Eagle Claw 571 Hook

[Micanopy]

Made up some new jigs. These are 1/32nd ounce.










I am very pleased with this new-to-me hook. It is the Eagle Claw 571, formed in bronze and sized 1/0. The hook has a sticky sharp tip and a nice barb. Very rare that a rod will indicate while trolling and there not be something attached to the other end. Rarer still to lose a fish while reeling him in. I did lose a fat fish recently though but it was strictly my fault. Kind of hard to expect much more than that from a jig hook. So I have been using it for all my jigs no matter the weight of the head or style of lure. I did have to make some very small mods to my FreeStyle mold as when inserted the hook tip can reach over too far, and ride high on the material. I simply filed those areas a few hits to provide space enough and good to go. Easy.

I am suspecting that the reason the hook is so effective is that it’s tip is high up above the bait. Lots of room to catch and then lots of room in the bend to sink deeply. I had been using Victory sickle hooks size 1/0 and I could flop the fish onto the deck and he would pitch the lure free. That is not occurring with this hook. It stays pinned. I landed a 10 pound bowfin with one and there was no deformation at all.

The shortened shank makes it so much easier to skewer plastic baits as it doesn’t require a long stroke. I can manage with it much better. It also leaves more of the bait to wiggle waggle as less is affixed to the shank. I trimmed some off of the plastics before skewering. I cut off the tips and then thread them on. Then pull them back and add a drop of super glue to the shank, then slide the bait forward. This provides virgin plastic for the glue and seems to hold up as well as expected. The fish can still destroy the plastic but usually I get several trips before that happens.

If you ever need a short shank hook I can recommend this one.