Sometimes also called worm hooks, they are available in most sizes. – Size 6/0 and above: Required for sharks and big-game fish.įAVOURITE PATTERNS What they are and what they’re forĪberdeen: The all-round favourite shore and boat hook for worm baits. – Size 4/0, 5/0, 6/0: Essential for the biggest species, such as conger eels, big cod or bass and for use with very large baits like whole squid and mackerel. – Size 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0: The choice for larger species like cod, bass, pollack, rays and smoothhounds. – Size 2, 1, 1/0: The standard sizes for shore fishing for the smaller common species like dogfish, wrasse, pouting, whiting, codling, dabs, flounders, plaice etc. – Size 4 and 6: Suitable for small species with tiny mouths like mullet, sole, bream and garfish. HOOK SIZE AND SPECIES FORMULA Here is a rough guide of hook size in relation to fish species Hook sizes are supposed to be standard, but in reality they are not and the various manufacturers have their own interpretation of sizes. Once the 1 is reached the /0 is added as the size increases as the number increases from 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0 and up to a 12/0, which is the largest big-game hook. The sea range starts at around size 8 6 4 2 and gets bigger down to a size 1. Sizes 24, 22, 20 descending are the tiniest freshwater fishing size. The addition of a slash and zero, /0, to the larger hook sizes could lead to confusion. The higher the hook size number means the smaller the hook. UNDERSTAND HOOK SIZES Remember, large numbers mean small hooks Mine is that Japanese/ American hooks are mostly the best with my favourite makes including Kamasan and Owner. What are the best makes? Ask any angler and he will have an opinion. Thankfully in recent years several of the major hook brand ranges have been consolidated, with around six patterns reckoned to cover most sea angling options. Some are for a particular species, some for a particular bait, some are known by their shape, the name of the designer or place they came from, and others are a pattern designed by the professional fisherman. Several lifetimes of anglers – whether coarse, game, sea or commercial – have produced hundreds of hook designs and patterns. There are so many hook patterns available because we are not all the same and anglers have personal preferences, and it’s a human trait to have an individual opinion on everything, especially fishing gear. Don’t believe me? Try this simple hook test – will your hook point dig into your thumbnail when you draw the point over it? A chemically etched hook will dig in every time and if yours don’t, bin them and get down the tackle dealers. So rule number one is to use only chemically etched hooks because they are so much sharper than any others. The chemical coating process keeps the hook as sharp as when it was first produced. One of the reasons hook points are sharper is because the old tumbling process actually dulled the vital point area. This led to today’s term of ‘chemical sharpening’ or ‘chemical etching’ because the result is a far sharper hook point. The big breakthrough in hook making came when a chemical process, like the way coins are coated, was introduced, instead of the old method of tumbling hooks in a vat of enamel to coat them. There are plenty of other just as silly reasons why a particular hook pattern gains favour and there are also lots of sea anglers using hook patterns that should have stayed in the Ark. Why do you choose a particular pattern or size of hook? Is it the one your dealer sells the most of, is it the cheapest, are you a sucker for the adverts or does your mate use it?
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