Fellows I was wondering how many of you avid salmon and steelhead anglers employ a trailer hook when tying up leaders for driftfishing, backbouncing, plunking etc. In some instances double hooks make sense, but in others, it seems like overkill. What angling method and under what conditions would you employ two hooks?

All my drift rigs carry a double hooks, except when using a jig, spoon/spinner or fly. Tadpollies get the triple hook. I don't consider it a trailer hook, it is a just the proper way to rig the setup. To me a trailer hook would be a extra hook on the back of a spoon/spinner setup. If the hooks are too big for the bait, I drop down in hook size not quantity. My hooks vary in size from double 5/0 to double #4.

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Marty
www.steelheader.net
marty@steelheader.net

My father used to fish okie drifters with double hooks, one above and one below the bobber, with one facing each direction. I tried this when I first got into the sport and found that I was spending a lot of time at home tying leaders, and that they seemed to hang up a lot more. I would think that double hooks might make sense on diver and bait combinations though. Do you seem to have trouble loosing tackle with this setup?

Shep
I don't separate the hooks with a bobber, so I can change colors on the fly to meet river conditions. It will cause more lost gear if your bobber can't float the hooks. I try to be aware of what my gear is doing at all times and adjust accordingly. I usually carry three pips containers with different size hooks with me. Most of my lost gear is because of the lead and where I cast.. I don't mind losing gear if I am hitting my "spots".

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Marty
www.steelheader.net
marty@steelheader.net

I used double hook set-ups when I am running pink worms so that I may stick the first hook at the very top of the worm and get maximum movement but still be assured that the fish is gonna get a hook in its mouth when it takes. I am shying away from this though because a couple times I have noticed that it has caused damage to the fish, either when the second hook was inhaled or it was impaled somewhere on the fish when it was being flung around during the fight. And because I fish them mainly for the nates I am trying to gain more confidence that the fish will take the whole worm and hook itself or give up movement of the worm to protect the natives.
Tight Lines
Ryan

With pink worms I use a worm threader and put the hookb about a inch away from the tail it works great, latley I've been using leaded jig hook with my worm just trim the head off to about 4" they inhale it.As far as double hooks I've used them with sand shrimp real close together, don't space them out too far or thats where the damage to fish accures...

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Tight Lines
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My doubles are very close together. I prefer to use a jig with my float fishing techniques.

Does anybody tie them with the top hook being a slider? I sometime tie my shrimp rigs that way when I am fishing below a float. With a threader and one hook-try a small piece of rag material slid over the hook-it makes your shrimp last 5x longer, especially when boondoggin or drifting them.

Crayfin

Doesn't it seem like a waste of hooks running em' in tandem? properly rigged eggs and shrimp simply don't need 2 hooks for drift fishing. Bait divers and worms are exceptions but even bait divers work fine with a properly rigged single hook.

I'm assuming your curiosity for the need of 2 hooks is to extend the bite zone when a fish hits. If you feel your single hook isn't rigged to offer maximum bite(chance of barbing in the fishes mouth), drop down a size on your corky or go up a size in your hook. One trick I use is to simply run 2 small beads between the top of the hook and the corky thus your hook is trailing away from the corky for extended "bite". It is every bit as effective as 2 hooks and saves you $$$ if your using high quality, premium hooks.

Just some thoughts.

Eric
I disagree!!! The second hook doesn't extend the bite zone. It is in the heart of the bite zone. The double hooks work together, not as separate hooks.

Try this...Put a single hook setup in your mouth and try to pull it out of the corner of your mouth on a tight line towards your ear. Feel free to use your tongue to keep the hook lined up. Now do that with a double set up......I DARE YA....get my point?

Ok Ok here is a different thought

Here is cash logic
Lets see...... $4,000 for a drift boat, $300 for each rod & reel setup, twenty for gas, four dollars for two dozen sandshrimp.

I fish hard from daylight to dark looking for that one strike. You know the twenty pound "tap...tap". Now I should skimp on a "extra" hook for a quarter.

Be my guest if you want to save a quarter, Guess it is only .23 now that I gave my .02

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Marty
www.steelheader.net
marty@steelheader.net