Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: DionJL on October 27, 2010, 01:27:35 AM
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Just interested in finding out what the majority of members use most often for their river fishing, specifically float fishing.
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owner. size1 or 1/0
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Gammis, barbless from #4-1/0. Eagleclaw Lazersharp hooks are good too. I've used DNE hooks for sturg and they were alright, but they aren't Gammis. I think having sticky sharp hooks is paramount for hooking more fish. If you've watched fish take lures baits of flies, they often spit it out in milliseconds (much faster than you can react, even if it did cause the float to sink). Having hooks sharp enough so that it sticks the instant the lip touches the hookpoint, before you've had time to set the hook will catch you fish that you wouldn't even know had bitten.
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Gammi Reds,#4-1/0, with a quick touch of the file before it even hits the water.......always!!
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I go with gammis but i did have a pack of #2 and they were getting straightened out by springs never had that happen to me
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i used to use gammies but i had all of mine straightend on fish hooked in the mouth. also including the biggest spring i have ever hooked. i now use eagle claw or mustad ultra point and i am not going back to gammies i realy prefer the eagle claw circle hook.
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i used to use gammies but i had all of mine straightend on fish hooked in the mouth. also including the biggest spring i have ever hooked. i now use eagle claw or mustad ultra point and i am not going back to gammies i realy prefer the eagle claw circle hook.
Yeah, I find gammies are the sharpest but the weakest...I'm using eagle claw lazer sharp for float fishing.
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I switched a while back to owner cutting points. Little more expensive but for me personally, my hooked / landed fish ratio went way up.
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owner. size 4,2, and 1. very good hooks.
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I dont know what you guys are doing to straighten out hooks so often. I use gammies in 4's and 1's and havent straighten any, i also use the made barbless ones which i find are "stickier"
I use Owners for steelhead though ;) especially on my flies
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I use gammies for everything, never had a problem with them. Used to use eagle claw back when I was cheap lol. Never tried owner hooks, I've only seen them for sale at fred's.
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my hooked / landed fish ratio went way up.
That doesn't make sense. If you land more fish now then you did before then your Hooked/Landed ratio would go down. I think you meant your Landed/Hooked ratio. :D
I use Gami's for float-fishing, 99% of the time. Every once and a while I will pick up a pack of Owner cutting point, but they are a little pricey for my liking. I do use Owners for sturgeon fishing now though. They are the toughest hooks I've ever used. And for my spoon hooks I use the Mustad UPs like ChromeKings.
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Straightening out gamigatsu hooks is not easy at all. I have tried to bend them inwards before with a vice and pliers to avoid snagging fish and that is very difficult to do with any name brand hook.
To straighten them out consistently on fish hooked in the mouth boggles my mind. ???
I can bring a chum in with my cheap pliable jig hooks if i'm not to aggressive fighting the fish. These are hooks I can bend with my fingers.
Also for a hook to be straightened generally just the point of the hook is in a fish, tree, or other snag. If the hook is set properly in the fish down to the bend of the hook I don't really see any chance of a straightened out hook, especially on a quality hook.
To sum it up I am confused how people are bending these hooks.
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okay i do use Gammy fly hooks for some of my patterns for pinks and coho and while they have never straightened them out anything of better size sure as hell will, not always but it happens alot.
Hook - would like to see Gamakatsu use a heavy gauge wire for their fly hooks
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I had a red #1 gammi that got bent in the mouth of a big spring. That's how he got away!
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I had a red #1 gammi that got bent in the mouth of a big spring. That's how he got away!
Ericd
Fighting springs is not like a car towing ;D. If it is, something gonna give, leader or the hook usually. How heavy leader do you use? I fish main 15lb with 12lb for springs.Gammi #1 as well.
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That doesn't make sense. If you land more fish now then you did before then your Hooked/Landed ratio would go down. I think you meant your Landed/Hooked ratio. :D
Lol yes your right, had that backwards. Bottom line I seem to be landing more fish ;D
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Owner cutting point, usually 4s and 2s
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I use the best. Gamakatsu, Owner, Kamatsu and Hayabusa. I just came back from visiting old Europe and stockpiled on hooks,fishing line(for leaders only) and floats. It is amazing how much better supplies they have in their fishing stores. I even purchased Gamakatsu and Owner fishing lines, and they are great :).
All of these hooks are chemically sharpened and as such hold the point well. However when dulled by contact with the bottom, they don't take well to sharpening. Resharpened hooks don't hold the edge well and I discard them after couple of touch ups. I use pretied at home leaders, so changing end terminal is a snap.
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DNE cutting points are my favorite, super sticky sharp and I've never had them straighten or break fighting monster chinook.
Gamakatsu are super sharp but more suited to coho fishing. This season I had two different packs of gammies that would straighten out with every fish over 15lbs.
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Gammi Reds,#4-1/0, with a quick touch of the file before it even hits the water.......always!!
I doubt you can get the gammies any sharper than out of the box. Gammies don't take a file well either, any attempts i've made to sharpen a dull hook have resulted in an even duller hook.
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Gamis are the only hook that I tie line to, and ALWAYS a few quick strokes of the file before they get wet. Any hook will take a file well if you know how to sharpen a hook correctly. I've had a #2 bend out on a steelhead pushing 20lbs and was a very hot fish. Also had a #2 break where the barb got pinched while landing a wild coho on the weekend, other than those two hooks I have never had a problem with them ranging from a #2 - 3/0 hooks. I prefer mustad siwash hooks over any others for hardware.
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Gamakatsu Red 1/0's have served me well this year, they stay sharp for quite a while and I haven't had one bend on a fish (only when trying to reef out the odd snag).
Gammies don't take a file well either, any attempts i've made to sharpen a dull hook have resulted in an even duller hook.
I've noticed the same thing, which is kinda disappointing cause Gamies aren't exactly cheap so I'd try and re-sharpen a few of em but all of my attempts have failed :(
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gammys, never had one break or bend on me, however with that being said that will now happen on my next fish
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I bent some hooks yesterday trying to catch big Springs, but it was obviously because I was foul hooking them and only the point was in. If the hook is set properly there seems to be no way to bend it.
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Owner Cutting Point size 1 and 1/0.
. I just came back from visiting old Europe and stockpiled on hooks,fishing line(for leaders only) and floats. It is amazing how much better supplies they have in their fishing stores.
I agree the European stores are well stocked on everything. So are the Japanese stores. When I was in Paris years ago I couldn't believe a store had a 20 foot wall full of floats with different designs. I also bought a pile of Drennan floats in England before any the local stores carried them.
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I fished with strictly Eagle claw, up until they became harder to find and Freds tackle stopped selling. i tryed Mustad for abit, and a couple of the hooks has the tips break off at the barb, so I switched to Vision. Vision was horrible, the hook seemed to bend very easily, even had a steelhead almost straighten it out. Iv lately been using Owners and Gammys, no problems so far. I prefer size 2-4 for basically everything that comes out of the Vedder.
What the hell happened to eagle claw, I really liked them. Very strong, rigid hooks and inexpensive. ???
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Red Gammies are too weak! almost never use them! The black gammies are the way to go for me! Strong and keep sharpness way longer than the red ones. All I have ever used!
hotrod
all rights reserved
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I have had gammie #2 and #1 bend AND break on me (at the gap) with 10lb leader maxima.
And they were on springs. How big? No idea since they busted off. Were the fouled? I know for a fact 2 were not. The rest, likely.
That said - I have not found a sharper hook in that smaller size.
Now if you move up the size range to the larger 1/0 or 2/0 - then no worries but I find I get far less hookups with larger hooks.
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I like how noone here has mentioned Vision hooks. I actually use these hooks in size 4 for tying MOAL leeches because i dont piss around with changing off the hook on these flies (very cheap and easy to tie)
I havent had any issues with them as of yet, they seem very strong because i havent had one straighten on a snag instead it always results in a lost fly >:(
Just yet another option for you guys to consider.
HOOK - thinks about trying Sickle hooks for roe fishing ???
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i use both gammies (barbless) and owner hooks needle point size 4 to 1 depending on water condition and salmonid species...
i find the cutting edge owners to be a major rip off.
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I use Gamakatsu pretty much all the time and have never had a problem. For something new, I tried a pack of 2/0 Owner Cutting Points and have no complaints. As well I tried some of the Mustand Ultra Point Siwash on my Hot Shots 35 and was very impressed.
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My thoughts exactly....I haven't straightened hooks in a long time and the last time was accidental foul hooking a fish. I know that you sometimes get a soft batch of hooks but you shouldn't be straightening hooks regularly. Dare I say....too many foul hooked fish or horsing in fish with heavy test line! :-\
i was using my pin and had a 12 pound test leader and i straightend 4 that day.
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Gamis are the only hook that I tie line to, and ALWAYS a few quick strokes of the file before they get wet. Any hook will take a file well if you know how to sharpen a hook correctly.
Fish Slayer, can you maybe give me some tips on how to sharpen a Gammie siwash hook?
After experimenting with many hooks, I have kind of gravitated to using Gammies for both FF and hardware.
Due to nature of spoon/spinner fishing, hooks get dull quite quickly and I have also tried to sharpen Gammie siwash as they are quite expensive.
However, as in case of Matt and some other in this thread, I have not been successful in sharpening Gammie siwash to make it anywhere near sticky.
Most times filing did not improve the situation much, so I end up replacing the hook with a new one.
If I could successfully sharpen a Gammie siwash hook with a file, it would save me a bundle of money over the long run.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated. :)
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I use the gammis for float fishing and never had any problems,for spinners i use the mustad hooks,i find the the gammy spinner hooks to be week,i have had big coho bend a couple like they were a paper clip.
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i've used gammies for years but have now began testing owners, i find the gammies to be stickier out of the pack, but the owners just dont seem to go dull after however many fish or rock bumps. I think i used the same 12lb ultragreen leader and #1 owner for atleast a dozen coho one day, and it held up. I've lost 3 steelhead so far on gammies so maybe its time to switch. Fishing the owners 2mrrw.
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I use Mustads myself ,#4 . Nice sharp points on them . Very consistent , much cheaper than Gammies for a hook almost as good .
Yes you can get a hook sharper than they come out of the pack , but when you do , you remove the harder outer layer and have a softer tip . This is why some of you report them going down hill after a couple of sharpenings . You are better off not touching your hook point unless you really have to because it really is dull . For a better hook set just go to a smaller barbless hook . This is why I rarely use anything bigger than a #4 , even for springs .
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Thanks for the comments guys.
I guess I will give Owner siwash a shot.
I have never used Owner hooks before but heard that they were top notch stuff.
Regarding Gammie siwash, I have caught and released dozens of coho on hardware (spoons & french spinners) this season and have rarely lost any fish once hooked. I tend to do float fishing with yarn/roe early and mid season and tend to move more to spinning with spoons and french spinners as water temperature falls, so can't really say how gammie siwash performs under a float with colorado spinners.
Only problem I have had is how to sharpen them to improve longevity.
I guess sharpening them does not work well for the reason penn mentioned.
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Thanks for the comments guys.
I guess I will give Owner siwash a shot.
I have never used Owner hooks before but heard that they were top notch stuff.
Regarding Gammie siwash, I have caught and released dozens of coho on hardware (spoons & french spinners) this season and have rarely lost any fish once hooked. I tend to do float fishing with yarn/roe early and mid season and tend to move more to spinning with spoons and french spinners as water temperature falls, so can't really say how gammie siwash performs under a float with colorado spinners.
Only problem I have had is how to sharpen them to improve longevity.
I guess sharpening them does not work well for the reason penn mentioned.
If you got a half decent point on your hook out of the pack you are best off to be happy with that until it gets the point damaged , that is , if you want your hook to last longer . If you are fishing in a spot where you have no worries about hooking on rocks , then a softer ( but sharper) point doesn't hurt your hook's longevity . But lot's of good steelie water is pretty shallow stuff with plenty of big rocks in it , so hooking on rocks is almost inevitable in those conditions . You can improve that by shortening your float height , but there are always rocks sticking up higher in lots of places that will get ya even when you are short floating .
IMO hook size has more to do with how well you hook up than does that last bit of sharpness on your point . Even a nice sharpened gammy , say in a size #1 , requires more force to set in than a moderately sharp #4 due to the thickness of the hook itself . You need to remember that that sharper point is followed by a thicker shaft of steel that resists driving in more than a thinner hook . My #4's are always nicely buried and don't come out nearly has often than when I used to use bigger hooks .
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i was using my pin and had a 12 pound test leader and i straightend 4 that day.
Getting a good hookset can reduce the chance of bending the hook. If the hook only goes in part way, theres a lot of leverage on the the bend in the hook. This is why hooks often bend when you snag rocks and you're pretty much guaranteed to break off if you snag a log.
I said Gammis for my hook choice, which is still what I use for drift fishing. For flies, I usually use Mustads (cost). Mustad quality is up from what it used to be, especially on the saltwater hooks. For spinners, I tried out Matzuo hooks at CND Tire of all places and their sickle hook hold fish well and seems to be a pretty decent hook surprisingly. :o These sickle hooks hold fish about twice as well as Gammi siwash hooks going by # land/# hooked ratios.
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IMO hook size has more to do with how well you hook up than does that last bit of sharpness on your point . Even a nice sharpened gammy , say in a size #1 , requires more force to set in than a moderately sharp #4 due to the thickness of the hook itself . You need to remember that that sharper point is followed by a thicker shaft of steel that resists driving in more than a thinner hook . My #4's are always nicely buried and don't come out nearly has often than when I used to use bigger hooks .
penn, you've got a good point there.
Are you using #4 siwash for colorado spinners or is the #4 hook for bait fishing?
In my case, I use the siwash for spoons and french spinners, and most of my catch this season was using either a #5 silver french spinner or 3" chrome croc-like spoon.
In these cases, I will normally use #1/0 gammie siwash for the french spinner and #2/0 for the 3" croc.
I like to use big and flashy lures when water temp is lower as my target is the most aggressive and fresh fish in a pool and also big lure is needed to temp a salmon to strike when their metabolism is low. I even have a 4" croc, but seldom use it as it would scare my fellow anglers more than the salmon. LOL.
I have not tried it, but I think using a #4 siwash on a #5 french spinner or 3" croc might be on the small side.
I know I could go smaller then now, but by how much?
Cohos are gone now, so I guess I will have to wait until next fall to find out. :)
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My thoughts exactly....I haven't straightened hooks in a long time and the last time was accidental foul hooking a fish. I know that you sometimes get a soft batch of hooks but you shouldn't be straightening hooks regularly. Dare I say....too many foul hooked fish or horsing in fish with heavy test line! :-\
No kidding, I can remember breaking one hook this year, after fighting many large Chinook, Coho, and dare i say Sockeye this year (Wasn't it a great salmon year?!?!?!? :D)
Had a couple straightened by Chum on cheap jigs before (always buy Bentrod jigs, its worth it), but that's it.
I find most hooks to be similar enough that it simply comes down to personal taste and I use Gammi's....stiiiiiiiicky. ;D
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Generally speaking, Gamakatsu
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I think Im sold on Owner cutting points. In my last 3 days of fishing in Nov, I landed 21 of 23 Steelhead hooked. The two I lost were at the beach. I was using a 2/0 black owner cutting point with two of my unscented plastic eggs and a bit of wool .The one day was 11 fish on the same hook. Not bad.
glx
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I think Im sold on Owner cutting points. In my last 3 days of fishing in Nov, I landed 21 of 23 Steelhead hooked. The two I lost were at the beach. I was using a 2/0 black owner cutting point with two of my unscented plastic eggs and a bit of wool .The one day was 11 fish on the same hook. Not bad.
glx
And these were all steelhead ?
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And these were all steelhead ?
Probably on the Skeena so quite different from here on the Vedder.
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I think Im sold on Owner cutting points. In my last 3 days of fishing in Nov, I landed 21 of 23 Steelhead hooked. The two I lost were at the beach. I was using a 2/0 black owner cutting point with two of my unscented plastic eggs and a bit of wool .The one day was 11 fish on the same hook. Not bad.
glx
You lucky guy! 23 steelie in one day!
I am going to have to make a trip up north. :)
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back on to hooks; i use gammis but only when i cant find eagle claw, not many lower mainland stores carry them anymore.
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Yes Steelhead and yes on Skeena tributaries. No where near the amount of anglers and many many more fish.
glx
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Although I use them a lot, one issue I have with gammies is the barb design. They tend to break while pinching them leaving what essentially looks like a 90 degree barb that cannot be pinched smooth as it's too thick (there is nothing to really bend as it's the base of the barb). This has resulted in having to toss out many brand new hooks. Anyone else have these problems with gammies?
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I have had that problem with gami. No such issues with Owner's.
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Although I use them a lot, one issue I have with gammies is the barb design. They tend to break while pinching them leaving what essentially looks like a 90 degree barb that cannot be pinched smooth as it's too thick (there is nothing to really bend as it's the base of the barb).
Yes, same thing does happen to me once in a while with Gammies when barbs are pinched the wrong way.
But, is it against regulations to use a hook which has been de-barbed in such a way?
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But, is it against regulations to use a hook which has been de-barbed in such a way?
It would be up to the Conservation Officer to use their discretion.
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--eagle claw old stand by used by many local tackle manufacturers with very little failure
--like all fishing gear often try others with eagle claw as fall back standard...
--when I make up gear for a specific area or use is when I sometimes try or use specialty hooks other brands and always experimenting.
--currently playing with Kamakazi.. single egg hooks and Moffitt... circle hooks for flys
--will be testing a variety of barbless or pinched barb hooks including some treble, different shaft length and gap.. trailing circle hook etc. to determine which will allow for successful release of smaller kokanee.
--several large lakes in the province have single barbless hook regs... the intent is to allow release of rainbows...smaller "by-catch" kokanee are often killed, especially by larger single siwash style hooks.