DIY Assist Hooks

[MAH 449]

The weather has been poor so I haven't been fishing much. So what do you do when you're not fishing? Make stuff for fishing! I've been making some small assist hooks to replace the back trebles on lures. 

 

I bought some silicone lure skirts of Aliexpress to use for a bit of flash.

 

The cord is cheap 30lb braid. There is no need to use such strong braid, you could use a lot lighter. But I decided to use this braid, because the diameter is easier to handle and tie knots. I measure out 25cms which gives me long enough tag ends to easily tie each hook with a 5 turn snell knot. I tie one hook. then measure 6cm and mark the braid. Next I slide the second hook up to the 6cm mark and tie the hook on. When the knots are dressed and tightened, it gives me the length I want for the assist hooks, which is a tad longer than the pre-tied BKK Striker hooks I previously used. I decided to make them slightly longer after reading a post from Des who add extra split rings for length. I'll probably make some slightly shorter to replace the middle trebles like Des suggests. I've made some with split rings and some with snaps and I attach the hook lengths with a simple girth hitch. Then I thread the silicone flash through the split ring/snap, fold in half and tie off with a 5 turn uni knot using 210D flat waxed thread.

 

I used Owner 52084 fine wire split rings #0 and Decoy Round Snap #00. The hooks are Owner 5117-031 Mosquito Hook #8 and Shinto Octopus Beak #10, which are physically the same size. I prefer the Owner Mosquito Hooks, because they are very sticky (they cost $6 for 11 hooks). The Shinto hooks are still a good hook and and I picked them up for $9.60 for 24.

[Meppstas 5,021]

Nice job, they look pretty good too..

cheers 

Adrian

[Softy 2,991]

Very nicely done there!

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[yellow door 1 1,841]

Nice one MAH - Handy skill to have the old DIY Tackle making.

It can get you out of alot of last minute jams, where if you dont make it yourself, there is no immediate alternative.

And in your case, you have to option to choose High Quality components and make something better than store bought - thats mm perfect to your specfications. Hats off

[Wizid 0]

And the satisfaction of catching a fish on something you made yourself is fantastic!!

[Rybak 641]

They look really good. Well done.