Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Noahs Arc on October 29, 2015, 08:38:08 AM
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My hooked / landed ratio this season is out to lunch.
For coho season I've always used Gammi #2 barbed hooks 16-24" leaders.
The barbs are always properly pinched and if they don't pinch properly I've always filed them down to make sure they don't catch on even a piece of cotton.
This year I bought a value pack of barbless #2s which I noticed have a different shape. I'm losing about 60% -70% of the coho (some days more) I've hooked this year and the only thing that's changed is the hooks. Needless to say I'm going to be switching my pre tied leaders back to the barbed style tonight. I've always had strong hook sets because I fish a fairly soft rod (3113LB) and rarely snag as I fish well off bottom. Float goes down I'm confident it's a fish. I'm just not confident in these hooks. I'll see how it goes tomorrow and write back if it's any better, at least my confidence will be back.
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I had a similar issue a few years back with the DNE hooks, switching and losing around 70% of the fish I hooked. Noticed my friend who has been using them recently has had a lot of fish pop off. A big thing is confidence, so don't cheap out on hooks or buy something that isn't working for you. It surprised me how many people cheap out on their hooks. If you spend so much money on gas and gear, the extra 3 dollars for an important part of your gear is always worth it.
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Matsuo Sickle hooks............u will never go back
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Good hooks are worth the extra money hands down.
Something you might want to try though is giving the cheap hook a bit more offset.
Sometimes the hook shanks are pretty straight or completely straight. Giving the hook point a bit of a bend left or right will improve holding power.
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Funny, at twice the cost of most other brands, I never would have put gammis in the "cheap" bracket.
Just picked up the Matzuo sickle hooks because A&N were out of the ones I used to use.
Matzuos were 4.99 (I think) for 25
The Gammis were 11.99 for 25.
One things for sure, I'm done with the Gammi barbless hooks.
I'll give them a shot tomorrow thanks for the suggestions.
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maybe just a run of bad luck. happens sometimes. i use those barbless gammi size 2 hooks as well and have a good landing ratio this year. bar fishing and float.
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X2 for the sickles
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IMO the Gammi barbless are pcs of ****... they straighten out with 8lb leader like nothing, i bought one pack once by mistake and will never ever buy them again. I strictly run #4 Gammi's in barbed (pinched of course) and have never had an issue.
With the barbless i was leaning on a spring and pop... reel in, look and straight hook. Ok change it... another spring start leaning and pop.. reel in, damn hook is straight again. 3 more after that on chum and that pack went right into the garbage. I run 10lb main and 8lb leader for everything so not like i was draggin on some braid. A friend of mine other year asks if he can have some hooks, i ask wheres yours? showed me 3 straightened barbless Gammi's... never again either.
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owner hooks. enough said
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i agree would not use them for chum or springs. i touch bottom a few times in the canal and was surprised how easy they bent.
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owner hooks. enough said
X2. Using for the last 4 years. Mostly size 2 and sometime 4. No single issue.
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X2. Using for the last 4 years. Mostly size 2 and sometime 4. No single issue.
X3. I have been using Owners for many years. As for sickles, don't use them as I am not a jig fisher!
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Haven't seen Owner hooks before where do you find them?
i bought some of the Matsuko sickle hooks this year and am not impressed with the strength , but i like the shape of them , they seem to straighten pretty easily , the DNE barbless have been good though so far
i will look for Owner hooks if i can find them
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I'll vouch for the owner hooks as well. I haven't had one straighten out on me yet and they hold fish very well.
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Haven't seen Owner hooks before where do you find them?
i bought some of the Matsuko sickle hooks this year and am not impressed with the strength , but i like the shape of them , they seem to straighten pretty easily , the DNE barbless have been good though so far
i will look for Owner hooks if i can find them
Any fishing gear establishment even A&N.
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X2. Using for the last 4 years. Mostly size 2 and sometime 4. No single issue.
My confidence in Owners got shaken after last time when hook got bent on chum.
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As others have said, the gammys that come barbless suck IMO. I don't know why they come shaped differently than the barbed ones. Years back I bought a few bulk packs (25 hooks I think) of barbless gammys in #2, #1 and 1/0 I think. I SWORE I was having more fish spit the hook than normal.
I talked with the guys in Searun and they were like, yeah they are a good seller but we don't really like them either. So I gave them to a buddy and he was thrilled! I went back to the gammies with the barb. I always crush it right flat and if it looks a tiny bit suspect I give it a few swipes with a chain saw file.
I find the gammy barbless hooks are excellent. Also tried the mustad ultra point octopus hooks and liked them as well. This season I've been using the Owner super cutting point. They are EXPENSIVE but I really like them. Have had almost no fish spit the hook.
I fish a lot more jigs and colorado spinners etc than I used to so the odd time I fish roe or whatever I want a good hook!!! Also I used to fish a lot of fast water rocky spots up river and lost a lot of gear, so cheap hooks were a lot more appealing. Now I fish more in the lower river and don't lose a lot of gear although of course it happens here and there.
I would say best octopus hooks for the price are gammy barbed, and best hooks period are Owner super cutting point.
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Gami's are ok, quality seems to have gone down as the last batch of size 1 barbless hooks and I had to resharpen some of the points with a ceramic SpyderCo triangle sharpener to get that nice needle point back.
I noticed a major difference between the barbed and no barbed size 4 Gami's, the point just before the point on the no barb hooks seem to be more "circular" or smooth curved from the major bend(hook gap) to the hook point, while the barbed ones have a more "straight" or faster bend like the sickle hooks does. I'm just going to make a wild guess but the barbed hooks have a better retention shape due to that bend while the more circular shape of the no barb hooks seems to allow fish to throw or pop it out more easily.
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Owner Cutting points have the best bent imo the needle points have a different Temper on them and seem to straighten easier and get dull faster never had a problem with the cutting points
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I have had no problems with Gammy barbless. I just put a #2 barbless in a vice and forced it with some pliers. No problem.
I have used Matzuo sickle hooks quite a bit. They are soft and tend to straighten. They do hook and hold well on fish but I find they result in a lot of foul hooked fish. They tend to straighten out on snags and that can be an advantage for retaining the rest of your gear but you do have to replace the hook after every tangle with a snag.
I had one batch of Matzuo hooks that were not soft but brittle and broke at the slightest stress. They lost me some good fish before I tested some samples with pliers and discovered how brittle they were. That batch were slightly different in shape than the usual sickle hooks with sharper bends. I wonder if these problems are not the result of counterfeit hooks getting into the market? There are counterfeits of just about everything else.
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IMO the Gammi barbless are pcs of ****... they straighten out with 8lb leader like nothing, i bought one pack once by mistake and will never ever buy them again. I strictly run #4 Gammi's in barbed (pinched of course) and have never had an issue.
It's not the Gammi; it's using a size 4 hook on a 30 pound fish. Totally inappropriate hook size. 1/0 minimum.
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It's not the Gammi; it's using a size 4 hook on a 30 pound fish. Totally inappropriate hook size. 1/0 minimum.
If the 8lb leader holds,shouldnt the hook also?
I would expect to break the 8lb line before straightening any hook.
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Just got back from the store and very disappointed in the Gammi 2/0 Siwash hooks.
Definitely not the sticky sharp like im accustomed to on there #2 Octopus etc.
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Went to the Vedder today with my shiny new sickle hooks. Boy did they look good under that float but no love for me. Fished until it blew then went up to the hatchery. There's some big brute coho swimming around in there.
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I vote for the Owner cutting points.