Sickles or round bend

I'm sure this has been discussed 100 times before, but running a search reveals about 10000 threads with key word sickels or benefits in it. Anyway, I've heard these hooks are strong and do not bend easily, if at all. Do the benefits of the sickle out-weigh the non-ability to bend it if it gets hung up? If it wasnt for bending the hook, Id probably lose three times the jigs that I do now. I mean, if it aint broke dont fix it kind of things pops in my head. What am I missing, other that the odd fish lol

if I'm casting around brush I don't use sickels, but open water, rocky points I like them. I just actually started using sickels last year or year before last, and almost use all the time when dipping. But that's my preference. From now on, sickels are all I tie.

I used round bends for years and years and didn't want to change. After buying 100 and using them I was sold. I fish around cypress ball roots all the time and yes I lose jigs but if a fish hit the jig he is caught. One of the reasons that I tie my own jigs. But I can tell you that the sickles are the way to go.

Redman

They're sharp. Bottom line.
And they have a slightly wider gap.
Which can easily be compensated by bending out a light wire Aberdeen or such. I like to bend back b/c I don't troll. Sickles break a lot of the time Not knowledgeable enough about trolling and it feels lazy to me. I'm a single pole old school youngn that thrives on structure. BUT for some dumb reason I stay with sickles. I know I like red though and thiiiiiink it makes a diff. Should switch back bc never had troubles sticking fish.
In other words, no answer.
I'm flawed and happy with it.

I had never used sickles. I had always used round bend aberdeens. I'd probably use them more but I get tired of sitting with a box of 1000 sickles and test fitting them so when it's time to pour I know they all fit. As far as fishing it's 50/50 hook and catch the same. Never a problem with either one. If I buy anymore it will probably be the bronze colored ones.

So far I am not impressed with sickle jig hooks. Lost 5 salmon on them and can not keep a trout hooked with them. I love sickle Octopus hooks for bait applications but I think I am gonna stick with my heavy wire round bends for jig hooks.

I am gonna try some sickle jig hooks and see how they work with bead pin heads instead of poured and see if they hold better than poured lead heads. Been told it will make a difference but who knows.

I wish I could help with pan fish and crappie but I can't seem to catch them no matter how hard I try. They might be great for them, will have to see if I get into any this spring.

I changed to sickle hooks a few years back and I can never go beck to fishing the old time way. Those puppies are very sharp and will flat out catch fish.

Nothing but sickle hooks for me......don't lose near as many fish.....and since I went bigger on the hook size I catch more bigger fish and less dinks.

Sickles for me too.

Sickles only for me also. I went to bigger hooks and never miss a fish anymore. I use #2 on 1/16 oz and either #1 or 1/0 in my 1/8 oz. I also prefer the red hook. I started tyeing a long time ago and was taught to always have some red on a jig, even if it's just a thread. The red hook takes care of that.

Sickles for crappie for me. The reservoirs I fish have very little woody cover, so snagging is not as big of an issue. Sickles are extremely sharp and almost always get the fish in the hard palate in the roof of the.mouth, instead of landing in the thin membrane of the lips. When I switched to sickles, my hookup percentage stayed the same, but I lost fewer fish due to the hook tearing out.

The sickle hooks made for crappie jigs are NOT designed for salmon and steelhead. Knocking them for breaking on salmon is like renting a compact car and complaining it takes 10 trips across town to move your apartment when you should have rented a truck in the first place. There are heavy wire sickles, but they are much harder to find. For salmon and steelhead, I use round bends, either Mustad 32833BLNs or Gamekatsu heavy wires.

I use both, round bend w/the hook bent out w/fishing a weedless jig or when tightlining. I use sickles for this too. My preference is sickles because of the wider gap & sharp point. They are right, you do seem to catch more in the room of the mouth. Unless you're going weedless, you have to be careful casting around brush, bigger gap and sharper hook is a magnet for limbs.

For tightling, I primarily use round because they don't get hung in the brush as often due to a smaller gap.

I've never broke a sickle on salmon or steelhead, use the heavier wire ones and have never bent one out let alone broke one. I just lost more fish on sickle JIG hooks. Sickle octopus was another story. But I may have a remedy for that, bead and pin jigs with a trailer tied on instead of using sickle jig hooks. Salmon and steelhead run hard and shake their heads like a wet dog shaking. Same with trout, for some reason almost every single trout I hooked on sickle jigs shook the hook in a jump or head shake close to the dock.

They are good hooks, like I said, I can't say anything about using them crappie or other pan fish, just what I have experience with catching fish. not for lack of trying, 120 hours on a supposed awesome crappie lake last year and didn't hook a single crappie or gill or perch on a jig. Trout yes, but lost them on anything but a round bend jig hook.

new to the crappie fishing thing...but have poured my own heads for years...bought round ball molds poured with the round bend hooks (all I had) at the time..tried the sickle...we long toll...noticed #1 super sharp...2nd...noticed we were having less fish come off as we reeled in...that is all I use now! Sickle all the way!!! can't go wrong

Sickles I started using about the same time I started tying which is about 6 years now and
They just out do regular bend hooks. Not just for me either as have got lots of customers that had never tried them before and probably 98% if them are impressed and fish them now full time!

Poured hooks for many years and always use litewirehooks with round bends. These hooks are supersharp and if you get hung, many times you get your hook/lead and jig back to catch another fish. I rather spend time fishing than tieing on hooks. The way business has been this year........many fishermen agree with me.

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Originally Posted by lightwirehooker

Poured hooks for many years and always use litewirehooks with round bends. These hooks are supersharp and if you get hung, many times you get your hook/lead and jig back to catch another fish. I rather spend time fishing than tieing on hooks. The way business has been this year........many fishermen agree with me.

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I have not had the chance to fish with yours yet just because I have not been yet, but do plan on trying them really soon. I am really wanting to see how they do here, soon I need to go. It was over 70 here yesterday and over 80 today, but colder tomorrow. However the water temp has to be getting close, very close!

Sickle all the way for me. Have not had any problems straighteng them out, no more than round bend.

#1 Sickles on every swimbait jighead or jig for me also!

NightProwler make a killer WEEDLESS Sickle Jighead

At first I wasn't sure about the sickle hooks. RonDon sent me some jigs with them on. Once I started using them, I really like them.

Ok I started out with gold #8 jig hooks. Learned how to tie back in the seventys. Would allways open the hooks up to get a better hookup, lost alot of fish. Now days most everthing I tie is on a sickle, I can bring them in the boat and dont lose them. For minnow fishing I use a #2 aberdean I can get lose with 8# line. Most the time I get it back. Yes Iam a old guy. Good fishing. I have order some 1-0 bronze sickle for bigger baits dont know if they will break or bend.

Ok, after hearing ya'll singing the virtues of the sickle hook I decided to try some. Dang these things are sharp!!!! They got to be at least twice as sharp as 570's. Looks like I'm a convert. Now if they will only catch fish!!

As I stated recently in another post, Aberdeen's hold a minnow better when you want to tip. other than that I use sickles for everything. Sold all of my Aberdeen hooks and heads once I tried the sickles. Waaaay better hookup.

I agree with Skeetbum; sickle has proven better for me.

Just a small update from one of my friends. Kevin is a mechanic friend of mine that fishes Percy Priest a lot, and Old Hickory some, and gets to lots of brushpiles that he's found over the years. The first words out of his mouth when I saw him last were "what kind of hooks were those? The Smallmouth don't straighten those like my other hooks". He caught a few Smallies while doing the countdown near some of his piles and finished the day with a 50/50 split of Crappie and Smallies, 2 of the Smallies were 3 1/2lbs each and fought hard. I think he's sold.

A guy wanted some 1/32 oz and 1/16 oz heads with gold hooks had a few already had to order enough hooks to fill the order.Had a few left over thought i would give them a try myself.We used eagle claw for many years went to the sickles they are great hooks but after trying the gold hooks from eagle claw was very impressed with this hook.Strong but yet light enough when you get hung you can straighten out your hook and keep fishing might give these a try.Another Guy wanted some heads with the double litewire hooks form the charlie brewer slider co. a bit pricey but trying these !!

what size hooks are you guys using when pouring/ordering your own stuff? (sickle hooks in 1/16oz and 1/32oz)

# 4 works good for us,Have used a #2 works good also.The sickle hook has allowed us to us a smaller hook # 4 in a1/16 and 1/32 with a wider gap.The only thing we have found with the sickles is a smaller barb on the hook.which is really not a bad problem very,very sharp!!!!!

mo dock

I use a #2 in my 1/32 and a #1 in my 1/16 jigs