I was just looking for some opinions on hooks. What you like or don't like and why.

HOLY S#IT IM NOT EVEN GONNA REPLY ANYMORE!
TYLER

if you do a search for hooks you find all sorts of opinions, and you won't have to listen to all the jacka$$es out there that think their to high and mighty to not give you a smarta$$ answer,some of us out here have not fished for steelhead as long as all you LEGENDS have and are just looking for a little advice.

im far from a legend but im 17 and i'll still outfish you! its just is annoying when one thread leaves the board and another comes. sorry if i offended anyone.
tyler

Geezus no legend here but it would seem that some one who's been on the board so long could do a search ? This issue has come up almost once a week forever...do a frickin search.
Don't appreciate my answer well please could I have a big frickin "Dead Horse" posted next? Tyler you answered appropiately in my book .

Gooose

my post was not directed at anyone in particular, but when someone doesn't know something about the sport we all love, it sucks to not get an honest answer, if it's a topic you think gets to much play you don't have to open the thread.

I fish Gamis, Owners and VMC just depends on what I am doing. I also just ordered some vision's looking forward to trying them out.
Best hooks thread

[ 01-13-2002: Message edited by: Firedog ]

HOOKS!! HOOKS!! Are we suppose to use hooks??? Maybe that's why I keep losing fish! And my eggs keep flying off also!

Hey man,
the four best choices for steelhead or salmon that I have found (assuming that's what you're fishing for)are as follows: Ranked in order...
1. Daiichi (amazing hook)
2. Gamikatsu (the popular choice, no need to re-sharpen every ten casts)
3. Vision (good bang for the buck)
4. Mustad (the old-timers favorite, need to sharpen when out of the box though)

Vision Hooks, of course.

www.visionhooksandtackle.com

type of hook makes no difference at all. if you used a dull bent hook on a good biter it will be in its stomach every time. a piece of barbed wire would do the trick. i've yet to hear of someone who is completely discusted because of a bad hook. personally if you are going to use lots of hooks, the cheaper the better, especially for winter steelhead. i use a 6/0 vmc for salmon and buy them in 1000 quantity for $70.00 lets say i used a gamakatsu at .25 a piece, thats alot of dough to break off on a snag or cut-off on a dark fish that swallowed it.

kevin,
I completely disagree. I've lost several fish due to dull hook points. I've also been fishing with several outstanding guides that ensure hooks are sharp before they even touch the water. Bass, crappie, bluegill, cuthroats etc. do engluf a hook and in the case of those fish, a duller hook works 90% of the time. However, steelhead and salmon, once in a river, very rarely will "swallow" the presentation. The bite is due solely to instinct or curiousity. It takes a sharp hook and a strong hookset to do the trick. I have caught hundreds of steelhead in the past 10 years and I've yet to land one that was hooked in the gut. QUALITY COUNTS. BELIEVE ME!

cutthroat,

maybe you hav'nt fished a lot for spring chinook. almost 95% of these river caught fish will swallow a good bait every time. i agree with you if you are drift of bobber fishing. this presentation is from the side and requires a sharp hook, but not an expensive hook. fish dont care if you use a nordstrom or Kmart hook for tackle. cheap hooks will file great.

The only steelhead I've ever hooked in the guts were taken on divers with shrimp trailers, using double hook setups.
I've never had one take a egg/bobber combo so deep that I couldn't get it out.
I always used VMC's or Mustads, sharpened til they jumped at you on their own accord. I *always* put pressure on the curve of the hook to open the bite up a bit. I never have cared for the tips of the hook to be incurved the way they are out of the box.
In the last several years ( and I haven't taken fishing anywhere near as serious as I used to ) I've been using Gamagatsus, like everyone else. I'd go back to my old Mustads without any qualms, though. It's just that now, my husband buys the hooks.
I don't think brand matters. I think >sharp< matters. As sharp as you can make 'em.
diana

Sorry for beating a dead horse but I'm new and haven't been on very much. I catch a lot of Steelies and Salmon and I already know what to use, in my opinion anyways. I just wanted to here some of your thoughts.

Sorry Parker but Vision hooks are the biggest pieces of [Bleeeeep!] on the market. Kevin why are you using 6/0 hooks for salmon, isn't that a little big? I use Daiichi's and VMC vanadium hooks and I don't think anyone can tell me those aren't some of the best hooks.

We all have a passion for fishing so why be a tight a** when it comes to our gear? Price doesn't matter when you've got a 20 pounder on so go buy a Loomis and some Daiichi's and enjoy yourself.
:p

ripalip,
i use a 6/0 hook because i use a big bait and i want a bit of hook to show after the bait is on.i do alot of bobber fishing for fall fish that are big and require big baits. big bait,big hook, big fish.
sharp hooks are great, but you dont need an expensive hook to make it sharp. not trying to make fuss about the whole thing i just personally
would'nt spend lots of money on hooks when you use so many of them.

Ripalip, I agree with some of what you said, don't skimp. But remember not everone is single and making over $30K a year. "Don't" skimp on hooks!!! You can get by with lower qualility line, rod, reel and swivels, but spend the money on your hooks. Remember guys, alot of these new members haven't caught 1 100th of the fish we have and they are just searching for knowledge. So, if you don't want to lend your advice to others "asking for it", don't answer the thread. There is no call to be rude.

G-man thanks for the input and for being respectable and not an a**hole.

I've used a 3/0 hook once for kings on the Hump and I got laughed @,= too big. I used to fish large hooks also but have found that a 1 or 2/0 is plenty of room for bait and hook reveal. A 6/0 hook will improve your chances of hooking a fish....IN THE DORSAL FIN.

All I have ever used are 1/0 and 2/0 and have never had problem.

ripalip
not hammering you on your choice of hook, whatever you use obviosly works for you. you were the one asking about hook preferences i just gave my 2 cents. 1 or 2/0 wont hold up to 60-70lb fish on the skeena.

Always had my best luck with a size 1 or 2. The smaller the better.

How does a simple thread about hooks end up in trash talking???Don't get it!

I'm with ya on the 1 and 2's also.
And I feel that if you want to go cheap somewhere, hooks are the place to do it. As long as it's sharp, what does a fish care what brand ( or how much dinero it was) it is. I'd bet that some of these guys could spend 30 minutes fashioning a nail into something they could tie onto a line, and if they sharpen it, they'd catch.
I do not believe in shorting yourself on line or swivels. When I first started fishing, I lost several fish on that Danielson crappola that was sold as swivels. No sir-ree....I'll pay top buckeroo for swivels, thank you very much.
And line? C'mon....we've just spent HOW much time to get one on and we're gonna risk it on pennies per mile line???? Gimme a break, no pun intended.
And shall we discuss the reel? Wanna hear my marlin on light gear/cheap reel story? It's somewhere else on here while talking about Penn Internationals.
I suppose you could cut corners on the rod. As long as it doesn't break ( yeah, I've had a couple of those, too ), you could save some money here.
But then again, if we didn't have these disasters due to bad luck and cheap gear, we wouldn't have really funny stories to tell, right?
Bottom line....use sharp hooks, not necessarily spendy ones.
Just my $2 worth.

diana

price dosent matter WHEN you have a 20lb fish on but whats your ratio on 20lbrs and lost hooks? i will never buy diachi just because of the price and don't buy gammies unless they are the only thing. the visions are cheap as hell and sharp too.
tyler

I agree with those that posted about price not mattering, but sharpness does. I used to fish an Eagle Claw baitholder behind homemade spinners on the Grande Ronde for steelies, just like my old man still does, and NEVER broke one, or my bank. I like Gamies now that I am here in W WA, and have a job ha ha. Let's not cut at one another on here, and if it is a "re-post", then just don't open it. I am fairly new to this WA steelhead/salmon fishing and like those who choose to help out us "rookies". Guess that is just how I am, heck I take pics of other people catching fish and send em to them. If you see me on the river taking pics of you and your fish, then you will know it is me. Good fishing to all, and look at it this way, at least you are fishing and not over here in cold As$ Kosovo playing Army 14 hours a day!!!

While we're at it anyone know where I can get some Mustad 92141 2/0 hooks? Friend loves them for tying up his mooching leaders but can't find a source.

BTW Vision RULES unless you like burning money.

Gooose

Diana, your right about cheap import junk. Stay away from anything Danielson unless it's a herring cutting guide or fish stringer. Ande is ok line for the price, if price is an issue. I use Max and Tri myself. As for rods I have 21 of them, GL3's ect. My two favorite coho rods are (Walmart $49.00) "Shimano IM6 Convergence". Reels? "Curado!" But when I started river fishing, (before Tyler was a gleam in his father's eyes ) I used a closed faced spincast w/fighting drag on a $19.99, 8'6" Diawa rod. I slammed the other two (in their boat) who were using Lamiglasses and baitcasters. My 7 to their 3 fish. I was at least using Gammies. I couldn't afford a nice rod and reel on $6.00 an hour and buy food and pay rent. But I knew where the coho were hiding. My point? Learn with what you can afford now, then move up later. But for now, FISH!!! FISH!!! FISH!!! Just my opinion though.

Gooose, try special ordering them from "Allsport Supply" from your sporting goods dealer.

Hooks are certainly important.. But personally, I can't remember the last time I took a file out to file a hook. If I dull it on a rock I cut it off and tie on another that I have pre-tied. You can sharpen a fresh hook, but sharpening a dull hook serves no purpose. As for hooks I like I prefer #1 Owner Cutting Points in which you can now buy in 50 packs which breaks down to about .30 cents a hook. #2 Visions and mustads are my second favorite and I use these when catching bigger #'s of fish or fishing areas where I may go through 10-20 leaders in a day or just fishing for the clone hatchery fish...

Here's a bit of knowledge for those that don't beleive steelhead and salmon won't "SWALLOW" an offering. First off when immature fish enter the river system (ie. summer steelhead, spring chinook) will and have seen it many of times swallow an offering and reality is they don't take it all the way to the gut but actually into their esophagus where you have no hook showing. Do you really think a fish that enters the river systems in March/April and doesn't spawn until Nov-Jan won't eat, you try and not eat for 8 months and see how well you live off of what your body has now. The more mature fish (winter steelhead, fall chinook) rarely will "SWALLOW" an offering because when they enter the river systems their insides are mature (eggs, cumsacks), which makes for less room in their belly and puts pressure on their esophagus and makes it tougher for them to swallow an offering.
I beleive it is a feeding instinct that these fish have or else they wouldn't bite bait in which they live their whole lives on in the ocean. Think about it. When you watch a summer run move 10-15 feet to grab a bait, that's not instinct, that's hunger!!
Keith

[ 01-13-2002: Message edited by: stlhdr1 ]

When I was a little boy I had hand me down tackle.Old hooks,lures and bait.I still made it down to the creek to chase fish.It did not matter. I was happy to go fishing.Little did I know I was Going to Grow up and spend my time arguing about who has the sharpest hook!!!Reminds me of the guy's I used to watch down at finch cr. with 1000.00 worth of gear just to snag chums!good night!!!