive to the soft plastic baits I use.

 

The Robo HQ was just about a half mile from where I used to work. I was able to buy direct from them, and even got a tour of the shop to see the custom machine they made their baits with.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Robowoms are good quality for the price.  They have a great buoyancy for DSing, close to neutral.  I really like the Fat straight tails, but the Alive Shad are probably my favorite.  They are one of the most successful DS baits I use.  The only issue with them is you almost have to nose hook them.  I use a #2 Trokar helix or #1 Gami DS.

For T rigging worms there are plenty of options.  I use Cover Shots, Hayabusa straight shanks and BKK Basilisk offset round bend.  The size can be from 1 to 3/0 depending on the size of the bait and company that makes the hook.  Im a fan of the rebarb, the hook is great, but the keepers always fall apart and I have to tie a new 1.  I use all of those hooks because I have them already.  Downshots are probably the way to go for T riggin a DS, with the bend of the eye and shank, but they are pretty much limited to DSing.  I dont know the name of the knot i tie for DS, but its not a palomar or uni.  Its like a dropper loop, without the loop.  The line knots around the shank at the base of the eye, which causes the bait to stand straight out and has a good presentation with standard straight shanks.