W2F Blog

Five basic types of bass fishing hooks for any application

By Walker Smith and Jason Sealock

Walking down the hook aisle of any tackle store can be pretty intimidating—the different numbers, bends, shapes and advertising slogans are enough to make even a seasoned angler’s head spin. As much as we love testing new hooks and delving into the technical aspects of things, we’ve put together a simple list of tried and true types of hooks for bass fishing.

Whether you’re an angler on a budget or trying to limit the size of your tackle collection, these 5 versatile types of hooks will help you simplify your selection process while reducing any confusion.

•    Octopus
•    Wacky
•    Straight shank
•    Round bend offset
•    Extra Wide Gap (EWG)

Octopus hooks

They’ve got a weird name, but a very specific purpose. We use octopus hooks exclusively for drop shotting due to their compact profile. These days, most drop shotting is done by nose-hooking soft plastics. Anytime you rig your bait this way, you want your line tie and hook point to be as close as possible to each other to avoid hook failure. In addition, the compact profile is less likely to spook suspicious bass.

Recommended baits: Strike King KVD Dream Shot, Zoom Finesse Worm, Missile Baits Fuse 4.4

Wacky hooks

Think of a wacky hook as an octopus hook with a wider gap. Because wacky rigging involves hooking a relatively thick stick worm in the middle, wacky hooks have a larger “bite” than octopus hooks to increase hookups. Similar to their octopus hook counterparts, the line ties and hook points of wacky hooks are located close to the bait for maximum hook penetration.

Recommended baits: Yum F2 Dinger, Zoom Trick Worm, Berkley Heavy Weight Fat Sinkworm

Straight shank hooks

These hooks are ideal for flipping and pitching soft plastic baits into heavy cover. As the name implies, these hooks have a perfectly straight shank, allowing you to achieve a direct line pull on the hook itself. This proves essential when quickly pulling big bass from ultra-thick cover.

We also occasionally use straight shank hooks for casting in grassy areas, as they’re fairly resistant to thick, submerged vegetation.

Recommended baits: Berkley Havoc Rocket Craw, Yum F2 Big Show Craw, Strike King KVD Perfect Plastic Rodent

Round bend offset hooks

This particular hook style is simply a straight shank hook with an elbow beneath the line tie. This notch comes in handy if you’re seeking a streamlined profile with “straight” plastics without much bulk. Without the elbow, smaller soft plastics tend to become crimped at their midsections, which adversely affects both the profile and presentation.

We like to use these hooks for a variety of presentations, most notably for weightless techniques such as soft jerkbaits, finesse worms and stick baits.

Recommended baits: Zoom Fluke, Trigger X Drop Dead Minnow, Zoom Ultravibe Speed Worm

Extra wide gap (EWG) hooks

EWG hooks have a wider, more aggressive bend than your standard round bend offset hooks, making them an ideal choice for bulkier soft plastic baits. The extra space between the shank and hook point allow bigger baits to collapse easier, which increases the hook penetration. If you’re getting a lot of bites with other hooks but having trouble hooking up with thicker plastics, this style of hook will more than likely remedy the problem.

Effective for both flipping and casting, we use these hooks for big, “meaty” soft plastic creature baits.

Recommended baits: Strike King KVD Pro-Model Tube, Zoom Brush Hog, Berkley Power Bait Power Hawg

Wishing, wanting, lusting – whatever we call our desire for new fishing tackle, it definitely comes to a head this time of year. Of course it's closing in on Christmas, but as I get older the holiday is more about eating and family time and watching my son open new presents and light up with the joy of a child on Christmas morning.

But for fishing tackle this is the time of year when all that new stuff we saw back in July becomes available to those of us who've been dying to get our hands on it. We're fortunate at Wired2fish to be the first to use a lot of the new products, sometimes before they are released at major events like ICAST and the Bassmaster Classic. It has quelled my anticipation but led me to realize we have a duty to give our take on some of our favorite new tackle this time of year.

Maybe you are letting folks know what to get you, maybe you're looking for your significant other who loves fishing and you don't know what to get them. So we all put our heads together and came up with more than 30 items that we think folks will enjoy adding to their fishing next season. These are some of my favorites for the 2012-2013 fishing seasons.  More of Walker's and Terry's favorites will be coming in the next several days.


Minn Kota Talon, $1,449

To be perfectly honest, I was a bit skeptical about the shallow water anchoring systems until I got them and used them for a season. But now, while I'm sure I can live without them, I don't want to. They have served so many purposes this year, from launching a boat alone, to flipping and even fishing shallow areas at night. It's an invaluable tool now and has made me so much more efficient. It's a high priced item that really aids your ability to deal with things like wind and pressure. I'll have a full blog on what I learned from the Talon this year in the next month. But for now, I can say I love its easy install, easy programming and operation. There's no hydraulics to worry with and the grey poles on the back of the boat have been the hot conversation piece for me at local gas stations.


Lowrance HDS Touch, from $1,299

The new Lowrance depth finders appeal to the "techno-geek" in me. They operate more like a tablet or smart phone with intuitive layouts and menus. The screen eases strain on your eyes, even in direct sunlight. I love the easier rigging with the units, with a direct connect from the Structure Scan transducer and Ethernet networking. They look great, work well and for someone who spends long days staring at a graph, they are just a joy to use.


Abu Garcia Revo 3rd Generation Baitcasting Reels, from $129

We got our first few Gen. 3 Revo reels from Abu Garcia back in the spring, and we were so excited after the first outing, we couldn't wait to start talking about them. The reels are lighter, lower profile, cosmetically appealing and cast as far and as smooth as any reels we've ever used. They offer blazing speeds up to 8:1 gear ratios and the same low-end power from their 5.4:1 models. From styling to functionality, these are truly some of the best reels we've ever used.


Denali Terry Bolton Offshore Worm and Jig Rod, $209

I reviewed this rod earlier in the year, but can say it's been a staple in my rod collection all season.  The rod works for pitching docks equally as well as it does casting big worms offshore or hopping spoons for deep bass. It's listed as a heavy action but fishes more like a medium heavy with some power on a long, deep hookset. At 7-feet, 2-inches, it gives you a good casting rod, easy to fish rod and powerful fighting rod for all your "away-from-the-bank" needs.


13 Fishing Omen Baitcasting Rod, $99

13 Fishing impressed us with their introduction at the 2012 ICAST show in Orlando. From the way they talked about their products and fishing to their "design and manufacture everything" mentality, they show a unique insight to building quality tackle. Their Envy rods are amazing great rods, but we're equally impressed with their $100 offering, the Omen series. These rods feature great styling, a small frame Japanese high modulus blank, custom made components like a split grip that allows you to touch the rod blank with the tip of your finger. Their styling and quality will make this rod very popular among anglers in 2013.


Megabass Ito Vision 110 FX or FX Knuckle 60 , $27

We thought Megabass did a good job of making some lures more practical to the situations anglers face. Two of those baits that debuted at ICAST really proved their forward thinking in designing tackle. The Ito Vision 100 FX expanded on their weight-transfer system that already helped make their slender and lively jerkbaits cast better in windy conditions by adding a collapsing bill that greatly reduces a jerkbait's tendency to helicopter on the lip's turbulence in the wind. 

Meanwhile the Knuckle 60 gives you a square bill and sub-surface crankbait for fishing over the top of shallow grass in one. With a lip that locks in place in two positions you can fish 2-4 feet deep or just 1 foot deep with the snap of the lip. The bait has a great casting weight, hunts and tracks well and swims well over and through cover. The colors are the same great Megabass colors anglers have come to demand.


Browning MPACT Zeiss Fishing Collection Sunglasses, $179

I've been wearing these shades most of the year while fishing. They are light, comfortable and fairly stylish. But the real draw is in their Zeiss optics and Ripel water and grime protection that is built into the lenses. The lenses stay clear even in a down pour and they are easily cleaned with a wipe to keep your vision under the water at maximum potential. Their Back Country lens is the best early morning low-light lens we've used to date. We know several pros who were using these in those sight fishing slugfests to finish in the top of the pack by finding more beds in practice than their competitors. A great set of glasses for an avid angler.


TH Marine G-Force Handle, $30

This would make a great present for any angler that owns a boat and trolling motor. As a guy who has literally been flung out of a boat when a trolling motor cord snapped, I can tell you I have a new found love for this seemingly simple gadget. I'm an angler who moves a lot because I know fish generally bite when you put a bait near them. So I try to hit as much water in a day as I can. That's a lot of lifting and dropping of the trolling motor. This cable reduces the effort, makes snug or worn trolling motors pop in and out of place so much better.


Strike King KVD Jerkbait, $9

I'm always on the lookout for jerkbaits that look a little different, act a little different, but perform very well in terms of casting and erratic dancing on slack-line twitch. Jerkbaits tend to have a narrow window of opportunity in an angler's strategy, but for $9, you're going to want to have a few of these in your jerkbait box this winter. They have great colors, two different sizes, they get down well and suspend well and dart lively. They sound good and look good and that's reason enough to own a few to me.


Rapala DT Custom Ink Crankbaits, $7

Generally "new colors" in lures don't thrill us much as anglers. But sometimes a new color or set of colors comes out that really produces and it's hard not to get on the new color band wagon. The DT line of crankbaits have been a staple. The DT 6 is a coldwater killer and the DT 10 is the perfect mid-range crankbait while the DT 16 and 20 catch a lot of deep bass on offshore structure. Now with the new Ike's Custom Ink colors producing so well, our confidence has increased with this crankbait line. The blueback herring and Smash colors have fooled a bunch of bass this year for me and I'll be getting a bunch more in the different sizes of these two colors.


Zoom WEC E2, $20

It was tough to review this crankbait because it's one of those baits to keep under wraps but it's just too good not to share. It's a wide wobbling, hunting lure that can wreck the bass around shallow wood cover. And as a little side note, the smallmouth hate this crankbait. Each bait is hand assembled, hand painted, clear coated and packaged. They are not readily available everywhere so that sort of adds to my confidence with the cranks when I find a shallow cranking bite.


Heddon Chug'n Spook, $7

This bait remained hush-hush though the fall topwater bite, but several anglers revealed the power of the new Heddon Chug'n Spook as something "the bass hadn't seen before." It's big, makes a big commotion, loud, casts a country mile and comes in great colors. The hooks are cheap and need to be replaced, but the bait is solid for a little less than $7. Folks underestimate the power of a big walking lure. If you don't have one in your box, this is a good one to start.


Lazer Trokar EWG Treble TK310, $7

Trokar brought a new sharpness to fishing hooks and now they've brought it to treble hooks. Not to say they are the sharpest but they are a new sharp. They've made it vogue to pressure set on fish and this type of edge on a fishing hook makes more sense to me on a treble hook. The price will be inhibitive to some anglers, but I can tell you a handful of my favorite baits are rocking the new EWG and short-shank hooks from Lazer Trokar.

Stay tuned to Wired2fish.com for more Wishlists from other staff members in the next few days.

Red hooks really do have an application in bass fishing, according to Marty Stone

Photos and Article by Walker Smith

If you’re like us, you don’t have enough fingers or toes to count the number of times you’ve heard fellow anglers banter back and forth about the effectiveness, or perceived lack thereof, of red hooks. You’ll find a couple of them scattered about in random compartments of many anglers’ boats, but most of us never pay them much attention. Truth be told, I only buy red hooks when I’m in a rush to the lake and the local tackle shop is out of black hooks. Sure, they look sexy, but do fish really care what color hook you’re using?

A recent conversation with bass fishing legend Jimmy Houston has turned Vicious Fishing pro Marty Stone into a bona fide believer in red hooks. Under the right conditions, he has had some monster days with his Daiichi Bleeding Bait hooks. Recently, Stone shed some light on the colored hook conundrum and provided us with a lot of interesting food for thought.

The marketing misnomer

Remember when red fishing line was the big talk in the fishing industry? As a young teenager, I thought it was the bee’s knees, guaranteed to turn me into a pro overnight. The allure of red line was simple—the fish couldn’t see it, and when your line is virtually invisible, you’re going to catch a lot more fish.

Now, let’s look at it from an alternative perspective. While many fishing line companies were adamant that their red line was indiscernible, there were some hook companies claiming their red hooks to be the ultimate difference maker on the water.

So let’s get this straight—red line is invisible, but red hooks make bass more apt to attack a bait? At this point, it doesn’t really matter who was wrong or right. Common knowledge would lead us to believe that someone, whether it was the line companies or the hook manufacturers, had to be wrong. Not so fast, says Stone.

Seeing red

Stone got the answer he had been looking for during a recent conversation with Jimmy Houston, who had taken part in a light penetration study. His findings were interesting, to say the least.


“In water of normal stain, considered to be 12- to 24-inches of visibility, a red hook is, indeed, very visible from 5-feet or less,” said Stone. “On the contrary, anything red—whether it’s fishing line or a hook—is going to disappear in more than 5-feet of water.”

Technically, both sides are right. Since learning that red hooks are, in fact, visible from less than 5-feet away in water of normal stain, Stone has noticed a substantial increase in his shallow water fishing success.

When to use red hooks

The use of red hooks is something that is becoming increasingly popular amongst the world’s top professional anglers. While not ideal in every situation, Stone has developed some very effective techniques for exposing bass’ weakness for red.

“Any time I’m flipping shallow water with a normal stain, I almost exclusively use a red hook,” Stone said. “If you’re struggling during a tough day on the water, don’t be afraid to tie on a red hook. It may take a bit to get used to, but I truly believe that you will catch more fish.”


The use of red hooks should not be limited to just flipping and pitching, however. Stone loves chunking shallow crankbaits, which has allowed him to experiment at length with red treble hooks. While effective, It’s not always as simple as throwing on some red trebles and going to town.

“If I’m throwing a squarebill that dives less than 5-feet deep, I always replace the front hook with a red treble hook,” Stone said. “I never put red hooks on the back because I want that big bass to attack the middle of the bait, giving me a great chance at getting a really solid hookup.”


Because bass can be triggered by a subtle flash of red like gills on a fish, red trailer hooks are outstanding on bladed baits, as well. When targeting sluggish shallow fish holding tight to cover, Stone uses red trailer hooks on his spinnerbaits and buzzbaits to give the bass a little extra “something” to hone in on.

Although he has had an enormous amount of success using red hooks, Stone believes that changing hook colors makes the biggest difference on bright, sunny days.

“The cloudier the day and the lower the light, the less that red is a factor,” Stone said. “For that light penetration to do what it’s supposed to do, you need to have a sunny day in order to get the maximum benefits from red hooks.”

The next time you are having a tough day on the water or getting a lot of short-strikes on a crankbait, switch to a red hook. While it may take some time to get confidence in it, you just might crack the code and enjoy some killer fishing. All it takes is one monster bass to make you a believer.

You could be setting the hook better while bass fishing