Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 11/2/08: Match Your Hook to the Bait

Selecting the proper hook is often missed when gearing up for a bass fishing day. The length, weight (wire gage) and gap of the hook are very important factors in having the most success in fishing soft plastic lures. On all my plastics I use Gammies with an offset shank. Here's some key points to remember for choosing the right hook.

1- When flippin choose a heavy gage and large gapped hook such as a 5-0 or 6-0 Gammy. This will allow you to get the fish quickly out of the cover and winch 'em in without straightening the hook. The wider gap also allows better hook penetration into the fishes mouth especially with large plastics like crawfish and large worms.

2- When pitchin or casting a weedline which has sparse floating mats, go for a smaller hook when using 8" or less worm length. Often a 3/0 or 4/0 hook will do in a medium gage wire. Couple this hook with as light of weight as possible to allow the lure to slowly sink to the bottom.

3- When using a Carolina rig on a medium sized worm, go for a 2/0 to 3/0 hook in lighter gage wire. This allows the bait to trail the sinker when on the bottom and gives a slower fall for the soft plastic lure. This will often result in more strikes. The lighter gage wire will also allow greater hook penetration into the fishes mouth which is very important when using a Carolina rig with lots of line stretch.

4- If you Carolina rig with craws or thicker plastics and in heavy timber you'll need to bump up both the wire gage and the hook gap. Go for a 5/0 heavy gage Gammy.

5- Heavy timber pitchin or casting requires heavy gage wire and large gaps. 5/0 or 6/0 hooks are a must in these situations.

Now that you have the secrets to hook selection you'll be doing much more catching with less fishing :)

Largemouth Herald