Kokanee : Red Hooks vs Other Types

Fourteen · 11-29-2009, 11:20 AM

I have noticed on this board that many people run # 2 & 4 red hooks on their terminal gear for kokanee . Has anyone compared these to the other hooks on the market Re ; number of strikes . Does it really improve your catch rate ?

chukardave1 · 11-29-2009, 03:02 PM

I am not sure of the color issue as I have not tried to see if there is a difference in my gear with just hooks of different colors. I just picked up a couple different brands of dropshot hooks today in 2 and 4 sizes. I also picked up a very widemouth hook also, didn't have a name that I recall(ie octopus) Just looked like a hook I needed to try. None were red. Looking forward to giving them a whirl sometime.

Splash · 11-29-2009, 03:46 PM

I have not noticed any difference in hook color. A few years ago there was an STS article that mentioned red hooks and that might have influenced the buying decisions of some people for a while. My buying style now is to simply get my desired hook styles and brands at the best price available, regardless of color. I prefer the Gami drop shot in 2-4 and octopus in 4 tied double.

FallRiverGuy · 11-30-2009, 09:35 AM

I too have not noticed the red hook improvement. I used exclusively red hooks for many years and have begun to use black and red, and they both work fine.

SilverBullets · 11-30-2009, 10:37 AM

I use mainly red hooks...I figure if it works don't mess with it. I've never intentionally done any tests to compare different colored hooks. I have noticed though after a lure with red hooks gets thrashed by alot of fish the red wears off to expose the gold color underneth. The lure still preforms the same as before, so it might just be their attracted more to the color and action of the lure and could care less what color the hooks are.

nwsoftball · 11-30-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silver Bullets

I use mainly red hooks...I figure if it works don't mess with it. I've never intentionally done any tests to compare different colored hooks. I have noticed though after a lure with red hooks gets thrashed by alot of fish the red wears off to expose the gold color underneth. The lure still preforms the same as before, so it might just be their attracted more to the color and action of the lure and could care less what color the hooks are.

Ditto..

If the hook color makes the fisherman more confident, it will catch more fish!

FallRiverGuy · 11-30-2009, 03:05 PM

None of my jigs have red hooks and the fish bite the business end just fine...

Fourteen · 11-30-2009, 03:40 PM

Thanks for all the input !

dlm · 11-30-2009, 04:48 PM

I have not seen any difference in the success of one color over another either.

Having tied about 50 hook sets this weekend I am switching to Mustad drop shot hooks for my hoochies and tubes. On hoochies and tubes I like to use a stiff 12 pound line so the dodger action is transmitted to the hoochie/tube easier. I have found that snelling Gamakatsu hooks is almost impossible with this heavy of line due to the small round eye on the hooks and you need to pass the line through the eye twice. Mustad hook eyes are not exactly round and it is much easier to get two lines through the eye.

I still use Gamakatsu (or whatever I have) drop shot for the wedding rings and apex as I use a thinner flourocarbon line on I can get both through the eye well with the thinnner line.

Jedcraft · 12-01-2009, 05:20 AM

I've had days that we've gotten alot more bites using those pink coated gami's vs the chartreuse color. The plain red is my standard tho.

Aufish101 · 12-02-2009, 07:14 PM

I have used a lot of different color hooks on my jigs, red, black, silver, bronze and some that I colored myself(white, chartreuse, orange) and always find myself migrating back to the bronze hooks.

Aufish101

twisted lines · 12-02-2009, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aufish101

I have used a lot of different color hooks on my jigs, red, black, silver, bronze and some that I colored myself(white, chartreuse, orange) and always find myself migrating back to the bronze hooks.

Aufish101

Glad to see you migrating ....TL

sucker · 12-04-2009, 04:43 PM

I have used hooks of all different colors but they did not seem to make a difference to the kokes. I now use only Mustad ultra point hooks; the brown/bronze colored ones. I get more solid hookups with these hooks; do not know if it is the sharpness or shape. They also seem to hold their point better than most and are very stiff.

high desert · 12-07-2009, 08:14 AM

I have always used black and red for my kokanee hoochies and I had never really noticed a difference between the two until early in the kokanee season last year at LBC. We were trolling in the Metolius arm with dodgers and hoochies with mooching rigs and trying different colors at the depth we were marking fish. We were fishing two rods and the same depth. Things were really slow and we finally hit on a hoochie and dodger color combonation, with black hooks, that started catching fish just about every time we were marking fish. So I immediately switched the other rod to the exact same dodger and hoochie, except it had red hooks. We continued to catch fish on the one with black hooks and nothing on the one with red hooks. After the one with black hooks had caught 8 fish I finally switched the red hooks out for black and started catching fish on that set up at the same rate. I never thought it made any difference at all until that experience. For the remainder of last summer I experimented with red vs black in at other times and at other lakes but other than that one time I haven't noticed much of a difference.

HiTide · 12-09-2009, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by high desert

I have always used black and red for my kokanee hoochies and I had never really noticed a difference between the two until early in the kokanee season last year at LBC. We were trolling in the Metolius arm with dodgers and hoochies with mooching rigs and trying different colors at the depth we were marking fish. We were fishing two rods and the same depth. Things were really slow and we finally hit on a hoochie and dodger color combonation, with black hooks, that started catching fish just about every time we were marking fish. So I immediately switched the other rod to the exact same dodger and hoochie, except it had red hooks. We continued to catch fish on the one with black hooks and nothing on the one with red hooks. After the one with black hooks had caught 8 fish I finally switched the red hooks out for black and started catching fish on that set up at the same rate. I never thought it made any difference at all until that experience. For the remainder of last summer I experimented with red vs black in at other times and at other lakes but other than that one time I haven't noticed much of a difference.

Re black hooks: It might be of interest that black hooks are used almost exclusively at Port Alberni for sockeye. And often its a plain black hook behind dodger/flasher with no hoochie. I have tried this at Odell with some success. Also with glo hooks.

Keta · 12-13-2009, 07:31 AM

Red turns to grey at around 12' due to light penetration.

FallRiverGuy · 12-13-2009, 12:49 PM

jzell · 12-16-2009, 08:17 AM

Hook color has more appeal to the fisherman than the fish.

jz likes red.

Speaking of color...have you noticed you can't use color in your signature text... unless you're a sponsor.....or at least I can't use color.

jz

nwsoftball · 12-16-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jzell

Hook color has more appeal to the fisherman than the fish.

jz likes red.

Speaking of color...have you noticed you can't use color in your signature text... unless your a sponsor.....or at least I can't use color.

jz

I think that if the fisherman likes it, the fish will follow. Confidence in your setup does result in success!! (unless it doesn't and then the hook color doesn't matter at all)

My favorite hook color is sharp!!

HiTide · 12-16-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keta

Red turns to grey at around 12' due to light penetration.

I've read that red turns grey a little deeper like 25 ft. However, I consider that many times I have changed to a red lure clear down at 100 ft. to find that's what the kokes wanted. So, maybe the kokes eye sees differently or they distinguish different shades of grey. The fish aren't talking. But I think lure color is much more important than hook color.
And, just think, next yr with the two rod stamp how much more experimenting we can do. Overpriced; but I'm buying one.

Hoochieguy · 12-18-2009, 08:40 PM

Try Sickle Hooks. " Super sharp", choice of Red or Black. I use them on all of my hoochies. Funny bend but they hook and the fish seem to stay on better, less loss. Try 541-929-2440. He may still have some. Robbie

fishwithgary · 12-25-2009, 07:43 AM

True red will fade to gray in just a few feet of water. However a fluorescent red will still stay red all the way down the water column provided there is some light to act on it.
I have tested the gama red octopus hooks and they are fluorescent, so they will still be red down the water column. I have not tested other red hooks from other manufacturers.
A hook is a very tiny profile for a fish to see in any event. Even less of a profile in water with reduced clarity, and in water with reduced light penetration.

Gary