Why did I not think of that? That is what you will be thinking after taking a look at the new Sebile Soft Weight System. The ways an angler can use these weights are unlimited. Do you want to change a slow sinking bait to fall faster, tail down, or nose first? It is easy to do with the Soft Weight System. It can be used on a hard bait, soft bait, or even live bait. “It works better than a weighted hook; a weighted hook can only work one way while the Soft Weight System can be added or taken away to adjust the fall,” explained Patrick Sebile international lure-maker and designer.
It never fails. You try and rig your plastic worm up on the shank of the hook only to have it slip down when you cast out or slide down the shank of the hook when a fish strikes it, reducing your hook up ratio. It can be extremely frustrating and costly for anglers competing in a tournament with prize money on the line not being able to get a good hook set on what could be a fish worth thousands of dollars. The solution to this predicament is the new Spring Hook by Honey Hole Hooks. The Spring Hook was designed to hold your lure in place while allowing an angler to get a good hook set. Better hook up ratios equal sweet results and is something that has anglers buzzing about.
Blake Muhlenbruck, owner of Honey Hole Hooks (www.honeyholehooks.com) and designer of the Spring Hook explained, “The Spring Hook took over 1½-years of developing from start to finish,” he continued, “every hook is hand tempered and hand plated; it is a very labor intense process.” Muhlenbruck worked with Addya, a hook manufacturing company to produce the Spring Hook exclusively for Honey Hole Hooks. “Right now, Honey Hole Hooks and Poor Boy’s Baits are putting a 2-pack of the 3/0 Spring Hook in with each pack of Dixie Darter lures anglers purchase and 3-packs are available at www.lurecraft.com,” said Muhlenbruck. The Spring Hook comes in a 3/0 size lite wire hook with sizes up to 10/0 soon to be released for anglers to purchase. Anglers who catch fish on the new Spring Hook are encouraged to send in photos and stories of how they caught their fish. “I am expecting that there will be some big fish and great stories of fish caught on the Spring Hook; it will be interesting to see how other anglers rig their lures on the hook and what lures they are using,” said Muhlenbruck.
Not everyone can use a broom like my fishing buddy Harry. He can jerk them out of the thickest cover any bass lives in. It’s like he puts a spell on them, a real wizard at catching bass. “Blimey, Harry how do you catch more bass than me?” I asked him. “It’s my Weed Wizard; it really puts a spell on them!” replied Harry. “I do not care if it’s supernatural or not, just give me one!” I pleaded, only because I was desperate to catch a bass and my lures kept getting hung up. Magic or not, my fishing buddy H. Potter can sure put a hex on them bass.
By definition, stand out means: to maintain an upright position as specified. That pretty much sums up the StandOUT hook. While a number of hook companies produce hooks exclusively for drop shotting, none of them compare to the StandOUT hook, because of its unique design. In fact, instead of it being called a drop shot rig when the StandOUT hook is tied on to the line, the rig is referred to a StandOUT Lever Action rig. “It’s similar to the drop shot rig, but the hook acts like a lever to hold the bait up and adds action to the lure,” T.J. Stallings, marketing director for TTI-Blakemore Lures continued, “the StandOUT hook makes rigging and fishing a drop shot easier; the lever action means no big hook set, just sweep set it like a circle hook to catch the fish. Smallmouth bass will hit the bait, turn and set the hook themselves.”To rig a StandOUT (www.ttiblakemore.com) Lever Action rig begin by tying a Palomar Knot on the top eye leaving at least 10-inches of line on the tag-end then run the tag-end through the lower eye of the hook and tie your drop shot weight accordingly to the length you want from the hook. A general rule of thumb is 6- to 12-inches depending on where and if the fish are suspended off the bottom. When fishing a drop shot technique most anglers will use specifically designed equipment just for drop shotting. Hook size will normally range from size 6 hooks to 2/0. For drop shot weights, the majority of anglers will use 3/16-ounce but it can range from 1/8-ounce to 1-ounce specially designed with a built in swivel to keep the line from twisting and shaped to resist getting snagged. There are even rods with blanks made just for drop shotting. In general, most anglers will drop shot with 4- to 6-pound test fishing line with a spinning rod and reel.
Some lures grab your attention, as to say, why didn’t I think of that? D.O.A. Lures has does just that with fish-attracting heads for soft plastic baits. The D.O.A. Chug Head and Hot Head do just that with lures. They are not really lures but instead lure enhancers; something that attaches on a lure to boost the movement, making it more lifelike and attracting predators.
Hold it one second, I am tired of throwing away my soft plastic lures after only using them to catch two or three fish because the hook will no longer stay in place. I mean there has to be a way to keep “casualties by fish” to a minimum. The battle lines have been drawn.
Hold it one second, I am tired of throwing away my soft plastic lures after only using them to catch two or three fish because the hook will no longer stay in place. I mean there has to be a way to keep “casualties by fish” to a minimum. The battle lines have been drawn.