®
Winter 2022
page 60
referred to by some manufacturers as a “Z” bend) below the eye that keeps the soft plastic upright and pinned for many casts and retrieves. And best of all, you get the best of both worlds in the hybrid between a round bend and O’Shaugnessy bend.
Another feature worth understanding is the hook point elevation with relation to the hook eye. Once engulfed by a bass, as the angler sets the hook by pulling it forward, the elevation of this hook point is positioned higher than the eye, so the exposed point and barb quickly penetrate.
OTHER SOFT PLASTIC
Worms/Lizards/Reapers/Senkos (Texas And Carolina-Rigged)
This higher hook point elevation is a key feature I designed for Gamakatsu many years ago when developing the G-Lock hook. At that time the EWG hook was all the rage since it was great for weedless rigging of tubes and other bulky soft plastics.
The problem with those EWG models was the poor hookup ratio due to the hook point elevation being identical to the hook eye elevation. When setting the hook, the point would follow the same path of the eye as it left the mouth of the bass. By tweaking this design to raise the point elevation, shorten the shaft to decrease weight without sacrificing strength, and incorporating a new R-bend below the eye, the hook design was greatly improved along with hooking and landing success. This is also a forged hook, which allows the hook to remain compact with smaller diameter wire yet will not easily bend out of shape like many EWG hooks do.
NEKO & WACKY RIGGING
One of the best professional anglers that pays attention to hook details is Brent Ehrler. He has designed the ultimate hook for Neko rigging that is simply deadly. Referred to as a “Stinger” hook, it has a straight shank with an O’Shaugnessy bend, and nano smooth coat finish.
Casitas largemouth caught on a Yamamoto Fat Ika with a 5/0 G-Lock Hook.
What many don’t yet realize, not only is it deadly for Neko style rigging, but the weedless version is equally deadly when used to pitch a wacky-rigged Senko.
This is essentially a J-style hook, so you get the superior hooking traits of a J-Hook. It is made with nano coated tournament grade wire to be strong, smooth, and lightweight for finesse applications.
The weedless version sports two titanium wires that are excellent at preventing snagging yet easily allow hooking of bass. In fact, I contend the twin-wire weed guard guides the hook point to be upright where it contacts the roof of a bass’ mouth during the hook set. I use the 1/0 size with an O-Ring to pitch six-inch, weightless Senkos wacky- style and have won several big tournaments using this hook.
CONCLUSION
Let’s face it, one reason bass fishing is so captivating is the many ways we can catch them. For every technique, for every water clarity condition, for every size and shape
lure or pound test line used,
there is a better mousetrap.
Understanding hook design and
paying attention to detail will
have you listening to stories of
the one that got away instead
of being the one telling them.
Stayed tuned for more hook
details in future issues of
WesternBass.com magazine.
We have just scratched the
surface. Ciao. •