Okay lets see what you guys think of this. I wish I would have thought of this 2 months ago, but ohh well better late than never. I know everyone who fishes kwik fish with single hooks has a problem with hook ups. When allowed to and if it's in good interest (if there is such a thing anymore) I would advise the use a single Owner treble off the back. But when it's single hooks, I always turned to Gamakatsu Siwash's. My hook up ratio dropped off the chart. I went from 95% hook up ratio to 25%. Not my idea of good. So I checked out the 510's thinking this was my saving grace. Not so, same problem. Only thing better than a siwash is if they did stick the fish stayed on longer versus a siwash where they have a tendancy of rollin out. Okay so on with the storie... Okay so I run a barrel swivel from the butt eye and that to a Siwash. Pretty simple. I then take 2 pair of needle noses and grab the shank with one pair and the other set on the opposite tip point. It then bend the tip to the side, more like an octopus style. I feel that this allows the hooks point to penetrate deeper. So now you got a bent siwash hook( sweet huh lol) I then take a 1 1/4 inch long peice of surgical tubing and slide it up over the hook shank and then up over the barrel sivel and up to the butt of the Kwik fish( run it up over the butt eye also. Important) I then twist the hook point so that it points up. So no matter what angle the fish hits from the hook point will always be in the right spot. More fish will be hooked in the upper jaw than in the lower jaw or inside the mouth where they can rub through the mono leader. The hook point stays stationary in this position unless you move it. The wiggle and or water current or debris will not change the hook position. Anyways hope that helps some people out on their next trip with a kwiki. Ohh yeah and remember light drags and wait wait wait, let her rip. Good fishin

Harbor-Hog

I put a berkley #5 swivel on each eye of the kwikfish. Put an Owner treble on the back and a gami siwash on the belly. Most every fish that has hit one has stayed hooked to the boat, unless a sealion bit them off.

Steve

The concept of a "stationary" hook position is very appealing. I believe the lousy hook-up ratio of a single hung from the tail all boils down to the hook spending VERY little time in the ideal hooking position. It's flailing around 100MPH while the butt of the plug is doing its Tahitian dance.

I like the idea of fixating the hook into a non-flailing position as you have suggested, but how does it affect the action of the plug? I would imagine that it is slowed down considerably. The other thing is that the hook is not truly "stationary"... it still follows the butt wherever it goes.

I believe the key to getting that hook to lay back in a truly stationary position is to hang it back from the belly screw-eye. The hook remains in an ideal hooking position without interfering with the action of the plug.

(Hope this is OK with you TRBO)
Ex-PP member RT is on to an excellent idea for achieving this very goal by using a bead chain for extension and backer rod for flotation to keep the hook suspended behind the plug rather than hanging below it... the only problem is his rigging involves a treble. Doesn't help any of us Kenai veterans who are limited to one single point hook.

RT KwikRig

I think you are on to something here. My good buddy is a firm believer in siwash hooks on the back of his k-fish. Well he went something like 9 for 9 on the Hanford Reach with this set-up last fall and then headed down to the mouth of the Cowlitz for springer action with the same plugs. Anyway, after 2 days of fishing together he hadn't held a single fish, maybe 5 lost.! I finally convinced him to change out the single siwash in the back and go to an owner. What we noticed tho was that when you held the bait next to the boat the siwash actually hung almost straight down instead of extended back away from the plug where it would do the most good. On the Hanford Reach the current is generally much stronger and I believe this helped keep the siwash in the best location...extended out and away from the bait. What's strange tho is I use single siwash on the back of my tadpollies for steelhead and very seldom miss a fish regardless of whether I am fishing a fast or slow slot. I will give this set-up a try next spring and see what happens, thx.

RM

Yeah I've got mirrored success with my tads. I'm almost 100%! I've never tried trailing the hook from the belly ring. That would be interesting to see what happened. The stationary tail hook seems to slow the wobble down a little bit, but other than that the wobbles about the same. I actually like it better than before. Yeah I seen some stuff that Steve had been working on. I seen a few with cheaters slid over the treble, and even a few with backer rod with fish flash coming out the tail end of it. A nice dirty water addition. How do you guys rig your older hot shots, 25, 30, SE, etc... I have tried it ALL and they ALL do the belly roll. Looks like a plug cut herring more than a plug.

Harbor-Hog

I leave all my hot shots in their factory condition as any changes seem to cause them to quit running. Tads and wiggle warts seem a bit more flexible when it comes to some changes.

RM

Here is the way I'm setting up my K-13, single barbless, for the Chehalis-Satsop. Run a short piece of mono to hold a bead chain from the belly. Six bead works well with baitwrap, four bead if just running scent. Landed two out of three fish hooked last trip. Running #50 leader, #20 mainline.

Personally, this is what Lure Jenson, Storm, Yakima Bait Co. and any other plug manufacture, that sells plugs in this state, should be doing.

These companies have not been doing the sportpeople of this state......justice. These companies should be doing all the testing, and only be allow to sell, or make available fully legal plugs.

Nothing I hate more than to buy a new plug, then have to take the treble hooks off, then have to play around trying to get the plug to "be not only legal but work correctly", duh!!!

"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"

This may not be a good suggestion, but it comes with good intentions. I don't drag plugs, so take it for whatever it's worth.

Is there a reason that you fellas haven't tried using a small rubber band to hold the hook exactly where you want it?

Just curious.

I have been using the setup that slabhunter shows for the last 2 seasons (5 trips pulling Kfish) and have been 17 for 21 on hookups with 16 to the boat and 1 long line release. I am using 4 bead chain and I have added what FNP alluded to and that is a 1/2 piece of 3/8 backer rod up the hook shank located where the hook attaches to the bead chain. Seems to have cured the bad percentage of hook blues. One more note 2 of the non hokups came on a non adjustable rod holder that I believe had the rod to elevated and pulled the plug out of the fishes mouth before it was stuck well.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff