At the beginning of each season, I like to replace the hooks of my Bass plugs. The plugs came with trebles and I have always replaced them with trebles. However, this season I have decided to experiment with single hooks. Two reasons for deciding to use single hooks and the first is to make it easier to remove the fish from the kayak net; trebles can be a nightmare when tangled in the net. The second is singles should cause less damage to fish that I intend to return.
The problem with replacing trebles with ordinary single hooks is the eye is too small for the split ring, which means the hook cannot rotate correctly and sometimes sticks on the ring hampering the action of the lure and hooking potential. However, replacing trebles with singles is becoming more popular and now you can purchase single plugging hooks with large eyes.
The hooks I purchased are Decoy Pluggin' Singles 27, which come in packs of eight.
Most of my Bass plugs are between 125mm and 130mm and the size 2 hooks I purchased appear large enough and rotate on the split rings with ease. The other good thing about these hooks is the eye sits parallel to the hook, which means the hook point hangs in line with the lure instead of at right angles.
Time will tell if removing trebles reduces hooks ups or increases lost fish during the fight however, one thing is for sure, it should make removing fish from the net easier and quicker meaning more time fishing in the sometimes short windows of opportunity when the Bass are there and feeding. In the future, I may experiment further by reducing the number of single hooks from three to two, which I know some plug anglers are doing.
I caught my first bass yesterday! Happy days... :) I caught it on a Sidewinder weedless 'super minow'. It was in fact the first fish I have caught having just started angling...as a newbie there is a whole lot going on when you land your first fish...it was a 'spike fest'...I was VERY glad not to have had three sets of trebles to deal with. I have ordered a couple of plugs...namely t/house shallow feed & s/gear prey 130....I think I will replace all the trebles with singles and make things easier on myself and the fish. I hear some folk go further and crush the barbs with pliers...do you have any thoughts on that?
ReplyDeleteHi Ben. Brilliant and congratulations, really pleased for you and what a start! I have not tried crushing the barbs but singles hooks on lures are much easier to deal with. I am sure that as long as you maintain tension on a hooked fish that barbless hooks would be fine. No doubt this will be the first of many Bass for you. Rob.
DeleteThx Rob...your great guidance on the blog has set me up on the right path and I'm very grateful to you. I love the fact that using light tackle I can move around the shore....it means the hound gets a good walk too. :) The Fal is an incredible place to hang out...I have a soft spot for Mylor creek...very peaceful territory.
ReplyDeleteGlad it has been some use to you. We are very lucky in Cornwall to have such great spots to go fishing. Rob.
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