[Notso]

HOOKS, HOOKS, HOOKS.........

There are and always has been a myriad of them on the market.
Hundreds of different makes and dozens of different patterns to tempt the angler.

Of all the tackle we now possess the humble hook is probably the most important.
Its the bit that actually catches the fish ( although not every time )
We all talk about Rods, reels, rigs etc but they all just help us facilitate bring our hooks into play .
Circle... J.. wide mouth.., fine wire,.. Aberdeen,.. Uptide....... the list goes on and on.
Even the size of the hook can vary slightly from one manufacturer to another and from style to style but we all accept that there is a basic standard size ...
Add to this the fact that prices can vary dramatically across the whole range and we have a multitude of choices to make.

Where we are fishing, what we are hoping to catch and what bait we are going to use are the most obvious considerations but as the saying goes " size matters"
Not so much the size of fish but the size of hook. Many big strong fish are caught on relatively small hooks.
I personally think matching the hook size to the size of your bait is more important than worrying if your hook is big enough to land your next PB.
Also when fishing rough ground its possibly better to use a finer wire hook so that if snagged it will either bend or snap allowing you to get most of your tackle back.
As with everything else we all make our choices and have our favourites. Things we trust and have faith and confidence in, hooks are no different. No one can say with any real positivity that one hook is better than another, we all have our opinions based on our own experiences.
That said, we can also learn and change our opinions by sharing our thoughts with other.

My hooks of choice are SAKUMA because i have confidence in them
I stick to five patterns: 540Manta, 545Manta Extra. 543Pennel Manta Extra. 440Circle and 560Stinger

545Manta Extra and 543pennel Manta extra for most of my clean ground fishing.
Good strong hooks that keep their points well
540Manta or 560Stinger when I fish rougher ground or using worm baits
440Circles under used but trying to use them more.
( found them great in small sizes with bread for shy biting mullet )

So faced with all this which hooks do you favour and why ?

 

[Ade N]

Sakuma Manta's or Koike wide mouths on clean/mixed, good old Mustad Vikings on the rough!
Never had the cheaper Koike snap yet, and the Vikings will bend/spring out under pressure (usually!)
Also, now debarb all mine as it makes unhooking sooo much easier on dog's/Hounds etc, and if you loose the odd fish, so what.
Also use Chinu's as top pennel hook.

 

[squid-u-like]

From the boat (uprising) typically 5/0 Sakuma Manta Extras and in the past the same model in smaller /0 ratings. However I have taken a shine to those Mustad Bass hooks as of late. They only go up to a 5/0 but the large eye seems to hold the squid body nicely - especially when wrapped up in elasticated cotton. Just make sure your hooks are sharp and the bait is as best you can offer!

 

[Diawl Bach]

I use sakuma manta for hounds, bass and ray, and mustad or kamasan for smaller fish (mullet, garfish, wrasse). Not too fussed about exact pattern, normally something with a wide gape and a slight offset (offset some myself).

 

[bluebird 8]

I like sakuma and aberdeens..but i use new hooks nearly every time on my rigs..you be surprised how quick salt water affects the hooks....

 

[John Mason]

Kamasan B940 various sizes for a lot of general fishing; Mustad Viking size 1 has served me well for rays and turbot at Borth (large mackerel strip hooked once at tail end where the skin is very tough). Tronix circles 5/0 for bassing on crab baits. The B940 2/0 is a good strong Aberdeen that has dealt with good sized huss no problem although here they don't need hauling vertically as it's all open beach territory apart from the shallow bass-reefs. I carry a sharpening stone of the kind used by darts players to hone hooks as required. For big pollack off the rocks on SPs I use Gamkatsu Texposer hooks, mostly 4/0. Never had one let me down yet.

 

[Darrenc24]

Varivas Big Mouth extra love them I'm also a fan of the Koike wide mouth great value for money

 

[Gowerfisher2]

Kamasan, Varivas Big Mouth and Aberdeens for me in a variety of sizes.

 

[Rufio]

Various bmx or Cox and rawle specimen extra in 3/0 and 5/0 for all my fishing good trustworthy hooks. Never let me down

 

[thabassmaster]

I'm a mantra man on the boat but sakuma 440 circles for bass fishing with crab

 

[wyting]

Varivas Bmx hooks, i thought sakuma were sharp untill i teied these.

 

[Yakdiver]

Ones with a pointy thing at one end and a ring thing at the other

 

[valleyboy]

Varivas SuperMatch in the smaller sizes, Big mouth, BMX and semi circles. Still got boxes of Kamasans and Mustard hooks which I use less than I used to

 

[Darrenc24]

Varivas Bmx hooks, i thought sakuma were sharp untill i teied these.

You put me on the Varivas hooks and I've never looked back had some cracking fish on them

 

[Dai crocket]

Varivas Aberdeens and bigmouth. The Aberdeens are great for bass

 

[OdysseyAngling]

For 90% of my bait fishing it’s:

Sakuma Manta 5/0
British Big Game Fishing circles in 10/0 for big tope and sharks.

Otherwise my fishing is drifting with lures.

I used to be a big Mustad fan and still use their smaller hooks for bream etc but I found it harder to buy their hooks in bulk.

 

[forrest22]

For all my bait fishing it's Sakuma Manta everytime, 540's in all sizes from 6 to 4/0, (4/0 depending on target species), then 545's for 4/0 upwards. They're the only hook I have complete faith in.

 

[Dab hand Dai]

Quality aberdeen,they most made from carbon so the chemically sharpened point will blunt after a session so I change every times

 

[squid-u-like]

A Mantra Man? I Have to chuckle over that typo. Have you reached ascension yet or are you on the cusp of enlightenment as as result of your Mantras? LOL

I'm a mantra man on the boat but sakuma 440 circles for bass fish ing eith crab

 

[Seymour]

For boat fishing I can't look any further than Vikings 79515. Fished with them for years, mainly for turbot, but have had accidental tope to 30lb on them (4/0) with no issues. They really have done me proud. I can barely recall losing a fish on them and I usually catch my fair share when I'm out.