Hooks for Topwater Lures and Minnows

Mark Kitteridge continues to discuss some of the diverse roles played by the humble hook in our world of fishing, and how to get the best from them...

I love my topwater lure fishing. It started with pencil poppers for kingfish over 35 years ago, moved on to using chuggers for giant trevally, dogtooth tuna and yellowfin overseas, and now – perhaps helped on by the lack of overseas travel possible – I’m back into targeting kingfish with the latest poppers and stick-baits.

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There’s no doubt that these lures offer an exciting way to target big, aggressive predators, but to get the best from them, they must be matched up with the right hooks, as their size, weight and style makes a massive difference to how the lures perform.

Many topwater anglers opt for a mix of singles and treble hooks when arming their lures - and notes how even single hooks can double hook the fish...

Many topwater anglers opt for a mix of singles and treble hooks when arming their lures - and notes how even single hooks can double hook the fish...

In the ‘old days’ all poppers and bibbed minnows came pre-fitted with treble hooks, and anglers generally accepted them as is, despite knowing they weren’t especially strong. Having to use a lighter drag setting than ideal and being frustrated by bent-out trebles was part of the deal.

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Then Owner came along and changed everything. Their super-strong trebles made it possible to exert more pressure than most reels’ drag systems could exert at the time (although not for long, as braid followed soon after, enabling anglers to pack ‘more punch’ on their reels than ever before!).

I still love Owner treble hooks, although BKK offers a more recent and readily available option, and several other major brands are definitely knocking on the door as viable alternatives, too. However, the different metals and manufacturing processes involved mean there can be significant differences in the various brands’ treble-hooks’ weight, and this should be taken into account when making your hook choices, as they act as stabilisers for the lure, similar to the tail on a kite. For example, BKKs are a bit thicker and heavier than their equivalent sizes in Owner, so lures sometimes work better when Owners are slightly bigger or BKKs are one size smaller.

In a similar vein, although the trebles fitted to Rapala CD18 bibbed minnows were reasonably adequate in years past, they did sometimes bend out on the bigger fish, especially when deployed on 24kg trolling tackle. So I changed mine over to Owners. However, to compensate for the stronger hook’s extra weight, I found the Rapalas swam better if a smaller-size treble was fitted to the lure’s rear – everything needs to be as good as possible if bibbed minnows like these are to run with the rest of the tuna-lure pattern at 8-10 knots.

The writer believes his bibbed minnows often work better if the heavier-duty trebles he uses include a slightly smaller model trailing from the rear.

The writer believes his bibbed minnows often work better if the heavier-duty trebles he uses include a slightly smaller model trailing from the rear.

So yes, it can pay to experiment with hook sizes when trying to get the full potential from different lures – just be sure in all cases to attach the mid-section treble so two of the prongs lie back nicely against the lure’s belly either side.

Having said all that, it’s a shame that most poppers, stick-baits and minnows perform better when fitted with two treble hooks, whatever the size or brand, rather than singles. Successful hook-ups see six hook points flying around, all of which are prone to embedding themselves in all sorts of places, including multiple locations on the hooked fish, as well as into the anglers attempting to de-hook the thrashing catches, occasionally resulting in some nasty injuries. Consequently, many anglers prefer to use single hooks instead, even though their lures may not swim quite as attractively.

The writer mainly uses a mix of trebles and singles on his Maria poppers and stickbaits these days. Note the adorned assist rig at the top; Mark is still looking at ways to best incorporate single hooks.

The writer mainly uses a mix of trebles and singles on his Maria poppers and stickbaits these days. Note the adorned assist rig at the top; Mark is still looking at ways to best incorporate single hooks.

But not always; sometimes these fishers have simply made poor single-hook choices. Again, it’s critical to get the hook size/weight right to achieve the best possible lure-hook balance. Attach hooks that are too small/light and the lure can become unstable, causing it to skitter across the surface too much or become uncontrollable; get the hooks too big/heavy, and it can be hard to get poppers splashing nicely on the surface or, if using stickbaits and bibbed minnows, to get them swimming attractively. And, of course, big hooks are more obvious, which can put wary fish off striking.

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Because there are so many different lures and single hooks available, I can’t offer a rule that will always work, but my own strategy involves buying singles that weigh approximately the same amount as the trebles they are replacing. As a generalisation, this roughly equates to selecting single hooks that are two sizes bigger than the trebles originally fitted to the lures. Just be careful to buy hooks with an inline eye, or your hook won’t hang correctly on the split-ring.

If you don’t like the idea of all this mucking around with different hooks, you’ll find some lures are now designed to perform well with single hooks (about time!). In addition to causing less injury to fish and anglers alike, they are generally structurally stronger than the equivalent trebles and tend to grab more fish flesh on the strike, making them less likely to rip out during the battle. This last aspect is particularly important when targeting powerful, soft-mouthed fish such as tuna, including albacore, yellowfin and bluefin tuna.

 Some lures are designed to be run with single hooks these days. Here are a couple of the writer’s favourite River2Sea trolling bibless minnows and one of their victims. Note the swivels connecting the surprisingly big hooks, allowing them to freely rotate and work really well!

 

Some lures are designed to be run with single hooks these days. Here are a couple of the writer’s favourite River2Sea trolling bibless minnows and one of their victims. Note the swivels connecting the surprisingly big hooks, allowing them to freely rotate and work really well!

Personally, I’m still experimenting (after all these years!) and have a foot in each camp. My poppers and stickbaits are fitted with a treble hook at the mid-section (an Owner or BKK) and a single hook, two sizes bigger, at the rear. All barbs are crushed down to minimise injuries and make unhooking a quicker, safer affair. Yes, this does also occasionally cost me fish, but in that first explosive flurry of white water as those big fish smash that popper or stickbait, even six barbed points don’t necessarily find a home, so nothing is certain. Lost fish after successful hook-ups generally only happen to anglers who fail to keep their rod nicely bent and the pressure on, which hold the hook in place.

But, make no mistake, I’m ultimately hoping to fit just one or two single, barbless hooks to all these lure types – it’s better for the fish we hook and is the way of the future.

Next month: Which hook for game fishing?


June 2021 - Mark Kitteridge
New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.
Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd.
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited

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