Hooks, the definitive point

by Jarrod Day on 29 Jul 2011 How long ago was it that you walked directly to the hook wall in a tackle shop, grabbed a packet of your desired choice, paid the clerk and walked out without even looking at the huge selection they have today?

Over the past few years a new range of super hook has entered the market in a big way. Produced by all leading manufactures these super hooks come in a massive range of styles to suit every fishing application. Household styles such as Kendal Kirby, Beak and O’Shaughnessy are taking a back seat while super hooks are taking over. Don’t get me wrong, the older style designs are still available and have produced some of the best recorded captures of fish over the years but this newly designed super hook is not worth overlooking. Obviously with the introduction of new high tech coatings, ultra sharp points and unbelievable strength capabilities they do come at a price, but still nothing worth emptying your wallet over. For an extra dollar or two on top of what your already paying you’ll almost instantaneously notice the difference when put to the test.

Working in the tackle industry I have really noticed the swing towards these hooks and for what used to be a simple bronzed Carlisle whiting hook has now been replaced by small circle hooks or chemically sharpened Long Beak hooks. With the demand growing by the day, the small area on the wall in which once housed the older designs is now being replaced by the new and improved super hook.

Mustad is just one example of upgrading their original designs to super hooks. They continue to produce the nickel, bronze and stainless coated versions but they now call them Classics. To stay in the race and continue to refine their hooks for the competitive edge in hook manufacturing, Mustad have taken their classic designs and refined them by introducing a chemically sharpened process under which they produce a sharper design named Ultra point. The Ultra Point is a needle point hook which is stronger in the tip and less prone to bending, curling or snapping off.

Along with Ultra Point they have taken on new names such as Penetrator, Big Red, Bloodworm and Big Gun of the few.
With many hooks brands striving for excellence, the race to produce a superior hook that will perform above all others is forever continuing. New companies are entering the market with their own 'premium' ranges with some well above the quality of already established brands. Instinct is one such brand that has been welcomed and has made a huge impact with anglers.

Instinct may produce commonly known designs such as Kendal Kirby, Bait Holder and Octopus but to be a step above the rest, their range has recently increased adding chemically sharpened models such as Live Bait, Red Bloodworm and a Wide Gap of the few to become one of the leading hook brands on tackle shop walls.

With this taking place many anglers can become quite confused when staring for hours at the different hooks available and if you haven’t seen the progression of these super hooks taking over I highly suggest you pop down to your local store and let your instincts takeover, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Hook Production:
Producing a high grade hook in today’s market is extremely competitive and that is why many manufactures have adapted their own processes to specifically calve fine hook points, using high tech coatings to prevent rusting and employing hook alchemists to experiment with a range of metals to make the hooks lighter, thinner and stronger than an ordinary steel hook.

For example some manufactures use a three part controlled tempering process to improve hook strength by up to 30 per cent. In this they can create a thinner hook that still retains its strength through this process. After manufacturing a hook it is then is placed into a salt spray process to test for rusting. As different coatings have different properties the rusting of a hook may vary. Different tests are used to find which coating is better suited to a certain hook used in different fishing applications. For instance stainless steel will obtain three percent of surface rust in which case stainless hooks are better suited to saltwater applications.

Quality components:
Hooks these days are practically bullet proof if you like, they have also gone through a transformation to improve sharpness. This is completed in a variety of ways by shaving the point into a needle type point. Different manufactures use different terminology for their points such as Owner’s Cutting point and Needle point, VMC use a Needle Cone Cut and Mustad make the Ultra Point. Although these names imply a similar thing, the actual point of the hooks may vary from one to another.

Owner’s Cutting Point features a needle sharp point which is then triple edge cut. This enables the hook to slice into the flesh rather than having to force its way in. When it penetrates the flesh it creates the smallest hole possible so the incision can repair more quickly.

Hook styles:
All manufactures have different model names and who could find a super hook amongst all the classic designs. That’s easy, with the release of the new styles most manufactures have the point names printed in big bold letters on their labels, Ultra Point or Cutting Point. As well as this is the amount of new styles and names.

The main style of hook I'm going to mention is the KL design by Black Magic. This hook has been around for years in one form or another and mostly used by long liners and Japanese anglers. It is only in recent years that it has had a transformation into smaller and lighter gauge’s that have been welcomed by a great number of the angling community. The idea behind the circle hook is for easy release of a fish and to increase the hook up rate for the angler. Let’s say you’re going snapper fishing. After you place your squid onto the hook and cast out, a snapper swallows the squid. He then starts to swim away with the bait and pulls the line tight. At this point the bait is pulled into the corner of the fish’s mouth. As the line becomes tighter the hook rotates and the point penetrates the corner of mouth almost 100 percent of the time. Once hooked the fish finds it practically impossible to spit out the hook. When in the boat, the angler can quite easily remove the hook from the corner of the mouth and return the fish into the water with minimal damage to the mouth area. For all this to work effectively the angler must not strike to set the hook as we have been taught in the past. With this design it is best used when the rod is left in the holder until it has buckled over and the ratchet is screaming on the real. If the angler strikes to set the hook the opposite will occur and the hook will immediately be pulled from the mouth resulting in the loss of a fish.

With the huge influx of these highly technical new hooks, the next time you wander into a tackle store, take an extra few minutes to look around, buy a packet and give them a go; they’ll not only hook fish but anglers as well.