Gami vs Owner for mooching rigs

[WishinIwasfishin]

Is there really that big of a differance in these two for mooching rigs. Owner's are a heck of alot more $.
A FM salesman said many of the guides he knows are going away from the Owner Cutting point, becuase they can cut right through a "hot" fish's mouth. Anyone think they're worth the extra $, or believe that?

[Fish Hawg]

Next time you have a herring take an Owner Cuting point and stick through it. Then take a Gamakatsu of the same size and stick through it. The owner goes through alot easier.

IMO, I dont see how a hook can cut out [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img] , maybe pull out. The hook is made to cut through skin and bone. All of the presure should be on the round bend of the hook, not the tip. I will only use Owner cuting points. The only time I won't use cuting points is when drift fishing in rivers with a rocky bottom. I use Owner needle points then....Ross

[blacktail519]

I absolutelty love owner hooks, and use them for everything. Wont use anything else. I have owners that i have used the heck out of, and have never had to resharpen them. That is just my opinion. I have nothing bad to say about owners. Gami, I have hook sharpeners that have wore down to nothing from previous years of using other hooks [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img] . I am sold on owner :grin:

[Flatfish]

If you own a hook file, it does not matter.

Owners are sharper out of the box. But Gammies are easier to sharpen once dull( my experience with Owners is the tip will actually fold over. Making it tough to sharpen once dull) in comparison.

Both catch fish well enough that it would be tough to blame a failure on equipment.

Mark and the dog.

[Salmonator]

I'd really like to think that you made that up about the hook cutting through a fishes mouth rather than think a FM employee is really telling people that

Also the needle points in the pro packs are cheaper than the gamis almost every where you find both.

[ICHTHYDEMON]

I usually use Gamakatsus on my mooching leaders,because they're sharp and most stores sell Gamakatsu. My favorite hooks are Mustad fine wire Ultra points. The fine wire doesn't tear the bait up as bad,and they really penetrate well. I bought some Owner Cutting points off Ebay for cheap. I'm fishing the next few days,I'll tie up a few and see if I notice a difference.

[GOT2FISH]

Honest 6 of one Half dozen of the other. Both are great products, you'll find pepole on this site that will use one and not the other.Best thing to do is buy a small pack of each and find the one you like best.There are probly as many fish caught on one as the other. Myself I prefer the owner on steelhead and Gamis on salmon,and of all the steelhead I have caught i've never cut through one with an owner. The cutting point is not that big and I have a hard time buying the story they told you. GOOD LUCK

[HOGTIDE]

I am not trying to act like I am too good for the question, but in all honesty....check your hooks and keep them sharp and you will do just fine. Gamis are great. Owners are spectacular out of the box. But Lazer Sharps do equally well...keep everything sharp!

My wife and daughters buy me Owners as special Birthday & Christmas gifts. I use Gami siwashes on all of my plugs and wobblers....but maybe my most consistent success in landing ratios is on Lazer Sharp mooching rigs. Its all good...with a file!

[ 02-03-2004, 10:21 PM: Message edited by: HOGTIDE ]

[Pickles]

I switched to exclusively owner hooks last year at bouy 10 and my hook to landing ratio went way up. I don't think I missed a single fish once I switched from gami's to Owner.

[tag-a-long]

I only fish owner. I don't do the mooching rig, but my hook & catch ratio went up. I may be wasteful, but I don't sharpen my hooks. If they get dull, I toss them. I guess I just need someone to show mw how, and save a hundred bucks a year.

[ICHTHYDEMON]

I don't waste time sharpening dull hooks either. If a hook gets dull,it gets cut off and replaced.Hooks are the cheapest part of fishing,if I can't afford new hooks,I need a new pastime. :smile:

[snit]

For double hook set-ups, I've never had a gammi let me down.

One weekend last year I tried 50 lazer sharps, and while I liked the cheaper price and sharp point, I lost several fish until I discovered the batch I had purchased had a VERY ROUGH wire end, where the eye was formed. I lost several kings on breakoffs on 40# maxima until I figured out the problem.

I went back to gammi's the next 2 weekends and no problem. But I still miss/lose fish, so I had better find some owners to try. It sounds like if a fish gets close to the hook they're "hooked".

[Tyeebuster]

Haven't fished with owner hooks on mooching rigs. However, I have fished gami and mustad Ultra point and the mustad hook win hands down. This is for 2 resasons. If used barbless the mustad hooks hold the fish much better because o fthe "beaked" point. Second, they hold up much better in the salt water. Gami hooks lose thier point in a few hours of fishing in the salt whereas the mustad hooks stay sharp all day.

[Fishing Maniac]

I use both and also use Mustad 92553s. I always carry a file and will touch up my hooks if they become dull rather than replacing them. It really boils down keeping your hooks in the water for as long as possible. I would rather take 10 seconds to touch up my hook with a file then 2 minutes to replace the hook. If I feel the hook point has been filed down to much I will eventually replace it.

Tyee,
I've used Gamakatsu hooks in saltwater for many years and have never had them go dull from being in the water. For 15 years I lived right on the water in SE Alaska and fished 3 to 4 days a week, all year. I have some Gamis that I use for kokanee in fresh water that have caught well over 50 fish, with the exception of the red coating wearing off they are as sharp as when I took them out of the pack.

I also like Lazersharp and Owner hooks.

[IFISH4U]

Replace not sharpen, also I use Brads Hooks, they are also cheaper. 3.99, for 50, they are very sharp work well for myself and many friends now. Probably wouldnt us e them for mooching though. I use Gami`s or Lazers for that prefer the later because of a better bend for cut plugs. Only reason wouldnt use Brads is they only make them Red, I use silver for mooching.

[Steelerdan]

I tried the gami's mooching rig last year and found that the upper sliding hook would come loose and even fall off when fighting a fish they use dacron line to tie on the hook and it comes loose. I use gami's for other applications and like them. I also use owners and like them also. Just my $.02.

[IFISH4U]

Tying your own rig will work much better, and is fairly easy to learn, I tie them fixed for cut-plug and sliding for whole herring.

I agree with tying your own but have never liked slip rigs. I also tie my mooching rigs with two lines between the hooks.

[ 02-04-2004, 10:32 AM: Message edited by: Keta ]

[Tyeebuster]

Keta,

Maybe I had a bad batch of hooks. I use gami hooks in fresh water and have been happy with them. I use the siwash hooks exclusivly on my kwikfish and wobblers without complaint. I did notice that when they were used in salt water the points "burned off" or went dull very fast. The mustad hooks on the other hand kept thier points much longer.

The Gamis I was using had a gold color plating under the red coating. When salmon fishing I usualy replaced the hooks after catching a few fish. I always replaced the leader after catching a fish.

Mustad makes good hooks too, they just need to be touched with a file or stone. I use Mustad circle hooks and 10/0 octopus hooks for halibut.

[jaydee]

I've got another take on your question.
Consider this, mooching is a tidewater or ocean gig.
I, and most of the folks I fish with sharpen hooks religiously.
What happens when you touch up a (Gamakatsu, or Owner) hardened steel hooks, and put it in SW?
CORROSION... wherever you touch the hook with an abbrasive surface.
Now that hook point is not gonna slide home, the way its gonna new.
Don't get me wrong, both are good fish hooks out of the package. But money doesn't grow on trees. And most hooks loose sticky sharpness just being exposed to saltwater.
My way around this is Mustad SS hooks.
The softer stainless steel can be sharpened to a very fine point easily, and likewise, be touched up easily.
A pair of SS hooks can be used for many hours, with a little maitenance, for a long time.
And whenever you take a few seconds to touch up that point, you'll never have rust slowing the ability of the hook point sinking in. And they last virtually forever.
The beaks of those hooks can be easily manipulated (soft), and be very effective in my opinion. And their use, and purchase are monetarily sound, in that, these hooks can be used in SW again and again, even with SW use.
Those stainless mustad octopuses have, overall, a nice design with a moderate length beak, unlike the Eagle Claws.
SS hooks. Something to consider, in my opinion.

J.D.

I toss my salmon hooks when they are dull ($.50 each isn't enough to worry about) and have never liked to use stainless hooks on salmon. Most of my Tuna hooks are stanless though.

[WishinIwasfishin]

Thanks for all the advice. I wish I could say I made that up about the salesman from FM, but it's absolutely true. I hadn't seen him much before and I have gotten to recognize most of them at the Delta Park store. Thanks again, Great site

[finclipped]

Owners are expensive, but I don't go through that many hooks. I have also been known to buy left- over used owners from guides. They hold their point very well.

I used gama's for years and after sharpening them once or twice, the point began to give out. I notice the same thing with Owner, but they usually keep their point much longer before they need sharpening. They come sticky sharp out of the package. But, don't get me wrong, I could put a great edge on the gami's.

I haven't really noticed an increase in hook ups in one vs. the other.

[jaydee]

Originally posted by Keta:
I toss my salmon hooks when they are dull ($.50 each isn't enough to worry about) and have never liked to use stainless hooks on salmon. Most of my Tuna hooks are stanless though.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Keta, why not?
It takes just a few seconds to touch up (stainless)hooks, verses, the time it takes to make up a tandem-hooked leader (mooching rig) and to tie it on. (I know I'm just talking about seconds, and cents.)
And why don't you like to use stainless steel hooks for salmon in salwater?
Just curious.

J.D.

We often cut our leaders rather than boating a fish we were going to release. SS hooks won't corode and stay with the fish longer. Nothing wrong with SS hooks, like I said, my tuna gear is amlmost all stainless because I never intentionaly let a tuna get away.

[jaydee]

That's what I figured.
I usually troll with downriggers and artificials for salmon in the salt. I've considered switching over from stainlesses on my hootchies, but in my instance, barbless stainless hooks are best for me, since I release fish without boating them (over the side).
As far as tuna, we definately use stainless, both for our 'clones (trolling), and for live bait hooks (freelining live 'choves).

J.D.

[ 02-06-2004, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: jaydee ]

After using barbless hooks I will agree with you. I have a stick with a hook on it that I use to release salmon when I'm fishing on the Oregon Coast, we used barbed hooks in Alaska.

We cut loose many halibut in the 50"-75" range every year. We used plated 10/0 Mustad octopus hooks, tied into mooching rigs, with 100lb Jinki mono for butt.

[jaydee]

Hear ya 'bout the hook on a stick for releasing fish. The WDFW gives them away to the public with brochures on "selective fishing," that tells how to use them. My weapon of choice for that is a commercial style salmon "sticker" gaff.
Use it on everything, sturg-butts-salmon etc. (use light leaders for steel so never used the gaff to release them.)
Plus it works great as a tuna and keeper-size halibut gaff.
My prefered hali leader is 120lb with 9/0s, not stainless for the same reason you don't use 'em for salmon mooching. (Use artificials for Hali's exclusively, so circle don't apply.)

Good fishing.

J.D.

[ 02-07-2004, 08:24 PM: Message edited by: jaydee ]