Okay guys, I am not exactly new to fishing, and do own a few sickle worm hooks. But what is the advantage of them, especially for crappie. Did I mention I learn S L O W. I like a lighter hook that i can pull loose most of the time when i get hung.
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Okay guys, I am not exactly new to fishing, and do own a few sickle worm hooks. But what is the advantage of them, especially for crappie. Did I mention I learn S L O W. I like a lighter hook that i can pull loose most of the time when i get hung.
I like them because they are a fine wire and pull free of snags relatively well, and I like the wider gap. I get lots of really good hooksets with them. Another plus is that the wider gap allows me to use big fat baits and still have a lot of point and barb available
For me it's very basic. First they are sharp as any and stay sharp. Then most of the time the crappie is hooked in the roof of his mouth with a Sickle so you loose less fish. Last by not least being this sharp is the only hook this sharp for this price! I know Eagle Claw came out with their Li'l Nasty, but they are a little different and they generally are not as sharp IMHO!
Skip
I like them because like skip sez they are basically VERY sharp .....
some claim fish stay on them better as well ....
beyond that I can buy them by the hundred pretty cheap as well compared to off the shelf prices
Having tried them for the first time, I was impressed. So much so that I bought 7000 in different sizes and began pouring my own. I have landed fish over 2lbs on a #6 hook because it was in the roof of the mouth. I never got those results with round bend hooks. #4 and #2 get a lot of play these days and some of what I bought I traded off, mostly the small ones, and the #1's were just too big for how I fish, but some guys love em. I do use some 1's in the bigger jigs I used in the colder months in TN but have since moved. Once the change is made, I don't think you'll go back. I can take 50 regular hooks in a pile and poke my finger into them 5 or 6 times and not get stuck, but do the same with the sickle's and I'll have several points into the finger doing the poking. I'll tell you what, I feel so strongly about this that if you PM me your address and common sizes that you use, I'll send you a few of each to try out at my expense. Look forward to hearing from you......Skeet
I like their sticky sharpness as well. However, with their curved/beaked point, it makes it difficult to thread plastics on and get them straight. JMO! :)
Sharp period and stay sharp.We have found the Matzou hook's the best on the trout water's sharp and stay sharp even after a day of catching fish after fish.Dragging through rock's .The short barb is the ticket in the Bar-bless trout zone's.On our trout water's.The trout folks are gobbling them up!!For Crappie we use the lil nasty's they are shaped more like a circle hook "great for kid's" who need a little extra to set the hook.The Matzuo's go trout fishing.
Switched to the Lil Nasty 2 years ago won't go back! Performance period, loosing less fish at the boat.
Sorry to impose, but will they straighten out at all if u get hung and if so can u bend them back well enough to continue using??
They do straighten out on limbs and hang-ups, and do bend back.
I like the acute angle at the bend of the hook and think than when you get a fish hooked and bury the hook to that tight bend, there is less of a chance the fish can throw the hook. Less wiggle room on that tight bend than there is on a round bend hook.
I use them from sizes #2-#8
I don't lose near as many fish since I switched to sickle hooks and also went to a larger size
98% of the jigs I sell are done in sickle hooks. Once guys switch, they usually don't go back. Only issue with a sickle hook (At least with Matzuo) is that they are chemically sharpened. In other words, IF for some strange reason, your hook gets dull, bend the point, or whatever, you pretty much slap on a new one as they don't file all that well.
As for bending them out. We have seen it go both ways. On the bigger jigs (up to 1 oz) and using 4/0 hooks, they have a tendency to break rather than bend. But, when you are fishing very rocky bottoms for walleye and are used to snagging up on the bottom a lot, no one really cares if you lose them or not!
On my smaller jigs (1/32, 1/16, 1/8oz variety) they do tend to bend a little easier and can be bent back. I usually sell red, black, and bronze and don't see a difference in the color. Many of my customers were dead set on the red hooks (for some reason). That was until I showed them (in the instance of walleye fishing) only 1/4 inch of the hook is visible when hooked in plastic. Most of them now like the black chrome!
I'm gonna be in the minority on this one,I hate sickle hooks.I fish close to a hundred times a year and are good friends with several guides and most of us have switched back to aberdeen hooks.I don't seem to get as good of a hook set and seem to lose more minnows.But i could be wrong it's really what you have confidence in.
I think most of the ones that posted are not talking about using them with minnows and most are talking jigs. Maybe the make a larger hole in the minnow for some reason, I am unsure of that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Big C
Skip
Most of my jigs, whether weedless or not, have #4 or #2 Aberdeen hooks. I do have a few with sickle hooks (non-weedless) that I have used. Once hooked in the roof of a fish's mouth, I can honestly say that 99.9% of my fish will be landed, regardless of hook style (in my experiences).
I apply the same pressure upon hookset, regardless of hook style, as it relates to the method being used and the rod length/action/power. I have had no problems penetrating the fish's flesh, even with relatively dull hooks (which I discovered were dull after the fact).
I am in no way dissing the sickle hook, but for my purposes I have not found the need to switch over to them from the Aberdeen style.
Haven't used sickle hooks any but I sure like knowing that I free my jig (most of the time)by straightening out my little Aberdeen hook and bending it back. I even go to another level and heat the bend of the hook to make it straighten easier.
maybe my problem is that I get hung up more than I catch fish, but my jig poles and jigs fear no brush pile.
If if you ain't getting hung u ain't trying hard enough!!!
I only use weedless sickle hooks now. I can't recall ever losing more than one fish a day with them, most of the time none. I used to have days of losing several (not often)before I switched. I certainly get more roof of mouth hooksets with them. We pour our own and the price is great too. No reason not to use them to me
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Check out Bobby Garland's "OVERBITE SICKLE HEAD' jigs They come in 1/48oz & 1/32oz sizes only. (their awesome) :ThumbsUp
Where can one find them in the greater Chicago land area?
Bass Pro and Cabales don't seem have any in the store.
I buy mine online at bobbygarlandcrappie.com :fingerdanceQuote:
Originally Posted by Snuffy115