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Posts: 164
| I just purchased my first two River2Sea Whopper Plopper's. I noticed the back hook just hangs down and on many of the other top water baits I have seen the back hook has a rubber piece on it to support the hook so it sticks straight out the back.
I'm curious to know if anybody has any preference as far as the back treble hook. Would you rather have it hanging down in the water or would you prefer it being supported so it sticks straight out the back.
In my personal opinion I feel a supported hook would be a lot better but I have no evidence to actually support this. I also was wondering where a guy would find these rubber pieces to support the hooks if preferred. I looked online and didn't come up with anything. Would using electrical tape be a good temporary solution or would the water simply make it wear away to quickly. |
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Posts: 283
| I don't really use top water hardly at all but I think the hook being supported is supposed to help keep it from interfering with the prop and maybe help keep it from dragging in the weeds.
I beleive the rubber is just heat shrink tubing that you can find in the "electrical" section in stores with butt connector. |
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| tigerhunter is right. Its mainly used to prevent the hook from getting hung up on the prop when casting. I dont think hooking a fish is better with or without it though. |
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Posts: 149
| Electrical tape would be okay for temp solution. You can get shrink wrap at Lowe's or Walmart. I bought a lifetime supply at Harbor Freight for a dollar.
Some baits tangle frequently without it but I never had a problem with whopper plopper. |
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Posts: 2089
| Many topwater baits have shrink tubing on the rear hook to keep it sticking out and will hopefully nab any short strikes. |
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Posts: 752
| Steve Jonesi - 8/8/2014 8:49 AM
Many topwater baits have shrink tubing on the rear hook to keep it sticking out and will hopefully nab any short strikes.
Exactly!! There is a reason for it and it does help in some cases. I shrink tube all bmy prop style top water baits... |
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Posts: 441
| I've caught some big fish on the whopper plopper.
They have been my best hooking percentage, topwater bait.
No need for shrink tubing, in my opinion. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Pacemakers don't shrink tube the rear hook either and my hooking percentage with them is excellent. You could add shrink tube if you wanted but if the bait doesn't foul the hook, I wouldn't worry too much. |
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Posts: 752
| The pic is courtesy of Dave Fenner... This is essentially what I do with Pacemakers. I have always used shrink tubing. The reason it is not on there "stock" is it takes time and money to do it so manufactuers typically do things on the cheap. Same reason you have to put good hooks and rings on a Bull Dawg...its stupid but it is what it is as they saw....The only Topwater I have found that comes with all the right stuff on them are the Big Mamma (thankyou Tom!!) With a Whopper Plopper the hooks are awesome and rings are sufficniet but I would add tape or shrink wrap to up your hook up percentages...
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Posts: 8777
| Mojo1269 - 8/8/2014 11:36 AM
The pic is courtesy of Dave Fenner... This is essentially what I do with Pacemakers. I have always used shrink tubing. The reason it is not on there "stock" is it takes time and money to do it so manufactuers typically do things on the cheap. Same reason you have to put good hooks and rings on a Bull Dawg...its stupid but it is what it is as they saw....The only Topwater I have found that comes with all the right stuff on them are the Big Mamma (thankyou Tom!!) With a Whopper Plopper the hooks are awesome and rings are sufficniet but I would add tape or shrink wrap to up your hook up percentages...
That ^
And the short hitters still manage to miss the lure completely.
You may have to experiment with the right combination of hook sizes to keep the lure floating level, or it becomes a bit of a hassle to get the tail moving. |
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Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | I asked Larry Dahlberg about putting shrink tubing on the back hook & he said to do it because it will increase your hook-up ratio. Since I did that I haven't lost one yet (Knock on wood). |
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Posts: 164
| Thanks for the advice. It seems fairly two sided on what to do. I plan on picking up some shrink tubing. I would probably put it one and leave the other the way it is and see what I prefer. I've never used top waters for Muskies yet, but I sure am excited to put one on and see how they perform. Again, thanks for all the great advice. |
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