Eagle Claw good brand?

[FishFearMe]

I am thinking about buying some pre painted jigs and the only way they come is with the eagle claw hooks. Is the a good brand or should I try and find some thing different.

[wigggler11]

one word....garbage

[spinner53]

NOT ONLY COULD YOU NOT GIVE THEM TO ME, BUT I'D NOT FISH RATHER THAN USE THEM. PHOOEEE ! [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]

[GOT2FISH]

Save your money time and dignity they STINK !!! [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]

[hot wire]

yeah, IN THE 80's!!!!

[Fish Hawg]

Dont wast your money. If you want just the jig with out the feathers. Mark @ First cast jigs sells a do it you self kit. IMO You will have the best jig out there. .....Ross

[Rakkasan]

Just one question. I am curious to see why Eagle claw hooks are so bad? I want to here why. I am speaking about all Eagle Claw Hooks. Thanks in adavnce :smile:

[ 03-04-2004, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: DSRods ]

[GOT2FISH]

I can only speak from my experiance,the wire of the hook is weak, they bend easy and I dont think there as sharp as some of the others. I have two in the garage that I caught fish on and they look like they were ran trough a garbage disposal. Both are bent almost in half. I cant speak about there regular hooks because I've never used them I'm just refering to there jig hooks.

[Knot in leader]

Look for something with gamakatsu hooks.If you are going to spend the time fishing you might as well hook something if it bites!!!

[Willow Drifter]

This is the way I look at it. You can hook a fish with a mid level rod and do well, you can hook a fish with a mid level reel and do well. With all the money you just saved on your mid level reel and mid level rod you can buy Owner hooks and be sure to hook and keep the fish. One thing I will never understand is when guys are out fishing with Loomis rods and cheap mustad or eagle claw hooks.

Hooks are not that expensive in the big picture of fishing expenses. I guess this is my long winded way of saying save the scrimping for other areas of your tackle and buy top quality hooks.

Talk with Mark at First Cast Jigs. He will hook you up.

Just my .02

[Hooker]

When I first started to fish for Salmon and Steelhead I used them. Heck...they're cheap! I can't tell you how many times I get a snag and came up with a broken hook. I've even broke them on larger fish. They must be made of a lower quality metal or something. I learned the hard way.
I won't use them anymore.

You get what you pay for when it comes to hooks.

[shalom]

I am surprized that so many people doin't like EAGLE CLAW HOOKS . I am an old timer and have never had a problem useing them . I have tried allmost ever new hook at one time or another .The only hook that i had a problem with was a GAMI . It broke at the bend . It was brittle . Doin;t get me wrong i am not bashing GAMI. I got over lose a nice fish and bringing in only the eye of the hook . I have used a lot of them since and had no problems . I like EAGLE CLAW HOOKS . I have abused them pulling BASS out of heavy cover and found them to be great . You can bend any hook if you buy the light weight hooks . They have a purpose and will penotrate easily . I use a lot of hooks that have a special purpose and they are not all EAGLE CLAW . I pick the one that will do the job for me in the many different situations that come up while i am fishing for SALMON , STEELHEAD STURGEON, BASS , WALLEYE, CRAPPIE , PEARCH , AND CATFISH. I have 5- different brands of hooks in my boat at all times each one has a purpose and i am prepaired for many different fish at all times . :smile:

Lazer Sharp hooks are a quality product.

[night stocker]

What Keta said.Lazer Sharps are quality.I think,though,you were talking about the jig hooks Fishfearme,so I don't know about those.

[YaHoeeFishOn]

I lost the Chinook of a life time on a broken Eagle Claw at Bouy 10 . It snapped half way down shank. I bought the black eagle claw 1/0 for steel heading and snaped a hook on steelhead. They have ever since laying in bottom of my fishing foot locker. I grew up on EC trout fishing with my dad but when I had a couple boxs let me down , I changed. I use Gami's , vmc , Mustad . I looked at some daihcue <sp> but they where too expensive.
I like hooks that are sharp , stay sharp , and can be sharpen . There's a trick to tempering, to britle they snap , to soft they bend.

[Hogback]

Lazer Sharp hooks are fine hooks and they are inexpensive. I have landed big Chinook using 6s,4s, and 2s while fishing steelhead on the Wilson. I used the bronze LS hooks for years and just this year changed over to Owner or Gami's. The only reason I changed was that I would forget to dry my pretied LS rigs and they would rust. I could have just bought the black LS's to cure the problem but I got a deal on the others. When it comes to jig hooks Owners are IMHO the best. The Eagle Claw bends easier and rusts if you don't dry your jigs after using them.
Randy

[James in Idaho]

I've been an EC fan for years, until I started steelhead fishing. Haven't broken any, but they don't seem to be very sharp out of the package. If you don't mind sharpening every one, I think they are ok. Yes, the last couple packs of Lazor sharp didn't impress me, in fact I threw all of my steelhead sized ones away and replaced everything with gamis. I still have a full box of 2/0 for salmon, I'll just sharpen them before I tye them up.

[Corkie Monster]

Give Oregon Tackle a call. They will make you jig heads with Owner hooks. I got 100 1/8th once Owner heads for $31. That's only $.31 each.


They don't have a web site but here is their phone # 503.777.4021


CM

[reeldick]

I have used about every name brand hook at one time or another over many years of fishing. I have straightened a few on fish but the only time I have broken a hook is taking it out of a fish while using pliars. Some are sharper than others when new from the factory but I make sure they ALL get touched up with a file before being used.

If the hook is bending on you then you may be using the wrong hook for the job at hand. All manufacturers make a long list of sizes and styles of hooks.

[choppers]

well, you guys are bashing my fav hooks. Lazer Sharp all the way. I like Gami and owners but you can't beat the price and srength for a size 2 hook on coho or size 1/0 on chinook drifting corky yarn in a small stream. Yes, they are duller than broom stick but two seconds on a file and your in business.

those eagle claw jig hooks are the same, give them a little bend outward like a siwash on a plug or spinner and bam you won't loose that fish either. Once their rusty thow it away just like any other hooks. I think it's hard to throw away a gami or owner jig head but that's why it's called terminal.

Happy hooking. hahaha.

[Flyguy]

Eagle Claw thumbs down, but the price is sometimes right.

[PharmDoc]

All the talent, expertise, and knowhow in the world won't save you if you don't pay attention to your weakest links. Perform this test. Take a few assorted Eagle Claw, Gam, and owner hooks out of the packages. Hold each one, one at a time, by their shank. While doing this, hold the point against your fingernail at about a 45 degree angle. Now allow the point to dig in a bit, or drag across the nail as the EC hook will. Now imagine the hook in the mouth of a Salmonid. If you're fishing bait, fine. The fish will almost always chomp on it for a bit, allowing you plenty of time to set the hook. This will also result in many attempts at swallowing the bait/hook. In this, the hook will usually find some nice soft tissue to dig into. Fine. BUT, if you fish anything other than bait from time to time, you need anything that will buy you time to set the hook. This means tacky sharp hooks that stay sharp. EC hooks are made from a softer steel than owner and Gam. This steel bends easily at the hook point. As for hooks breaking, there are exceptions to every rule. In trying to prove my point, I should note that in the hundreds of salmon/steelhead that I land each year, I haven't broken a hook off on a fish. Use the right sizes of hooks for the game you are pursuing. In summary, EC hooks are junk. But please, if you insist on fishing them, do so. It means more fish for me and my friends.

Last year I broke an 8/0 Gami on a fish. Hooks break

[Flyguy]

There hooks might not be worth much, but you can't go wrong with a classic bright yellow EC fishing rod.

[GOT2FISH]

I dont know about all there hooks I've seen some preety beefy ones I was just comenting on the JIG HOOKS. Dont want to slam the product line its just the jig hooks I dont like

[Rakkasan]

Gami, Owner are good hooks and I recently purchased some Gami's for tieing some nice jigs. I have been using Eagle Claw for years and years now. I have never broke an Eagle Claw. I have bent them getting snagged bobber fishing twice. Mind you that was a 5/0 or 6/0 with 80 pound Tuff Line and 40lb leader. What would you expect? I do know that Gami's break in the bend of the hoof instead of bend. I would rather have a hook bend than break. Lazer sharps are sharp, but not as sharp as a Gami or a Owner. They are as sharp once you put a nice diamond dist coated hook file to them. One thing I have found that if you dull a Eagle Claw they are much easier to sharpen. Gami's are a pain in the *s* to sharpen. I am sticking to Eagle Claw for drift fishing because I go through a lot of leaders from wear or snags. They will hook just as many fish as any hook if you take the time to sharpen them. I am not lazy when it comes to checking my hook and putting an edge on it before using it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I have heard Gami's are heat treated or acid treted somehow to harden the steel on the hook hence keeping the tip sharper for a longer time?

[spinner fisher]

Light wire eagle claw hooks are not for heavy fish, heavy wire eagle claw hooks are just fine, I have been using them for 2 years now and have yet to open one on a fish. I have landed one 21# winter run and a 15# summer run both on the 2X heavy eagle claw jig hooks in the las year. I was even using a braided line when I got the beasts. Owner and Gammi's are both better hooks, but you will pay more and find them harder to sharpen.

[Private-Aye-Fish]

I grew up with Eagle Claw and caught my last several Steelies on an Old 8 12'Eagle Claw Denco II using a Mitchell 300 and Eagleclaw hooks.

Don't get me wrong I like a lot of brands but Eagleclaw hooks have never let me down. I usually find the blame is mine when something goes wrong.

[Twitchs_Tackle]

In regards to jig hooks, I'd jsut as soon throw the hooks in the water as try to fish with them. I have a few EC in the heavy wire O'Shaughnessy style that have handled a fish, maybe two, but the minute I tried to put the coals to a fish to keep it from going somewhere where I didn't want it...the hook would bend. THey woould work o.k. with my soft noddle rods, but if I used them with a stiff rod on a hot fish, they would very frequently bend. Since I never know what kind of fish I'm going to get into (bright, big, dark, small, etc.) I prefer to go 'loaded for bear' and use strictly Owners. I have never had a problem with them so far. If it takes an extra $.15 per hook to take my worries away the minute a hoss hits... then I'll gladly pay it. No Eagle Claws in my boxes anymore.

[bronc]

I slide green fish up on the bank , an he was slaming his head against the ground an the hook broke right in the bend an he slide back in water, to fight another day ,it was a gami hook , i have always used eagle claws , mainly for centamint reasons,

[bucketmouth]

Used Eagle Claw for years with no problems. Today though I pretty much stick to Owner and Gami.

[Radke]

How does the saying go?

'It's a poor workman who blames his tools'

I've use EC hooks for years, done fine with them. I've used other brands as well, could find no benefit that justified the additional cost.

I've never had one break on me, I've always used the nickel (stainless steel) version.