Steel assist with bling

[blaasoppie#1]

Limpopoking,

Yeah those hoodlum hooks are not the strongest hooks out there, but they are about 1/2 the price of JM and others. In Madagascar you dont have to worry about hooks corroding....you normally cant hold onto them long enough for rust to develop.

 

[benniejordaan]

Limpopoking wrote:

Great post. Thanks for the info. I will definitely make up a few of these to put out when the toothys are around.

Just 2 comments.

I was testing out an assist knot recently that I had tied using a 10/0 hoodlum. I hooked the hoodlum over my burglar bars and pulled on the assist using some braided rope. I was truly shocked at how easily the hook opened. I tried again with another hoodlum and had the same result. I then switched over to a JM hook and there was almost no movement in the gape with similar tension. It could be that I have a crap batch of Hoodlums, but for safety sake, I know what I'll be using when I make up a few of these assists.

Also, I've been wondering about the use of heat shrink over metal. It's a perfect environment for corrosion to develop, despite your best rinsing efforts. I first noticed it when I used heat shrink for my baker rigs. I have since cut off all the heat shrink that I had on my tackle. Even still, when I return from a trip, I undo all my kevlar assists, rinse them, dry them then retie.

My R0.02

Do the same exercise but use your rod and reel at max drag. Pull and jerk and go crazy, you won't bend them.

The down side of what I would call "over engineered" jigging hooks is setting the hooks. The guage is so thick that you battle to set the hooks and especially at some depth.

Everything within reason. Where there are advantages, there are other disadvantages.

 

[wille jan]

You are so spot on Bennie.

Found the same, with the katana hooks.

Leka thik stuff, dont tear out as easy. hook proud when baited.

But lost a LOT of fish, due to them going blunt.

Half day of fishing is max, for them.

My hook up rate dropped after 11:00 am

Get the bite,.. strike,.. it hangs,.. for 5sec.... and then off.......@#^

So frustrating.

Change hooks and its On Dad.

Would like to find a " thick shank " ,.. lasting sharp and not heavy hook.

If it is to heavy, it " kills " your bait action. ( your bait looks life-less )

100 grams of bait should not feel like 200g, in the pallet.

Those Big ones are very clever. thats why they got so big.

And a soft bait shoud look and feel soft.

Also found that the thick hooks are made with very short shanks.

I like a stadard shank.

For un- hooking, by hand and not fancy tools.

I am in again faster that way.

My 2cents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wille jan]

You are so spot on Bennie.

Found the same, with the katana hooks.

Leka thik stuff, dont tear out as easy. hook proud when baited.

But lost a LOT of fish, due to them going blunt.

Half day of fishing is max, for them.

My hook up rate dropped after 11:00 am

Get the bite,.. strike,.. it hangs,.. for 5sec.... and then off.......@#^

So frustrating.

Change hooks and its On Dad.

Would like to find a " thick shank " ,.. lasting sharp and not heavy hook.

If it is to heavy, it " kills " your bait action. ( your bait looks life-less )

100 grams of bait should not feel like 200g, in the pallet.

Those Big ones are very clever. thats why they got so big.

And a soft bait shoud look and feel soft.

Also found that the thick hooks are made with very short shanks.

I like a stadard shank.

For un- hooking, by hand and not fancy tools.

I am in again faster that way.

My 2cents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[blaasoppie#1]

Hey Bennie,

Yeah, my biggest fish so far on the jig was a white tip shark on a 11/0 hoodlum and that thing pulled like a mofo and the hook did not budge, good thing it was a hoodlum, or else he would still be wearing a lip ring….there was no way that I was going to get my hook back out of that mouth.

I think that jigging hooks still have a lot of room for design improvement, JM hooks suck for getting hung up on your jig and Owner ST hooks are too thick and heavy. I always make sure that when I put my jig on the split ring that the assist hook is facing with the gape away from the jig. I like the idea of the outfacing barb, as that should hang up less on the jig. The JM hooks have a large barb and it really sticks into the jig at times.

My favorite jigging hook is the tinned Gamakatsu Tuned hook, light, strong and sharp, but they are mega expensive. The hook point is not as close the hook eye as other jigging hooks which does not snag the jig as much.

Anyone know where to buy Gamakatsu Tuned 11/0’s at a reasonable price?

 

[Nepptune]

blaasoppie#1 wrote:

Anyone know where to buy Gamakatsu Tuned 11/0’s at a reasonable price?

One of my favourite hooks as well....

Mark I know we may still have a few in stock at a really good price... drop Linda an email on linda@jigstarafrica.co.za , we may still have a few for ya...

 

[blaasoppie#1]

Excellent, thanks Nepps

 

[Limpopoking]

Howzit Bennie. Ja, maybe I'm just a little cautious of hooks at the moment. I lost a superb AJ on the jig pictured below. After it happened, I borrowed a JM 13/0 and landed everything that jumped on except a cheeky little bonny who wasn't much larger than the jig. He managed to burn my braid off on the hull

However, when I returned, I was curious as to how much pressure various hooks could take as well as wanting to test out a variation of kevlar knot. I took 2 more of the same assists as the one I straightened, tied it to some 8mm braided dacron, put the hook round my burglar bars and pulled with the dacron just in my hands. Needless to say, I straightened both hooks without too much difficulty. I then tried my 10/0 hoodlums, and this is where I got a bit of a skrik. They were stronger, but not by a convincing amount. I then tried some Ryoichi 8/0 and they were a lot stronger. A few days later, I picked up some JMs and repeated the test. They were extremely strong, but I have to say, they are very thick too.

I've always been partial to Gamakatsu, but I have really struggled to get them in larger sizes.

I hear what you are saying about actually doing it with rod in hand, but that's exactly how my hook straightened, 100 odd meters down. Admittedly, the AJ came close to railing me and my rod was not too far off vertical at the time, but that's what some of the monsters of the deep can do to you.

From now on, I use STRONG hooks.