Sickle hooks are so sharp, BUT....

On our annual trip to Grenada I changed all my rigs to sickle hooks and also my brother used them exclusively. We fished for 9 days straight and came to the conclusion that we missed more fish than we ever have after 22 years of fishing. I missed a lot of fish at the net and the ones I landed would fall off the hooks in my kayak. I didn't piece it all together until a few days ago. I had missed some more fish and was trolling along so being an engineer I pulled out one of my hooks and began studying it. I noticed the large curve on the tip of the hook and determined in my mind that as you set the hook the point doesn't sink into the flesh but pulls out. Has anyone else come to this conclusion or is it just me? I would love to hear your opinion.

I fish Grenada and all the rest of the big four.....been using sickle hooks for a few years now and they have improved my catch rate.....all fish are hooked solid in roof of mouth now instead of lips. You might be using too small of a hook. We use size 1 and 1/0.

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Been using sickle seemingly forever!:)
I mainly use 1/0 sickle jig heads with swimbaits for Crappie and have zero problems. The jigs I buy have a nice barb also....My line choice is braid, and with the no stretch line and the sickles being so sharp, you don't need a hook-set...if you are Power setting the hook, you're just pulling the hook out. A sickle works more like a circle hook, with the cam design and light wire, it helps to rotate the jig, so they always hook in the upper part of the mouth...all you need is a flick of the wrist or pressure to set a sickle! IMHO

theysaid Sickle Hook fan!

The only problem I have had with sickle hooks is they straighten out to easy. After every fish I catch I have to double check and make sure its still bent correctly.

You really haft to watch on what hook you use...allot of guys get caught in the trap of Wow this hook is sharp and the right size for what I am doing, and they fail to look at the barb of a hook. Allot of hooks have way too small of a barb, allowing the hook to come free when fighting a fish. Remember a good sized barb is the key to keeping your fish buttoned up and giving you the extra time to land a fish no matter what style hook your using make sure it has a good sized barb. Small barbs = lost fish, especially on Grenada.

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Originally Posted by Erin Brewer

The only problem I have had with sickle hooks is they straighten out to easy. After every fish I catch I have to double check and make sure its still bent correctly.

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I have no idea what kind of sickles you are using, but the sickles I use will not straighten out on a LARGE Bass, Walleye, or Channel cat...let alone a Crappie.
I use 17lb braid and really have to pull hard to get the sickle to straighten enough to get out of rocks or stumps....and never have they come close to being straight, more like 90 degrees.
Some of my Sickles have been bent and re-bent up to 6 times before they finally broke....that's a tough "thin wire" hook!:)

I have not had any issues with Sickle hooks. Love em!

I have had the same issue with sickle hooks as you have, OP. I determined that it was from buying jig heads with hooks that were too small for the given amount of lead on them. I just take my pliers and bend the point out a little bit and the problem goes away. Now I don't use anything smaller than a #2 hook.

I use number two sickle hooks and love them. Normally don't lose many fish, unless the fish aren't eating the jig. If that is the case no hook will solve the problem. If you start losing fish, and the ones you do catch are hooked in the lips, you know they just aren't real aggressive.

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Originally Posted by Tiger

I use number two sickle hooks and love them. Normally don't lose many fish, unless the fish aren't eating the jig. If that is the case no hook will solve the problem. If you start losing fish, and the ones you do catch are hooked in the lips, you know they just aren't real aggressive.

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Or your color is close enough to get bit but a slight change could make a difference. Black/chartreuse might need to be white/chartreuse or black/pink for instance.

I have been pouring with them since they first came out and won't use anything else. That being said, I have found 2 problems on the Matzuo. On #2 and smaller the point is to close to the shank of the hook ( when using them ) I use pliers to bend the point up just a bit. Also you have to check them on the barb. I have had batches where the barb was so small the minnow would slide right off before you could get it in the water yet when that hook Burt's in the roof of his mouth I loose very few fish. I have since gone to the EagleClaw LilNasty sickle hook and they are even sharper. I'm voting to small a hook for your problem.

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Originally Posted by mb4850

On our annual trip to Grenada I changed all my rigs to sickle hooks and also my brother used them exclusively. We fished for 9 days straight and came to the conclusion that we missed more fish than we ever have after 22 years of fishing. I missed a lot of fish at the net and the ones I landed would fall off the hooks in my kayak. I didn't piece it all together until a few days ago. I had missed some more fish and was trolling along so being an engineer I pulled out one of my hooks and began studying it. I noticed the large curve on the tip of the hook and determined in my mind that as you set the hook the point doesn't sink into the flesh but pulls out. Has anyone else come to this conclusion or is it just me? I would love to hear your opinion.

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Just opposite of my experiences.

I cant remember where I bought the sickle hooks I used for making a batch of hair jigs but only problem I had with them was that the hook was actually breaking.

Sickle hooks work great on your fingers. Gotta be good.

Where was the hook breaking?? where you had it in the vise?? I've reefed down with kevlar thread and never broken one.

There was a bad batch of hooks in size 4's that were either just boxed up or not QA'd. I sent a 1000 back for replacement - Not sure what the hook sellers did with them as they wouldn't take them back you had to deal right with matzuo.

I've got some #6 black chrome sickles and I caught a bunch of bass and trout on it and no problems

#4 size is what was breaking on me, now that you mention it, I'm not certain that it was not breaking where I'd had them in vice, got me thinking now.

some batches I got were very soft and would bend out on larger crappie . don't know much about the big versions folks use though because I typically use number 6 sickles and some number 8

I only use regular bend hooks when the particular jig isn't one of mine or isn't available in a sickle. I have gotten some that had a smaller barb but I have had so much better hook ups with sickles that I use only them. I pour my own and was so impressed with them that when I ordered hooks I bought 7000 in various sizes. No going back for me.

Never had a problem with them and I use #4 or #6. If I used a a bigger hook I would stay hung up all the time. Some lake the fish just have softer mouths and you can't put the in fast.

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I agree on the barb being large enough to hold, plus bending the hook out a little really helps.

I do bend them out a little.

Mine are usually embedded deep in the roof of the mouth and have no problem. Maybe try setting the hook harder without hesitation and/or get a stiffer rod??? In the past I had some noodly rods that made setting the hook harder.

Ill take all your sickle hooks off you hands. Grenada fish are just mean as bulls. Ive lost some monsters that broke my heart and thats the lure of MS fish.

I thought I would revive this thread to throw in my 2 cents. I have found sickle hooks to land way more of my bites, and use them in either #4 or #2 sizes. Love em.

I won some bobby garland baits in the VA section and it included some of their mo glo jigheads. Good looking design, nice long round bend hook. Seems plenty sharp. Fished it on the fall, got a bunch of bites but lost many fish. That never happens for me, I keep my drag pretty tight and don't stop cranking. If I feel weight, the fish comes in the boat. Thought it might have been an off bite (which it was that day) and tried them again next trip. Got bit on the first cast, felt heavy. Then nothing.

Gonna be all sickles from here on out. Although for some reason I have a harder time finding them in 1/8.

When I first started using sickle hooks i missed alot of fish as well. But problem ended up being solved by slightly bending the bend of the hook AWAY from the lead head. PROBLEM SOLVED! My catch rates went way up after that. I love sickle hooks because of the real "deep" gap they have. Once a fish is ON he almost never comes off. Big or small barb.

Been happy with them for quite a few years now. Bending them open has always worked for me. Even in the 1/32 size heads, I'll bend them out. Caught some huge catfish last week while crappie and gill fishing on Ky lake while using those small heads. I tie my own patterns on them too.

mb4850's observations on the hook point is correct. I've done a lot of smallmouth fishing over the past several decades and have eliminated all hooks that have the "beak" type curvature. This type of point goes in ok, but the curvature forces it back out, only skin hooking the fish inside the mouth. Now that is not to say that it will affect crappie like I know it does with smallmouth bass, but it might be something to consider.

Also, from my years of practice, I don't use any hook with a barb on it - period. That includes trebles on expensive jerkbaits, as well as all my crappie hooks. Have not experienced any difference in landing ratio in doing so. JMO.

Not a fan of sickles my self .I heard others complain about barbs being too small on them . Sometimes light bites cause poor hook ups resulting lost fish not matter what hook you use . I find many times some folks don't keep line tight and poor hook ups or torn lips can cause more losses . I use Eagle Claw 570 jig hooks mostly and still loose a few some days when bite is light. Some days when they are hammering it and you get solid hook ups in the roof of the mouth few if any are lost no matter which hook you loose . I find I loose less fish swinging them in instead of using a landing net . Seen some loose fish fiddling with a net . I swing them in and have had some fall off in the boat . Unless it is over 2 lbs I just swing em in .:fish

You know Nimrod you've made me start thinking about netting also. Thinking back on this year, I've lost a lot of fish right at the net fiddleing around reaching back to get the net maybe I'm letting a little slack in the line. I may start swinging them in the boat the rest of the summer. Heck I don't catch any 2lbers outside of Grenada anyway...

I'm not sure what the reason but I switched away from sickle hooks because of missed hook sets. I swing them in also unless you have the net ready when they break the water.

I've hardly ever use a net unless it's a cat.


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