Hooks...

[ronaultmtd]

For the last year I have been replacing all my hard body lure treble hooks with either VMC or Owner single replacement hooks...this week I was trolling a XR12 XRap with Owner single hooks that I had filed the barbs off...lots of 20 (+) inch stripers ate the lure- one 24 inch fish swallowed it down to the gullet, but because it had barbless hooks and I was very careful using long nosed pliers, I released the fish "unharmed" and I do mean unharmed...had the lure had barbed hooks of any kind the fish would have died- no way I could have saved it....since I mostly release all my fish anyway (after I fill my freezer) I have decided to go the extra step and fish all my lures barbless- and I did not lose a single fish due to them flopping off the hooks...steady pressure is the key...the hooks are hard to find, especially the number 1 and 2 hooks for the XR-8 and XR-10 lures- I ordered mine from Bass Pro on line- they didn't carry them in the store...

I haven't noticed any difference in hookup rates...what I have noticed is once you are hooked, you rarely lose a fish throwing the hook...that may change when I go totally barbless...

[silasvirus82]

I'm on my third season fishing the Chesapeake now and caught a few hundred rock fish at this point, and in that time probably half the fish I've caught are on minnow style crank baits trolling behind the yak. I have not changed out the hooks on anything to-date, but I did experiment a little by cutting off a few hooks on a couple lures. First of all, out of all those fish I've only sent maybe 2-3 home that I knew wouldn't make it from deep hookups or caught in the gills. That's a pretty good record as far as I'm concerned. On the baits that I did remove a few points from the trebles I noticed that the fish were getting the baits in deeper, albeit I was usually able to work around the bait and remove the hook, but it was no easy task and the fish were out of the water longer than I prefer. The lures that I kept all factory hooks on seem to get caught closer to the outside of the mouth, I think because there is more points out there to snag on to something quickly. I've also caught more fish snagging them with full trebles out there for obvious reasons. Now I completely agree that the more hooks out there the harder it can be to unhook at times, but keeping the bait out of the deep portions of their mouth is my primary goal. For all my current lures the only thing I do is grind/mash the barbs down on the rear hooks for easier removal, and keep the front hooks factory. The only exception is for a few lures that I have taken all the barbs down for specific seasons that require it.

[Shady]

I just changed all of my hard baits over to single VMCs this spring and I'm sold on it already. Much easier to deal with fish on single hooks in a kayak and much easier on the fish.

[Yak67]

That was my winter project Ron while I was laid up. This was my first year throwing crank baits, and I had to check the dates of my last tetanus shot to be sure I was up-to-date I got stuck so many time with flopping fish.

Great advice and I appreciated all the feedback I got on what size hooks and style to use. I hit on X-Rap on Amazon and notice they are selling lures now with single hooks.

Yak67
2017 Hobie PA-12 Camo
2016 Hobie Outback LE#217

[silasvirus82]

https://activeanglingnz.com/2014/08/18/treble-v-single/

Here is a brief article I just read on the subject that seems to support both arguments, maybe slightly in favor of treble hooks.

[ronaultmtd]

The states of Oregon and Washington now require barbless hooks for Spring salmon fishing...and when I fished for the Kings in the mightly Columbia River system we were using quick fish lures (tuna wrap) for back trolling with single Owner barbless hooks...hang on when you get a big King Salmon in the strong current- and they have a tendency to jump a lot- long limber rods are a must to keep constant pressure...25-40 pound fish that are very strong and fresh from the ocean can humble even the most experienced fishermen...especially when the boats are thick and lines tend to get tangled quickly if you don't immediately cut loose from the anchor and chase the fish with the boat...nothing like fishing the in Bay...but it taught me the keys to fishing barbless hooks...it is a technique and requires attention to detail...

[yakscientist]

The states of Oregon and Washington now require barbless hooks for Spring salmon fishing...and when I fished for the Kings in the nightly Columbia River system we were using quick fish lures (tuna wrap) for back trolling with single Owner barbless hooks...hang on when you get a big King Salmon in the strong current- and they have a tendency to jump a lot- long limber rods are a must to keep constant pressure...25-40 pound fish that are very strong and fresh from the ocean can humble even the most experienced fishermen...especially when the boats are thick and lines tend to get tangled quickly if you don't immediately cut loose from the anchor and chase the fish with the boat...nothing like fishing the in Bay...but it taught me the keys to fishing barbless hooks...it is a technique and requires attention to detail...

2 Octobers ago when I was catching king salmon in Oswego River in NY, they had many requirements about lures and line. I think you only were allowed a max of 3ft of mono or fluoro leader, and you couldn't use sinking lures, only ones that float normally and sink to a certain depth. Idk if that applied to stickbaits only or if softbaits/jigheads were even allowed, all I used were hardbaits (storm thundersticks). And I managed to bring one king salmon onto shore, after a very long fight on 15lb fluoro leader, another snapped the leader because I tried to muscle it in too quickly. When I was catching them from a driftboat, 1 bit through the leader, and 1 was landed at the boat while anchored, but like you said, for the biggest one we had to pull anchor and chase it down. Those fish are obscenely powerful, and yeah they leap many times. I highly advise people to travel to Oswego NY, or surrounding areas around lake Ontario, the freshwater fishing there is tough to beat, especially since it's only a few hours north. Besides the salmon, there's the biggest smallmouth you've ever seen, muskies, and pike too, it's a very good fishery.

[mike o]

I need to replace my trebles with singles. I already smash the barbs on many of my lures.