Favorite Top Water Lure

B

Bootfoot

Well-known member
Solitario Lupo said:
If you don’t like singles I would definitely downsize those trebles.
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I think they just look bigger stuck in a hand. They are about 2/0 stock hooks. I’ve had these and their split rings straightened out by big fish so I definitely will not be downsizing them.

truecrimson said:
Crush the barbs

Sometimes you can't pull them out. These 2 required professional medical intervention. After the 2nd one I crushed every barb on every hook I have or get. I like to practice catch and release with me
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Take the lure off the hook, grab an ice cube from your cooler and freeze the area around the hook and yank it out. by the way, it’s easy for me to say, it was my buddies hand. Had it been my hand I would have sought a professional to yank it out. I’ve yet to impale myself, knock on wood, where it was to difficult to self remove.

I net all of my big fish and won’t touch them until the hooks are out. I will only grab anything with treble hooks by the hook with pliers. A benefit of not taking pictures, measuring, weighing or kissing fish is I can just pop the hooks out of small fish over the side of the boat without ever actually touching the fish or the plug. I generally give treble hooks, big and small, a wide birth.
 
truecrimson

truecrimson

Well-known member
Bootfoot said:
I think they just look bigger stuck in a hand. They are about 2/0 stock hooks. I’ve had these and their split rings straightened out by big fish so I definitely will not be downsizing them.


Take the lure off the hook, grab an ice cube from your cooler and freeze the area around the hook and yank it out. by the way, it’s easy for me to say, it was my buddies hand. Had it been my hand I would have sought a professional to yank it out. I’ve yet to impale myself, knock on wood, where it was to difficult to self remove.

I net all of my big fish and won’t touch them until the hooks are out. I will only grab anything with treble hooks by the hook with pliers. A benefit of not taking pictures, measuring, weighing or kissing fish is I can just pop the hooks out of small fish over the side of the boat without ever actually touching the fish or the plug. I generally give treble hooks, big and small, a wide birth.
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The first one, in the thumb, my wife tried to pull it out with all her might. She got squeamish before I did. then I recruited a young man fishing nearby to grab it with pliers and pull with all his might, both suddenly and then actually leaning against it with his weight. He also lost his nerve before I lost mine. The skin never tore (I was hoping it would) and the hook would not come out.

I did not have a cooler, or ice. The fishing line pop trick failed. I was unable to push it through the skin to snip it off or crush the barb. I cannot imagine how I would get the damn things off a split ring or get the ring off the lure under those conditions. I find that hard enough at the kitchen table with full use of both hands and pliers designed for that purpose.

The second one, there were a few minutes where me, my broken rod and line, and the biggest fallfish I have ever seen were all inextricably attached to one another. And the fallfish was no help at all. Can't really blame him. He didn't have any spare hands either. ;)

I made a herculean effort to try to get a pic of him, but it was impossible. I'm not much for measuring or weighing but I did pass on any romance at the time, and got him unhooked and on his way as the first step in the process.

I don't fish much from boats. Sometimes I do release fish still in the water if I am in the yak or wading. But from the bank it is a lot more difficult. The first of these was at Union Canal Park here in Lebanon, so it was from the bank. The second was on a small stream in Swatara State Park. I had waded in a long way, climbing over log jams and dunking in deep pools after fishing them. Sometimes I would have to get out on the bank to get around an obstacle and that was the case here. After getting around a big downed tree I came to a big pool and wanted to fish it before I got back in. After I got hooked I couldn't go back the same way. I had to bushwhack to the nearest trail and take the long way around back to the car.

Anyway, since I have been crushing every barb it has not been a problem. I have not been irreversibly hooked in 9 years. So crush all barbs is the 11th commandment for me.
 
Solitario Lupo

Solitario Lupo

Moderator
Bootfoot said:
I think they just look bigger stuck in a hand. They are about 2/0 stock hooks. I’ve had these and their split rings straightened out by big fish so I definitely will not be downsizing them.
Click to expand...


If that’s the case of fish straightening out the hook then I would definitely downsize to a thicker hook. ;) Something I’ve learned in fly tying. They make thicker hooks for a reason.

The reason thinner hooks probably cause it doesn’t take away the action of the lure so a smaller thicker hook might work the same and the fish won’t straighten your hooks. Plus upgrade the rings.
 
HenryDavid

HenryDavid

Well-known member
truecrimson said:
The first one, in the thumb, my wife tried to pull it out with all her might. She got squeamish before I did. then I recruited a young man fishing nearby to grab it with pliers and pull with all his might, both suddenly and then actually leaning against it with his weight. He also lost his nerve before I lost mine. The skin never tore (I was hoping it would) and the hook would not come out.

I did not have a cooler, or ice. The fishing line pop trick failed. I was unable to push it through the skin to snip it off or crush the barb. I cannot imagine how I would get the damn things off a split ring or get the ring off the lure under those conditions. I find that hard enough at the kitchen table with full use of both hands and pliers designed for that purpose.

The second one, there were a few minutes where me, my broken rod and line, and the biggest fallfish I have ever seen were all inextricably attached to one another. And the fallfish was no help at all. Can't really blame him. He didn't have any spare hands either. ;)

I made a herculean effort to try to get a pic of him, but it was impossible. I'm not much for measuring or weighing but I did pass on any romance at the time, and got him unhooked and on his way as the first step in the process.

I don't fish much from boats. Sometimes I do release fish still in the water if I am in the yak or wading. But from the bank it is a lot more difficult. The first of these was at Union Canal Park here in Lebanon, so it was from the bank. The second was on a small stream in Swatara State Park. I had waded in a long way, climbing over log jams and dunking in deep pools after fishing them. Sometimes I would have to get out on the bank to get around an obstacle and that was the case here. After getting around a big downed tree I came to a big pool and wanted to fish it before I got back in. After I got hooked I couldn't go back the same way. I had to bushwhack to the nearest trail and take the long way around back to the car.

Anyway, since I have been crushing every barb it has not been a problem. I have not been irreversibly hooked in 9 years. So crush all barbs is the 11th commandment for me.
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I think you sold me on this
 
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