Territory Lad 1,137 Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 After some advice / thoughts. Given my fishing is currently purely C&R, I put high priority on releasing the fish with as little impact as possible. Using SPs its not an issue as 9 times out of 10 the hook comes out with minimal fuss. However almost every fish I have landed on a HB I have had issues with. Issues ranging from the trebles being difficult to remove to the 2nd treble latching into the fish's eye, gills, face and causing more damage. Over the weekend, over two separate sessions I landed a handful of small bream, each of HBs. In each instant the the rear treble lodged in the mouth and the 2nd / front treble lodged in the face of the fish. More often than not in the eye. Thinking back, this also occurred with other species. If I was keeping the fish of a feed I wouldnt be so concerned. What makes it a little more concerning for me is that added to the fact im doing this purely for C&R, is the fact these are undersized fish more often than not! I spent the weekend thinking about ways to reduce the damage / make it easier and quicker to release the fish. I was originally looking at simply making all the trebles "barbless" by crushing the barbs. I used to do this Barra fishing in Darwin and found it had the desired result. However I then started to think about swapping out the trebles to single in-line hooks, The idea being the hook up should more often be in the mouth. Once hooked the drop / loss rate should be less. The single hook is stronger than the treble and as a bonus there should also be less snagging potential. My only concern is im not sure the in-line hooks are made for Bream sized lures. My questions to those more experienced in this area than myself are: 1. Do these hooks come in a size suitable for Bream sized lures? 2. Does anyone else do this? 3. If you do it, is it worth it? Thanks in advance Hookers. Squid Inc., Meppstas and dutchy 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SaltyFlyer 298 Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 I have managed to get some very small inline hooks, which I have put on my small HB's for whiting, Work a treat. I grabbed a few packs of them from size 1 down to size 10, all proper inline hooks. Will need to go and look at the brand, so you could see if some of the fishing gear sponsors can get them for you. I did buy these online, but was a local bloke, who actually hand delivered them to me...saved postage, as he was in the area. I think he is down south .. ?? Will get back to this for you. SF Territory Lad, Chief and Meppstas 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Meppstas 4,964 Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 As SF stated try the inline single hooks or take the front treble hook off the lure and just go with the tail treble hooks. cheers Adrian SaltyFlyer 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SaltyFlyer 298 Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 For Territory Lad , as promised , here is a picture of 3 of the "small in-line hooks" I use to replace trebles on my small lures. You can see the Model Number on the top.. 329406 ...404 , so the bigger ones would be 329401 ... I have them from Size 1 down to size 12 ..... very good hooks .. haven't seen any other brands, so can't comment on them, other than these Gamakatsu's. And for those with a keen eye , yes, these packs are un-opened .. as the others are in small clip bags with only marker pen. So, hope this gets you sorted out, and perhaps some tackle sponsors have these in stock. SF dutchy, Meppstas, Territory Lad and 1 other 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Meppstas 4,964 Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 They're the same brand that I bought too SF, only ones I could find... cheers Adrian SaltyFlyer 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dutchy 451 Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 I use the same hooks on my lures. Single hooks are harder for fish to dislodge You may miss some hits not having 6 hooks but I think less dropped fishI missed 6 good tommies on tues on new tiny sharp trebles just spat hooks on way in:angry: will be replacing with singlesBe aware that hook sizes & change of drag in water may effect the swimming action A trick I learnt with tuna lures is to only put a hook on the belly to increase action Or only on the tail facing up for weedless for flathead etcI have caught 4 tuna in one day on 70 mm yozuri mag minnow replacing the single hook each time VERY Lucky Having a friend with swimming pool or access to water helps tune lures SaltyFlyer 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bratko 277 Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 Let's Go Fishing down Gulfview Rd have those Gamakatsu single lure hooks for sale...cheapest price in town:) SaltyFlyer 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Territory Lad 1,137 Posted March 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2017 Appreciate the info guys! Now that I know they are available and are a genuine possibility, the follow up question is do you simply get the same size hook as the treble or do you convert it up/down? SaltyFlyer 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SaltyFlyer 298 Posted March 19, 2017 Report Share Posted March 19, 2017 Territory Lad , you can go either way, but normally, I go up 1 size, as trebles are normally smaller, being 3 hooks .... and the lure size too ... But, it is all trial and error ... see how you go ..... Hope that this was helpful information for you. SF Territory Lad 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sbarnden 397 Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 I measure it as a single with a gape the same size as across the two points on the treble. But always need to check the action after to make sure it hasn't been compromised. Territory Lad and SaltyFlyer 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Territory Lad 1,137 Posted March 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 All good information lads and I really do appreciate your insights / help. I will let you know how I go over the coming months with the above changes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Territory Lad 1,137 Posted March 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2017 Stopped in at my local store today and picked up the below. Smallest size they come in is 8, so I grabbed 4, 6 and 8. I will try them out and see how I go. Will keep you all updated. SaltyFlyer 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Territory Lad 1,137 Posted April 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2017 Bit of an update. I fitted two of my HBs with single hooks, making sure I had an identical HBs with trebles to use as the "control" in the experiment. I fitted out a Daiwa "Girken" with 2 x size 8 hooks and a Daiwa Double Clutch with 2 x size 4 hooks. After testing both of these, the action seemed ok, however I had issues with the hooks on both set ups. The size 8's were too big and tangled with each other more often than not when twitching the lure. The size 4's were also too big, but for a different reason. When twitching the lure, the middle / belly hook would foul itself on the head of Double Clutch. To rectify the "Girken" I removed the middle / belly hook and simply run a tail hook only. Works GREAT! Action is better and the Bream seem happy to have a crack at it. Whilst I dropped a few fish this morning with the above set up, those that stayed on were quickly released without harm. I also found that even though I had plenty of hits, it was only the bigger Bream that could fit the larger single hook in their mouth - a great side bonus as I get sick of releasing rat sized fish that get snagged on the smaller trebles. With the Double Clutch, I have simply downsized the hooks from size 4 to size 6, keeping both the tail and belly hooks. I havent had a chance to test them though so I will see how this works out. Will see how this experiment continues to work out over the coming months. gregtech and archerfish 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AquaticResearch1 1,046 Posted April 14, 2017 Report Share Posted April 14, 2017 I have a retro fitted doubleclutch 60 which works fine. Fitted with Gamma #6 inline. Only issue I have is the hookpoints may have bent slightly already, unless I just havent seen it in the original design Territory Lad 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Territory Lad 1,137 Posted April 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 Thanks AR, sounds like I am on the money with the #6 hooks then! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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