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Posts: 4266
| OK guys, I'll try my best to keep this short and as accurately descriptive as possible.
We all...or should all, know about T'ing hooks. That is flattening them out to look like a T instead of a Y so that there is more hook point protruding out to the side of the bait instead of scraping against the side of it. We've all seen the lures with the 'smiles' on the sides that are caused by hooks rubbing against them. So in an attempt to hook up better and to quit burying the hooks in the sides of baits, we T them....that's part 1.
Part 2 is the new type of hooks that I have taken a liking to. Nickel platinum or black nickel....whatever you call them, I think that they are a better hook than your basic bronze hook. Problem is they only come in short shank round bend and only up to a 3/0 which is actually about the same size as a bronze 1/0 or in some cases a 2/0.
Then I happen to be doing some 'tweaking' in the basement and it reoccurs to me that no matter how you T a hook, you never get a treble hook to lay flat against the belly of a lure because the hook eye angle won't let it happen. That is caused by the fact that most manufacturers hang the hooks from splitrings with the hook hanging eye running straight down the belly of the lure. By doing this, the eye of the hook will always lean a few degrees right or left of center making a perfect T impossible to achieve.
So, I scan a few pics of T'd trebles to the people at Eagle Claw and explain to them that I think that the perfect treble for muskie lures would be T'd to begin with, with the eye rotated a few degrees so that once it's hung from a splitring, the eye will run parallel to and even with the top of the T and perpendicular to the hook that runs down the belly of the lure. With the eye angled like that, and the hook T'd, the ends of the T'd treble would extend out from the lure body and would rest flat against the body. The remaining hook on the treble would stick straight out from the belly. You'd have better hooking percentages and save on paint jobs on your lures.
They would also be made of black nickel or black platinum up to sizes like 6/0.
Well guess what....I got a response and they think that it's a great idea and the guy that I talked to sent it on down the line to see what it would take to change the machining process and on to the R&D guys to see what it would take to do it.
What I'm asking is what do you guys think about a hook design like that? Would you buy it? Does it appeal to you? Any additions or other ideas? What about you manufacturers?
The people that I talked with didn't really realize how many hooks we cut by choice and then replace. This could be a good sounding board, and I could try to draw their attention over here to read your responses and other ideas.
BTW, I picked Eagle Claw because they are American made and I'm a fan of their Lazer Sharp hooks.
So fire away. I don't know if I explained it well enough or accurately enough, but I hope you get the picture in your mind.
All opinions welcome.
I think that it would be the ultimate hook for hard bodied muskie lures.
What do you think?
Beav |
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Posts: 17
Location: new paris ohio | Sounds like a very good idea I think that it sounds like eagle claw may think so also. It should help on a marginal hook up . more fish now thats cool. |
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | Beav, it's a great idea. Sure it will put Stan Durst out of business but a great idea for a hook. I too like those black nickel hooks and I do bend the eye on some of my trebles to get them to lay correctly but to have a hook already done would be better and stronger. |
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| Sounds good for sure dude! It is those companies who listen to the peeps that use their stuff that develope new products that will be a best seller, thus increasing their cash flow. If they can make it work, I'd say they'll have a money maker; if they pass it up, another company will no doubt find a way to do it! |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Great idea Beav, sometimes all it takes to make something great is something so simple. Let us know the test results. |
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Posts: 4266
| I'll wait til the replies get up in numbers and then I'll send a link to the guys at Eagle Claw. Maybe if they see a real interest it might help make their decision easier.
I'm hoping anyway.
Beav |
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Posts: 109
| Sounds great! I'm sure a lot of basement muskie lure makers and possibly some of the the bigger name muskie lure makers would be interested in them as well. |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Beav, I would replace every hook I have on over 100 baits with the new hook. Great idea! Maybe if I had those on my favorite Pacemaker, I would quit losing fish on the thing. |
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Posts: 656
Location: Forest Lake, Mn. | Wonderful idea. It gets my vote. However, I don't think that a 6/0 size is where you should stop. Ask them to make hooks with sizes up to a 8/0 or 9/0. But stress the need for a short shank hook so they don't tangle with the other hooks on the lure. A 10 inch Believer has a very wide belly and I'm not sure that your 6/0 "T'd" hooks would be wide enough for these lures.
I have had the idea to go to VMC Manufacturing and get them to do something like this with their hooks,but I have never had the time to do it. They have a headquartes in Shoreview Mn. a suburb of St.Paul. Maybe they might also be interested in this idea as they have a good share of the Muskie hook market.
If Eagle Claw realizes that there might be some competition for this idea, it might help get these hooks to the marketplace. I know that I would use them, no matter who makes them.
Edited by fishpoop 8/6/2003 2:16 AM
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Posts: 1294
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | Great idea-put me down for a couple hundred. |
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Posts: 259
Location: Alexandria, MN | I like the idea also. I also like the Eagle Claw hooks. With cutting one, both or all three hooks on a lure, when trying to get a good release I would be buying 100's of these hooks every year. Eagle Claw currently gets most of my hook business, but I would switch to these special T hooks from any hook company. Eagle Claw -- please do this for us!
Thanks,
Steve |
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Posts: 938
Location: NeverNever Lake | Great Idea! My favorite hook is Lazer Sharp Claws. That would be 1 better. |
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | I"m a big fan of the lazer sharp hooks, this is a great idea. |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | I like the idea too. |
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Posts: 87
Location: michigan | Great idea, they can count me in for replacing all of my current hooks on every bait I own (It will probably cost me a fortune but think of all the wear and tear it will save on my hands!!!). Let me know when they are ready. Frank. |
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Posts: 41
Location: Green Bay, WI | Great idea. The thing I fear with T-ing my own hooks is that I might weaken the welds. If the hooks come already T-ed I wouldn't have any worries. |
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Posts: 1939
Location: Black Creek, WI | Yup, I'd be a consistent consumer of the described hooks. Beaver's T'd and turned head hook design combined with the short shank, wide gap, strength and sharpness of an Eagle Claw hook sounds like a winner to me!!! |
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Posts: 1438
| I agree, have already T'd several for my baits but as already stated, they just don't lay right. Factory T'd and designed that way would be a great addition.
Scott |
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Posts: 216
| Great idea i'll buy them |
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Posts: 1430
Location: Eastern Ontario | I love the idea, I have many lures where I T the hooks to save on scratches as well as better hooking percentage. Now for some reason I can never get a perfect T or what I mean is I can never get it so that the two hooks are in a perfect straight line. But there are manufacturers out there that sell their lures with T'ed hooks and theirs seem to be a perfect T. Maybe it is all in the process of how you acheive your T but I would like to have them premade to ensure no loss of strenght. One thing you do have to remember you will want regular hooks of same size for the tail hook as T'ed hooks are only good for the front 2 hooks along the body of the baits. |
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Posts: 3928
| I would replace many, many hooks on my current lures if these were available. |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | I agree with Frogger in that I am always skeptical about the strenght of the hook after I "T" them and like the idea of them coming from the factory that way.
Also, MAKE THEM A WIDE GAP DESIGN!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Posts: 4266
| I e-mailed the guy from Eagle Claw and told him to monitor the responses on the boards. From the results of just one day, I'd say that there is a resounding vote in favor of a hook design like the one described. I hope that they take the ball and run with it.
We shall see.
Beav |
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Posts: 236
| Great Idea,
I'd use them on all my glidebaits.
www.custommuskygliders.com
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Posts: 1536
Location: God's Country......USA..... Western Wisconsin | Great idea Beav, I too, like the idea of the Eagle Claws. I really like the "made in america" hooks myself. We Muskie addicts are always tinkering and swapping hooks etc. Not to mention if one is buried a little too deeply in a fish we just cut it, no questions asked. We all go through several hooks each season. Keep us posted. |
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Posts: 419
Location: Appleton, WI | HI Beav, Kudos to you for bringing a great idea to the folks that could revolutionalize hook design for Musky fishing. Like has already been stated...T'ing hooks could weakening the weld. I've already ruined a few by T'ing my hooks on Suicks and Bobbies, and don't know if I could rest easy with the thought of a big fishing getting off due to terminal tackle failure. Some baits no doubt need to have their hooks T'd(Suicks, Believers, Crankbaits, and Topwater). Eagle Claw makes a great hook and I definitely would think that it would be great for any Big Game Baits...This would seem especially true for the trollers. Just troll for a few hours and you can see how the hooks wear on a bait. Creat a hook that's razor sharp and strong with a T'd hook design and you have yourself no doubt a winner. Make sure that they are wide bend also. That little extra gap sure seems to be better for hookups.
catch ya later,
Krappie |
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Posts: 4266
| TTT |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Wishin I Was Fishin' | I would buy many as well. Great work Beav!
Like trpohymuskie stated the tail hook is not T'd so they would have to be available both ways. |
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Posts: 4266
| TTT so the peeps at Eagle Claw can see what we think.
Beav |
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Posts: 4266
| TTT again.
I wanna keep this where they can see it.
Beav |
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