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Posts: 156
| Anyone have issues with the hooks not holding a point? I used this bait for the first time these past two weeks in Canada, and I had to sharpen the hooks 3-4x per day. It was really frustrating.
I don't know if its the hooks banging the weight(s) or the hard plastic, but it was ridiculous. Anyone else had any issues? Would it be worth replacing hooks (to higher quality), or would this happen with any hook given the nature of the bait.
Thanks. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Roger always ran Eagle Claw 774 hooks on those lures, which hold a point as good or better than anything out there. Not sure what is on them now, but you could always go to a 774. I have some Mustad 3551's on my Bucketheads and they are fine too, once sharpened. |
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Posts: 156
| Roger always ran Eagle Claw 774 hooks on those lures, which hold a point as good or better than anything out there.
Roger ran 774's on the plastic version of the Hardhead? Just wanted to be sure... |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I don't think it matters the type of material, those would be the hooks of choice. Any hardhead lure I have from Roger, wood or plastic, have 774's. Don't oversharpen them. The bucketheads I have, possess 3551's because it is a larger lure. |
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Posts: 156
| Reef Hawg - 9/1/2014 12:04 AM
I don't think it matters the type of material, those would be the hooks of choice. Any hardhead lure I have from Roger, wood or plastic, have 774's. Don't oversharpen them. The bucketheads I have, possess 3551's because it is a larger lure.
Ok, I'm also just trying to understand why the hooks on the lure seem to keep getting dull. That finish on the Phantom version is rock hard, plus the front hook bangs the weight a lot. That's just my theory. It's just an odd situation I've never encountered in 27 seasons of fishing musky lures. The regular size use 5/O and the Buckethead use 7/O right? |
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Posts: 941
Location: Freedom, WI | Phantom uses the same hooks that I used which is 5/0 eagle claw 774s on the large and Mustad 3551s on the magnum (I called it buckethead). Eagle claw does not make anything bigger than 5/0s and their 5/0s are the same size as Mustads 6/0s. Reef Hawg knows about rocks and hooks as he fishes rivers with lots of rocks. Him and the people in his area are the ones that got me started on the Eagle Claws.
The finish would not dull the hooks. Possible the weight but not likely as it usually hits the side of the hook. Is it all the barbs or just one all the time? Also is it the front hook or both as the back one should be stuck in the tail and if it is getting dull it would be from other contact. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | One thing you could try(if it is a 774) is to slightly beak the hook point that is getting dulled the most. Is it possible that the hooks are VMC 9617's? They look like the 774's(aside from the thinner point) and often used interchangeably but are not as hard and do not take the abuse. Could you post a photo?
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | I'd replace the hooks with the Eagle Claws Reef Hawg mentioned. Mine hold up great on my Hardheads, and any other bait I have them on. About the only hook I don't have to sharpen frequently. The 774 is an awesome hook. |
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Posts: 156
| I'll try to post pics when i can, but it might not be until the weekend. Otherwise, I'll just go with the 774s and replace them. Its just a weird situation I've not encountered before. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Just on an off chance, are you sure the bait wasn't running into rocks in Canada? Doesn't take much of a bump into a rock to dull hooks.
Otherwise, I'd guess changing the hooks to 774's, if that's not what is on the bait already, will take care of the issue. |
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Posts: 156
| Just on an off chance, are you sure the bait wasn't running into rocks in Canada? Doesn't take much of a bump into a rock to dull hooks.
For sure in some instances this was the culprit, and i knew of and expected these instances. It's the same with my buck tails, etc. I'm talking downright, flat out not holding a point on all 5 exposed points after a few hours of normal use without banging rocks, bouncing in the boat, etc. Like I said, it was the weirdest thing ever related to hooks. I'd tell my buddy, "check these hooks, I'm not losing my mind, right?" They'd be razor sharp. After a few hours I'd give him the bait and be like "See what I'm saying?" and he 100% agreed. Since this was my first hardhead experience, i thought it was just really odd.
BTW, I am SOLD on the hardhead. Had 10 fish up on 2 different colors the first day, and lost a 52-55" halfway through that first day. Big girl just beat me...I hate that! |
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