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Location: varies | what are your methods you use to best " T " your treble hooks? |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I use a pair of 6 inch vice grips that I always have in my pocket for tuning lures. The last couple of years i have been using double hooks but Mustad has recently discontinued them. When my stash runs out I'm back to T'ing |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I don't believe in doing so anymore, but when I did, did so by grabbing both shafts of the non welded hooks with heavy pliars and bent outwards until 'T'd. Takes 11 seconds. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | Reef Hawg - 4/18/2015 12:45 PM
I don't believe in doing so anymore,"
Somehow I managed to screw up the quote
Explain your thinking. I too have also wondered why we thought we were smarter than the manufacturer's engineers
Edited by horsehunter 4/18/2015 12:40 PM
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | "Explain your thinking. I too have also wondered why we thought we were smarter than the manufacturer's engineers "
As importantly, I have a more convoluted theory for how/why i place my hooks on my lures, and why my hookups on muskies in particular are in my odds, and that does somewhat play into why I don't T. However, the easiest way to explain my not 'T'ing is on lures with larger diameter. Once 'T'd, there is precious little point sticking out of both sides of the lure at best, meaning(especially on a big fish) the 'bite' that the hook will take into the flesh will be minimized by those particular mechanics. For lower diamter/thinner from left to right lures such as some of the trolling cranks where alot of folks T to keep hooks sharp and save paint jobs, there is likely not as measurable a reduction in hookups so feel free to T away.
Edited by Reef Hawg 4/18/2015 3:25 PM
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | The main reason for "T-ing" hooks is to eliminate hook rash to the lure body. I do each and every bait that I send to my customers as a courtesy...I do not use split rings on the bellys of my baits, therefore, I feel, "T-ing" is essential.
Not only do I "T" the hook, but I also bend the "T-ed" barbs downward slightly...These barbs ride out away from the body of the lure rather than up against the body which some feel increases hooking percentage. Who knows, everyone has their own ways...
Edited by ShutUpNFish 4/20/2015 9:30 AM
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | ShutUpNFish - 4/20/2015 9:29 AM
The main reason for "T-ing" hooks is to eliminate hook rash to the lure body. I do each and every bait that I send to my customers as a courtesy...I do not use split rings on the bellys of my baits, therefore, I feel, "T-ing" is essential.
Not only do I "T" the hook, but I also bend the "T-ed" barbs downward slightly...These barbs ride out away from the body of the lure rather than up against the body which some feel increases hooking percentage. Who knows, everyone has their own ways...
The trolling lures I receive from Kermit Good are T'd in the same fashion. I leave them as they are not 'huge' lures to begin with. |
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Posts: 833
| I'm confused a bit on the concept of the "T" treble not having enough hook on the side of a large lure. If you "T" a treble would the hooks be further out to the sides, assuming it lays flat to the belly of the bait? This just seems logical to me since a normal treble would sit with the hooks angling up the body vs. the "T" hook pointing straight out.
I put a single "T"-ed 7/0 3551 on my Shallow Invaders as a modification in part for this reason. The "T" lets the hooks sit out further.
Am I missing something here? |
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Posts: 20179
Location: oswego, il | I am.with reef hawg I prefer the hook points separated for a better hook set. Good lures are worth refinishing. I am faster than Jason I can t a hook in 8 seconds when I used to do it. |
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Posts: 1126
Location: Minnesota. | I'm a woosie, I use 2 pairs of small vise grips for bending trebs. and not in the boat. I do this at home but I've not done it on a lot of baits.
And no, Brad P, you aren't missing much. |
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Posts: 8717
| I only do it on wood lures where the center hook is apt to swing up and stick in the top of the lure. |
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| ^ good call EA. |
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Posts: 1080
Location: Aurora | I use 2 pliers, grab the eye with one & bring the nearest hook up parallel to the eye then bring the other up so it sits flat.
Why?
They hang straight, bang into the body less so they stay sharp longer, bait runs better, less fouling/rash, hooks more fish, etc.. Take yer pick of reasons to do it if you're so inclined. My dad did it so I carry on the tradition.
Edited by Sidejack 4/22/2015 9:17 PM
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Brad, yes, you might or might not be missing a better way to install hooks, in general, on some lures. Sent you a PM |
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Posts: 833
| Thanks for the info Reef Hawg. I see your point. As an aside, I purchased two Mattlocks at this year's MN Show from Duff and he had very specific instructions on how to hang hooks on his baits. (Braised Hook down) He also said that the "T" was not needed on his baits. As seems to consistently be the case with Muskies, "rules" are not universal.
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Posts: 102
| Why doesn't a hook manufacturer sell T'd hooks? Always wondered that. |
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Posts: 4266
| I always T any hooks that come in contact with the body of the lure. It saves on wear on the lure and it gets the point away from the body of the lure. One other thing that I've done with all of my trolling lures is to go to bigger split rings to get distance between the hook and the lure. I heard a saltwater guy on a TV program talking about getting better hook ups by getting distance between the hook point and the lure, and he demonstrated how he used bead chain to let the hook swing away from the lure body and it helped to reduce leverage when a fish tries to throw the hook. I can't put bead chain on belly hooks, but putting a #7(?) split ring on helps. I changed all of my split rings to big ones on all of my big lures and on the nose. It might be my imagination, but I seem to be getting a wider wobble and don't have to do as much tuning on my larger lures since I changed to big azz split rings. Listening to saltwater guys has given me a few different tips of keeping bigger fish hooked. You figure that they fight tougher fish than we do, so I'll try any tips that seem to make sense, like getting distance between the hook and the lure. Gonna experiment with some bead chain this year. |
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