There are so many hooks today, how many grains of sand on the beach. Rudolf took a liking to two types of hooks. He's convinced, that it is enough.
A hook that is correctly attached to the line is undoubtedly the most important element of the rod. The hook not only has to stick securely into the fish's mouth, but also hold it securely until it enters the landing net. When I enter a tackle shop, I am rarely interested in rods or reel parameters, but I always look closely at the hooks. It's a habit, because I only prefer two types of hooks for a long time. These hooks are excellent in many ways, which, unfortunately, cannot be said about the other types.
Remarkable sharpness
I like the red game hooks. However, I only fish with numbers 8 the 14 (I use the larger hook only for fishing with live or dead fish). The use of such a small hook for predator fishing is dictated by several reasons. First, the hook is very light, so it does not disturb the livestock in any way, which behaves quite "normally in water."”. This in turn means more bites and more fun while out hunting predators. The red hooks are also extremely sharp. This is very important especially when fishing for small fish, which offer little resistance when jammed and do not make the task easier for the hook.
All my hooks are burr free (I squash the burr with pliers), thanks to which I save time when unhooking the fish, and the cut to the mouth is literally minimal. I use the smaller hook mainly for roach fishing, quick and chuckle on the ciasto (both using the float method, as well as from the ground). At the moment of jamming, the long-shank "limerick" hook comes out of the dough perfectly and sticks securely into the fish's mouth. It would seem, that the greatest disadvantage of these hooks is the extremely fine wire, from which they were made. You can believe me, that when fishing with delicate equipment (match rod and fine line), it is almost impossible to break the hook while hauling. The advantages of an extremely sharp hook are also evident when fishing for large fish (for example, a soft winkelpicker will greatly weaken the jam).
All limerick hooks have a downside, however – not suitable for hard baits. Such a bait (for example, a pea) slides onto the elbow of the hook, the blade does not penetrate deep enough when jammed and the fish often sticks when hauled.
Special bend
The second type of hook, which I prefer is the "wide gap". It is made of a little thicker wire, therefore it is stronger and is perfect for catching big ones, brave fish, such as barbel and carp. Thick hook wire also allows you to use a thicker line. And one more advantage – thanks to the significant elongation of the blade sharp as a needle, this hook is very firmly stuck in the fish's mouth when jammed.
No catch is perfect. The "wide gap" hook also has its drawbacks. It flexes relatively easily and is very difficult to remove from the fish's mouth, for example, barbel. The latter disadvantage is probably caused by the elasticity of the material – the hook bends slightly when hooked and hauled, and then in the absence of a load (fish in the hand of an angler) returns to its previous position, which makes unhooking much more difficult. Wide gap hooks are perfect for fishing even with hard corn kernels. The blade easily sticks to any bait. The grain of corn should be stretched over the shank of the hook (all the way to the shoulder blade) and must not be allowed to move. If it slipped down, first, the elbows of the hook in front of the blade, the hook may stick poorly into the fish's mouth or not hold a large piece while hauling. If you find a good hook model, I recommend that you buy a package with a whole hundred hooks at once. Ten or twenty hooks are not long enough and are common, that when we want to buy them – in the store are already over and they are not even in the warehouse anymore.
The author's favorite hooks for quiet feeding fish: model „limerick” (from the left) and "wide gap" (in two sizes). Attaching a hook to a spatula is a little more difficult than a hook with an eyelet, however, such a hook is less conspicuous and is much lighter.
The red limerick hooks in question are Gamakatsu hooks (in Germany, they were previously offered by DAM under the number 6309; future distribution through Zebco – art. nr 4504 in bulk, relatively 4704 on leaders, size 8-18). Wide gap hooks are distributed in Germany by Balzer (flat steel hooks for quiet feeding fish, art. nr 17067, size 1-14). Similar models of hooks are also offered by other manufacturers.
