Don't Let Cheap Tackle Let You Down

[dulouz]

I was fishin' a farm pond today and for fun I was using an UL rod with an 1/8oz jig and twister tail. I laid into what must have been a huge bass, the pole was bent in half and the drag was just screaming! I had 10lb power pro, so I wasn't worried about the line. This hog kept trying to go under the dock I was standing on when my lure came flying back at me. When I examined it I noticed that the hook was pointing up, not forward. Next time I will choose a bit heavier jig. Nevertheless, it was a fun fight.

[Alex Cirabisi]

I was fishin' a farm pond today and for fun I was using an UL rod with an 1/8oz jig and twister tail. I laid into what must have been a huge bass, the pole was bent in half and the drag was just screaming! I had 10lb power pro, so I wasn't worried about the line. This hog kept trying to go under the dock I was standing on when my lure came flying back at me. When I examined it I noticed that the hook was pointing up, not forward. Next time I will choose a bit heavier jig. Nevertheless, it was a fun fight.

I have had this happen just once and i was using some small minnow jig setup on my UL and a bigger fish than i was prepared for took it, and straightened the hook a bit and took my little rubber minnow body always a fun fight on a UL tho

[Hyrule Bass]

i lost a black crappie in the range of 20 inches at smith mountain lake a few years ago night fishing when a gold abeerdeen hook bent on me. this fish put up a fight and went on 3 runs with max drag on a shakespeare spincast reel i have. this fish was wore out when i got it to the dock, as floating on its side exhausted, of course i forgot to bring the net with me down to the dock and its quite a ways down to the water sometimes. so it was either secure my rod and leave the fish there, run up big hill to the house and get the net and hope the fish was still there when i got back; OR try and pull the fish up on the dock which is what i opted for. so i laid down on the dock on my stomach, reached down and grabbed my line and slowly started pulling the fish up, got all but the tail fin out of the water before the fish fell off just out of lipping range. my hook had bent back a good bit. it was the largest crappie i ever saw and i had no witnesses and no pictures...5 minutes later a huge thunderstorm broke out and i had to quit fishing for the night...

[Scorcher214]

I've NEVER had any hooks bent on me. Although I dont ever buy cheap tackle, i have bought walmart spinners and buzzers and thats it. The buzzbaits are actually pretty good once you modify them. The spinnerbaits are well, not so good, bad swivels.

[Bluebasser86]

I've had hooks straighten and break also, not cheap ones either. When they first came out I broke several Spot Remover hooks on the hookset. I had a huge bass straighten a 5/0 Mustad ultrabite wide gap several years ago on a small lake in Missouri. She was bigger than my PB by a couple pounds and maybe close to a state record. I hooked her around some standing timber and she spun the boat around and I tried to stop her before she made it to the trees and she just opened the hook up.

[grimlin]

There's a good reason why I stay away from Eagle Claw hooks.

[J Francho]

Braid has zero stretch, and jarring runs will bend lesser hooks.

[tyrius.]

You have to work with the weakest link of your setup. If you're fishing high test braid with thin hooks then the hook may be the weakest link. You can't just assume that you're line is the only thing that will break. If you upgrade to a heavy wire hook and use high test braid then you're UL rod will become the weakest link and you can easily break it.

Also, it could've easily been a catfish and not a bass.

[NBR]

Some jigs have light wire hooks so they will straighten if you get snagged.

[tyrius.]

Some jigs have light wire hooks so they will straighten if you get snagged.

What's the benefit of that? You can't reuse the jig so you may as well have lost it.

[tholmes]

I was fishin' a farm pond today and for fun I was using an UL rod with an 1/8oz jig and twister tail. I laid into what must have been a huge bass, the pole was bent in half and the drag was just screaming! I had 10lb power pro, so I wasn't worried about the line. This hog kept trying to go under the dock I was standing on when my lure came flying back at me. When I examined it I noticed that the hook was pointing up, not forward. Next time I will choose a bit heavier jig. Nevertheless, it was a fun fight.

I don't think the problem is cheap tackle.

If you go after bass with panfish tackle, you're gonna bend some hooks t's just part of ultra-light fishing.

Tom

[tholmes]

What's the benefit of that? You can't reuse the jig so you may as well have lost it.

Yes, you can.

Tom

[backwater4]

You don't need a heavier, just a better hook. I use Mustad Black Nickels and never had a problem. They have smaller hooks for smaller jigs. Send me a pm and I'll send you a sample.

Dominic

[tyrius.]

Yes, you can.

Tom

Well I guess technically you CAN reuse it. But that doesn't mean that you should. The spot that was bent to free the hook and then rebent to put it back in a curve is now significantly weaker. So, you've taken a hook that was already easy to bend and made it easier to break.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

Had it happen once while bass fishing. A 3# bass guessing by size, straightened my worm hook about a foot from the shore. I swapped to larger diameter hook and havent had that happen again. Also had it happen with a catfish. My partner and I were fishing above a dam. The bassin had gotten slow ao we threw some chicken livers out on my deep water rods. We had never caught a catfish over twelve pounds out of this lake so we were useing relatively small circle hooks. Dang three foot monster cat took the bait and steaightened the hook out, as we were hoisting it into the boat. I was livid and partner was rolling on the floor laughing, cause I had told him there were only small cats in there and a big hook was a waste.

[River Rat316]

What's the benefit of that? You can't reuse the jig so you may as well have lost it.

There is alot of benefit to light wire hooks, you don't always need the heaviest hook you can find. Lightwire hooks require less power on the hookset, when using lighter tackle this equates to better hookups. The problem in this scenario was not the light wire hook, the problem was as J Francho put it, the ZERO stretch in braid. If the original poster was using 4-6lb test, like I am sure the rod was rated for, the hook wouldn't have bent out, there would have been give in the rod and the stretch of the mono or flouro, and a properly adjusted drag, would have absorbed any runs the fish would have taken.

I have landed my fair share of large smallies in current with light wire hooks, when you have your equipment matched to the task at hand it becomes alot easier. 6'6" St Croix Triumph light action 6lb Floro and very light wire hooks in 1/16oz hair jigs, and never any issues of landing or overplaying the fish.

[tyrius.]

There is alot of benefit to light wire hooks,

Of course there is. My point was asking what the benefit was of being able to straighten the hook to free it from a snag. I wouldn't recommend bending the hook back to "shape" and then reusing it. So, to me I may as well lose that jig because I'm not going to reuse it again anyways.

[bowfish12]

Of course there is. My point was asking what the benefit was of being able to straighten the hook to free it from a snag. I wouldn't recommend bending the hook back to "shape" and then reusing it. So, to me I may as well lose that jig because I'm not going to reuse it again anyways.

Crappie fishing is where the benefit is at. I use jigs that will straighten the hook to come free of a snag. It's alot easier to stay on the spot and reshape the hook (takes a few seconds with pliers) than bounce around the boat to get another hook, float, bobber stopper, bead, etc, and re-tie.

I would not however use these for bass.

[brushhoggin]

if you're gonna use a bit heavier jig, i would get a bit stronger rod to set a bigger hook. look for jigs with flippin hooks on em. a black chrome 5/0 gammy flippin hook will not let you down

[dulouz]

If the original poster was using 4-6lb test, like I am sure the rod was rated for, the hook wouldn't have bent out, there would have been give in the rod and the stretch of the mono or flouro, and a properly adjusted drag, would have absorbed any runs the fish would have taken.

I have landed my fair share of large smallies in current with light wire hooks, when you have your equipment matched to the task at hand it becomes alot easier. 6'6" St Croix Triumph light action 6lb Floro and very light wire hooks in 1/16oz hair jigs, and never any issues of landing or overplaying the fish.

Just to let you guys know, I was trying out a combo I intend to use for crappie fishing and didn't expect to catch a big bass. I am not sure what brand of hook/jig it was. I bought it in a local tackle store and it was packaged in a small ziplok bag with no label. I was using braid, I like it for it's sensitivity and it's strength/size relationship. So, what should I do if I ever catch a big fish on that little combo? Would loosening the drag help?

[River Rat316]

loosen the drag and play it out, being around cover never helps, but you might get lucky and have it not run under the dock, or whatever cover is around

[itsjust.mark]

What's the benefit of that? You can't reuse the jig so you may as well have lost it.

Id rather get the hook out of the water before it turns rusty and potentially impales someone...

[NBR]

Take a pair of pliers bend the hook back in shape make sure the point is not dulled and go back to fishing.

[SirSnookalot]

I use Eagle Claw hooks, from bass to sharks no failures.

[Hiram]

I have only been able to fish once this year due to medical problems. On that trip we were catchin a lot of small bass up to 3 lbs so I switched to UL for the sheer enjoyment of the fight. I had a 6-7 lb'er to the side of the boat and when I went to lip her she shook her head no and went for a swim. I was using a jig with a Gulp minnow and the hooked striaghtened out on me, but that won't stop me for using the same setup again. Anything can happen at anytime, so keep using your UL gear and don't worry about losing a fish now and again, sometime the one that got away is a lot more fun to talk about over a beer. Unless it's a tourney, it's all fun