[trev]

Never seen a thread on this subject here or anywhere else, but a very experienced lure angler here in north wales known as" Fester" says that he hardly ever looses a lure because he only uses hooks which will bend out of any snag.........so do any of you guys take off the original trebles from your expensive lures and replace them with thin wire hooks which you know will bend out and release your lure before your leader snaps? apparently he does this with hard plastics and things like eddystone eels..............any one else do this?

 

[Dave Irving]

Trevor,
I fished 14lb fireline last season, and with gentle steady pressure I could bend out even ST46 (the standard treble on most japanese plugs). So I wouldn't go changing them for weaker plugs. With practice you will get the hang of popping lures free of snags pretty quickly anyway.

 

[bob jameson]

I`m with Dave on this one leave the hooks alone , had some good bass mangle normal hooks so i would not even attempt replacing them with a lighter gauge hook..

 

[Ben Field]

Yep, same. Most standard hooks will bend out if you're using any normal strength braids. As Bob said, even fish are quite capable of bending ST46's so I definitely wouldn't go lighter.

Saying that, some lure like the Mag Poppers etc come with huge, powerful hooks so in that case there might be worth changing them for something more realistic. Most decent plugs though come with suitable trebles.

 

[Keith White]

Don't get hung up on lures getting hung up.
If you ain't losing em, you are fishing the wrong places.

 

[trev]

Yep, same. Most standard hooks will bend out if you're using any normal strength braids. As Bob said, even fish are quite capable of bending ST46's so I definitely wouldn't go lighter.

Saying that, some lure like the Mag Poppers etc come with huge, powerful hooks so in that case there might be worth changing them for something more realistic. Most decent plugs though come with suitable trebles.

yeah,it was looking at the trebles on a mag popper that had me thinking no way could you bend one of those out,then again being a surface lure its unlikely to get snagged on anything anyway

 

[Nick Phillips]

I have experimented with using 'weak' and usually round bend hooks while plugging for Pike,I wouldnt bother.
What tends to happen especially with larger fish in the 12-20lbs range(Pike) is that they use their body weight and sometimes you find that you have only actually hooked up with one hook 'bend' and the fish just straightens it with its body weight etc.
I think that what Kevin says is spot on about plugs being in the 'right place' to get action,although its painful on the pocket.

 

[Barry Howlin]

Try storm jig heads for the softies bendable would be a nice way of putting it !!!!
Complete XXXX would be another....

 

[Mark Sleep]

I can see the logic entirely, and no doubt it is successful, but personally 1) 90% of the time I can pull the lure out by straightening the existing hooks and 2) I would never forgive myself if one bent out on my first double!

 

[David Sharples]

You can get lure saver split rings from Tackle Warehouse. I've used them and got a lot of lures back from the bottom but then had an incident where I struck a pike too hard and left him wearing a treble. So if you use them and use braided lines I'd go for a heavier split ring than advised for your line and debarb your hooks. I think if you can get the strength right these are great and you can cast into nasty country with no fear. Check out the TT review.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Ultimate_SmartLink_Titanium_Rings/descpage-ULSR.html
http://www.tackletour.com/reviewultimateluresaver.html

 

[Nathan Taylor]

Trevor,
I fished 14lb fireline last season, and with gentle steady pressure I could bend out even ST46 (the standard treble on most japanese plugs). So I wouldn't go changing them for weaker plugs. With practice you will get the hang of popping lures free of snags pretty quickly anyway.

I agree Dave.

The chances are you could lose a fish of a life time, i wouldnt change my hooks for weaker ones, only to replace damaged ones

 

[Ben Field]

Seem to remember you losing a beast last year nath, trying to lift it. Ooooooooops!

 

[Nathan Taylor]

Doh!!!!!!!

 

[Nico M]

The smartlinks from Q-baits are also worth a look.http://Q-baits-smartlink.nl

 

[Nico M]

Think this is the right one:-? http://qbaits-smartlink.nl

 

[Nico M]

URL="http://www.qbaits-smartlink.nl"]http://www.qbaits-smartlink.nl[/URL]:shock: :shock: :shock: ;-)