I've never had an owner 76 treble bend and I won't use any other treble. VMCs good for one decent fish then they start to bend.  Striking: I don't really, just lift my tip to try and turn the head asap. I can remember pulling a hook on a GT. Either they attack and don't hook up, run me into the reef or I have a good day. Same goes with crushed barbs that way you get 50% of your reefed lures back and it doesn't make a difference to whether the hook pulls or not.