What size and brand is everybody using. I been using owner octopus hooks but last year I had a prob with the kooks (alot of em) breaking at the bend. Was going to give the sickle bait holders a try.
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What size and brand is everybody using. I been using owner octopus hooks but last year I had a prob with the kooks (alot of em) breaking at the bend. Was going to give the sickle bait holders a try.
For minners I use light wire Aberdeen gold hooks size 2 or 1. I don't think I have seen any sickle live bait hooks but then again I am not familiar with all the new tackle.
Me either. I found bait holder hooks at cabelas the other day. I did get 2 packs. The sizes seem to be on the big size though.
For me I only use TruTurn hooks. They flat out work well and they can be bent if I hook a tree instead of a fish. You can get a 50 pack for maybe $5 at Bass Pro. I like the cam action as it puts more fish in the boat.
For Crappie ... I've used live bait hooks from #4 to #1 Aberdeen, depending on minner size (& sometimes fish size) ... but, now mainly use a #2 Aberdeen ... usually Eagle Claw. I've put them on lines from 4# mono to 20# braid, and boated Crappie over 2lbs without ever having one bend open or break when lifting the fish into the boat.
... cp :kewl
I just started tying up some home made capps and coleman rigs using Eagle Claw #2 and #4 Aberdeen hooks. We'll see how they work this spring/summer.
Bought some of the #2 sickle minner hooks, Like the jig sickles they seem a little sharper. Have not fished with them yet.
Got them online at walmart, less than $10 for 75, ship to store for free.
Will you look at that! A sickle bait hook! Thanks for letting us know where to find them.
http://i5.walmartimages.com/dfw/dce0...ec0c097.v1.jpg
Matzuo Sickle Aberdeen Hook, Bronze - Walmart.com
I use Owner #4 Mosquito hooks or #2 True Turn. But I seldom use minners anymore.
Been using the Matzuo sickle Aberdeen for a couple of years. Very sharp, seem to get better hookups. Hard to find but like Justanotherjoe said, pretty good deal through Walmart on ship to store. Also cheapest I have found.
http://i994.photobucket.com/albums/a...203_193737.jpg
here are the bait holder ones I got at cabelas. I think they were $3
#2 TruTurn mostly, sometimes #1. Good hookups and very few lost fish.
I like using the #6 sickle hook personally and I got them at cabelas... I feel like I hook a lot more in the roof of the mouth... Prior to that I user TruTurn hooks which also work pretty well
I used tru-turn before, but mostly for trout. Had great hook ups with em but for some reason most of the trout had them things way down there throat. Might give em a try again on crappies
What makes sickle hooks better? Seems like most use them in jigs as well.
It's the sharpness and hook up ratio for me. I use them with live bait, tie Gnats/Teasers on them, pour my jig's on them. Like said before most hookup's are in the roof of their mouth. I have had them go all the way through side of mouth and through gill plate. They don't have much of a barb but loose very few with them once hooked because 90% of the time it is in the hard part of their mouth.
I used a 1/32 jig head with #2 red matzou sickle hooks produced locally. They work very well, good solid hook ups with very few fish lost. For live bait I used the Mr.Crappie #2 -1/0 red can action hooks.
Will the Matzuo sickle hook straighten to free it from snags ...??
Quote:
Originally Posted by kickingback
Rickie
Rickie, I have found them to not be as forgiving as some of the more Lite wire hooks like the EagleClaw. Waters I fish don't have a lot of cover so the work for me. If fishing heavy cover I might go back to a lighter wire hook.
I observed the same findings as cray it's pretty hard to straighten one out... Most of what I fish is rocky rip rap so I don't get hung up a lot
I get about a 50% straightening out verses breaking off when dock shooting. To me the better hook ups and hook placement outweigh loosing a few jig heads.
To see the difference in sickle and regular hooks, you can stick your finger in a bag of regular hooks, wiggle it around and pull it out, no problem.
put your finger in a bag of sickle hooks, wiggle it around and you will pull it out with hooks stuck all in your finger. LOL They are that sharp.
Isnt that a factor of how sharp the hook is vs the sickle shape? Id bet youd get a ton of hooks stuck to your fingers if you stuck them in a bag of trokar hooks too. (of course I dont know if they make 4-1 size trokar hooks)
They're crappie...papermouths! You can catch them on a dull paper clip. I've been using Eagle claw Aberdeen's all my life...I've caught more than I missed.
I can sharpen my 214ELA's ...
I ain't got time to be retying ...while watching 12 rods ...
It's called straighten-reshape-rebait-redunk ...
Rickie
Update...
I bought a package of these to try them out and found them to be not as forgiving in keeping the hook in the crappie mouth when fishing with minnows. I used six rods each with a sickle hook and during a 4 hour fishing spell I lost or mis-set the hook on them about 4-5 times. More than I usually do with gold Aberdeen #2 hooks. Still good hooks and sharp. I'm just not sold yet. I will try one more time but right now I will stick with the sickle hooks on the jigs for now.
dull paper clip, rofl:Rofl
That's what I'm doing wrong, and here I'm wasting money on hooks :)
I checked out gold Aberdeen #2 hooks today. They looked huge. The shank seemed too long.
Ha! #2 looks tiny to me.... We fish 1/0 and 2/0 down here most of the time.Quote:
Originally Posted by jeff1979
:biggrin .... you must be used to using some small hooks, then.Quote:
Originally Posted by jeff1979
A 4" long Crappie can take a #2 Aberdeen in it's mouth SIDEWAYS, so don't be fooled into thinking a #2 hook is "too big". I've caught hand sized Bluegill on a #2 Aberdeen, and it's the hook size I use on my 1/32oz & 1/16oz jigheads, as well as my minnow hook.
When I'm using very small minnows, I may go down to a #4 Aberdeen ... but, that's a rare occurrence. And if I'm using thin/short plastics (1-1.5") I may use a jighead with a #4 hook ... but, for the most part, a #2 hook is on my line.
... cp :kewl
is a Matzuo Sickle Hook, thinner or thicker dia. then a common gold Aberdeen hook ?
I have used Matzuo sickle hooks for years and find them to be the best. Reasons: light wire (causing less damage to bait), extremely sharp and the special bend makes them stronger, yet they will still pull loose when hung. I find that just pulling straight back (rod pointed at the bait) with steady increasing pressure works much better than jerking. I use sizes #1 and #2. Most all my jigs are make with Matzuo jig sickle hooks. There are many hooks to choose from but I know you will not be disappointed with these.
Full disclosure...as of 2015, I joined the Matzuo's National Pro Staff team. However, I used their product many years before being invited to join their team.