Something is telling me to upgrade my hooks......

[4weightfanatic]

I'm lucky enough to have a bass spot real close to home so am able to have a quick session after work just on sundown. So this week I've visited this spot three nights in a row hoping to see if any patterns would emerge but one night to the next was like chalk and cheese. Tuesday I was blown away by an unstopable fish. Even with my hand holding the spool the fish buried me in the lilies pulling the hooks leaving me aghast. One hook on a treble was only slightly bent. I dropped another smaller fish after a brief tussle then all went quiet. Wednesday only a 45 min sess and not a touch. Thursday - tonight I was buried by two good fish bending the trebles to gain freedom. Another fish bent one treble with a solid hit but no real weight felt. I think it's time I upgraded my trebles on these blades from Ray's to Owners but I feel once the weather warms these fish are only going to fight harder and seek the weedy margins that dominate this spot. So far all my knots have held so if I remove the weak link being the trebles I may land one - May !! PAT

[bushwacker]

Owners are good but in the smaller sizes ive still had bass make a mess of them.

Steve

[4weightfanatic]

Yes it's a bit of a dilemma keeping the hooks small enough not to affect the lures action but big enough to be stronger. The 3.5 gm blade has been the winner so far but no real big fish - best being around 35 cm hence why I've gone up to the 5 gm blade but the hooks are still only size 10 or even 12. I'm hoping bigger lure = bigger fish. I don't want to go any heavier as the place is relatively shallow and thick with weed so I generally commence my retreive straight away or I let it sink to the bottom and whip it up before retreiving. PAT

[bushwacker]

Just as an out there suggestion or thought, Maybe a lighter blade or hardbody you can keep in their face allot longer with to tease an agrovated strike. The one reason i dont use blades as a cast and retrieve lure is they have nearly no resistance in the water sinking wise and i personally dont like the million mile an hr retrieve.

I could be completely full of crap after a few scotches anyway.

Steve

[Binder]

VMC do some nice 3x hooks in smaller sizes. Personally I find owners to be soft, probably why they can get them so sharp. Dont like them.

[4weightfanatic]

Ha Ha nothing like a bevvy to get  the brain ticking . I generally slow roll the blade sometimes throwing in a little flick of the rod tip to "louden"(new word for the day) the vibration and have never had a hit with a fast retreive. But compared to a stop start surface retreive yes it probably would be classed as fast. I may have to try a ghost blade. A suspending/negatively bouyant one would be ideal especially for snags. I'll have to see if I can manage casting the fly rod in there but the closeness of trees could mean turning a fun casual fish into a tree snagged,stressfull frustration!! Cheers Pat ##### Cheers Binder I may check them out.

[dinodadog]

What annoys me is you can get blades on ebay 3 for $10 which have better hooks than brands you pay $15 I think somebody is getting greedy. I find rolling the treble out of the mouth of the fish is the best method of removal, however sometimes it a bit hard when they have bit down on it and it is lodged in both lips. Also like to search unknown areas with cheap blades to find out where the snags are.

Dino

[elops]

Either swap them for singles or one larger/stronger treble on the front and use the front tow point.

[4weightfanatic]

Thanks Steve I had thought about single hooks but not sure if you can get ones with the eye side on so you don't need to use two split rings - they tangle bad enough as it is. Why do you recommend using the front tow point ? I've been using the back one so I can rereive as slow as I dare without hooking the bottom or snags. I was of the understanding the front tow point was for faster retreives. What's the secret ? Pat.

[elops]

Found you get less tangles with bigger treble if you use front tow point, though I mostly use larger blade/vibes in the rustwater hence the upgraded hooks.
Singles I just use Tarpons in appropriate size with one ring hooks in opposite direction, works for me.

[4weightfanatic]

Thanks for explaining that Steve  Cheers Pat.