Siwash or Treble hook ?

[irishfield]

Still pretty quiet around here before Ice fishing "heats" up...

 

Which hook do you use on your trolling spoons... and why?

 

Thanks!

Edited December 29, 2007 by irishfield

[troutologist]

Special regs for single barbless aside I think trebles hook up lakers better. If youre releasing a lot of fish the single hook is miles away better to handle. I like to put a really heavy duty barrel swivel with o rings between the spoon and the hook. The way lakers roll close to the boat it saves your hook and gear etc. Really makes a big difference.

[Fisherman]

I'm of the other opinion, I 've found that when lakers roll, it seems to be easier for them to dislodge a treble, (shorter shanks than an siwash hooks) and I use a ball bearing swivel between line and lure, no twisting..ever. Patato Potato

[irishfield]

I use a high quality ball bearing swivel between the main line and a rod length of mono and also a ball bearing stringeze snap as well to attach the hook.. + the Len Thompson spoons at least have a ball bearing... so I think that's covered well. Just curious if anyone finds more hook ups with either style hook. Trebles seem to do a fair amount of damage to Lakers jaws...and if Siwash will hook up as well with less damage..then I'll be buying them and swapping out the trebles. Spent yesterday getting my spoon boxes in order for spring opener...and was giving it some thought.

Edited December 29, 2007 by irishfield

[trapshooter]

Hey Wayne,

 

We boated a lot of lakers last spring with siwash hooks on our spoons and spinners. So much easier to deal with then trebles for unhooking. We had very few fish pop off with the single hooks and found it to be worth it to switch. We also switched out the trebles on the minnow baits for 2 singles, worked great. Sharp hooks, bury the barb, no slack line and it's going to stay on most of the time. Worth a try, you can always go back if you're not happy.

 

Cheers,

ben.

Edited December 29, 2007 by trapshooter

[irishfield]

Make and Size # Ben?

 

Next dumb question... hook direction. Towards the underside of the spoon or outwards...or does it matter?

Edited December 29, 2007 by irishfield

[trapshooter]

Not sure of the make but I'd trust any reputable hook manufacturer. I like sticky sharp hooks though.

 

We had a variety of hook sizes to match the baits we were using. We used some very small in-line spinners (note: this smallest bait caught the largest fish of the trip!) and baits up to the J-13 size. Small spoon/spinner = smaller single hook, larger baits got larger hooks.

 

I never even considered hook direction!! lol. But I like the way you think

[Fisherman]

On a spoon, I don't think it matters, although I would put the hook tip towards the convex side(back of the spoon) looks like there would be more tip exposure. Spoons flip/flop and spin. On body baits like Lymans or Ripplin Redfins, I would definitely go tip upwards. After seeing a couple videos, when the fish strikes, it seems like the head of the fish goes downwards so a hook pointing up might make more sense. The hook would end up in something more substatial than the lower jaw.

[trapshooter]

For sure on a minnow bait I'd have the shank as the leading edge... so if the minnow bait was facing left, the hooks would hang as a backwards "J". Tip upwards as Fisherman said. Make sense?

[irishfield]

Yep the minnow bait is an easy one... tail hook up.. and if a belly hook down (but split ring may dictate it goes to a side!)

 

Now tell me... why do all the hook mfg's put treble hooks on their baits?

 

Guess I should find some nice siwashes and change some up. Next I need to spend some time/$'s and find some minnow baits as well. Had great success with spoons (Linquest and Thompson) last year ....even though most on the lake use minnow baits. Next season I'm gonna try both.

Edited December 29, 2007 by irishfield

[troutologist]

A note too that when using heavy spoons like big krocs or cop e cats it really helps to have a treble to land the fish. with the real heavy spoons theres a lot of leverage the can get to spit the hook. Look into quality hooks for striper fishing. trout just mangle the stuff that comes on lures from the store. go for thick gauge stuff.

 

2 more days til opener

[irishfield]

Not in Zone 11... only one month now ...Feb 15th to 3rd Sat in March.. then we have to wait 'till pickeral opener to go again.

 

Thanks for the advise and I welcome any more that folks can share. I know it's a long way off... but wanna be ready for spring opener.

[Tomcat]

For the last two years, I've been trolling either Sutton 71 flutter spoons (treble hook) or Double Flutter Spoons (siwash hooks) made by Ken's Custom Tackle for lakers - see http://www.kenscustomtackle.com/trollinglures.html My success rate catching lakers improved the more I used the double flutter spoons. The minimum length limits for lakers translates into releasing many lakers. I would estimate that I've had better success releasing lakers caught on the double flutter spoons (with siwash hooks).

[irishfield]

Thanks Tomcat !

[dwc67]

i like siwash hooks nut they are really hard on the eyes on small fish. i find alot of times when the fish is around2lbs the hook is through the eye socket.

[SlowPoke]

i like siwash hooks nut they are really hard on the eyes on small fish. i find alot of times when the fish is around2lbs the hook is through the eye socket.

Those make for good keepers.

My preference is siwash although I don't do much laker fishing. I like them enough to use when I need to replace a hook or when I order blanks but not enough to throw away a good treble hook on a factory spoon.

Siwash are so much easier for removal from the fish.

-Brian

[glen]

On simcoe people put the single hook with the point on the concave side. That way when the hook hits bottom you dont get as many zebra's or crap from bottom. I would use hook sizes to match the size of the lure.

[irishfield]

Thanks guys!

[irishfield]

Tomcat... Ken's was great to deal with.. will let you know what I think of their products when they arrive from CA.

[kickingfrog]

When I use siwash hooks I also give them a twist. My thinking is that it should help with hook-ups. I have also done this with the trebles on many of my plugs. I think there is a hook or lure manufacture that has started doing something similar on their trebles.

 

 

 

Edited January 4, 2008 by kickingfrog