[eyeFISH]

For trolling plastic baits and spinners what style do you recommend?
Up eye or straight eye?
Straight point or offset?

thanks......Mike

Been playing around with multiple styles, and they all work.

The brainiac in me says straight eye and offset point maximizes the chance of encountering an edge and gaining a solid purchase.

The science hasn't caught up with my pre-conceived bias, mainly due to inadequate sample size of each style... I just keep throwing it back out there if it's working.

The one aspect that is irrefutable is that if you stick one, the land rate is exceptional. Had so many rookie errors made in the past week, including fish tangled up in another line... TOTALLY slack lined.... and the fish still makes it into the net!

When it comes to keeping a fish pinned all the way to the net with a 360, a barbless circle trumps ANY J-hook. TROOF!

 

[eyeFISH]

 

[Kirkll]

"When it comes to keeping a fish pinned all the way to the net with a 360, a barbless circle trumps ANY J-hook. TROOF! "

I would think the hook up vs take downs would be less with the circle hooks. Did you find you had less hook ups using these? I can see how once the fish is hooked, that this could increase your chances of getting them to the net. Are they easy to unhook the fish in the net? Kirk

 

[eyeFISH]

"When it comes to keeping a fish pinned all the way to the net with a 360, a barbless circle trumps ANY J-hook. TROOF! "

I would think the hook up vs take downs would be less with the circle hooks. Did you find you had less hook ups using these? I can see how once the fish is hooked, that this could increase your chances of getting them to the net. Are they easy to unhook the fish in the net? Kirk

Getting a little lax in my old age re official stats, especially when the fish are coming in so fast and furious that there are 5 head down in the bleeder box and 1 in each net.

Yesterday landed a triple... one on a hangback bait hook and two on the hangback circle spinners.

I'll never tie up another spinner ANY other way.

 

[eyeFISH]

First timer on my boat… 2 for 2!

 

[eyeFISH]

Also... I do double solid ties, offset points and also a bend outward to offset the hook from the shank. You seem to be happy with one hook. Any further elaboration would be appreciated

When I first delved into the 360 game, I started by rigging my spinners with solid-tied doubles... playing around with the spacing between hooks. A buddy who came aboard got us going on tipping the top hook with chunks of cured prawns. What I found is that the fish were taking that top hook INTO the mouth more often than I like, resulting in a number of mortal bleeders. A-OK if everything that bites is bonkable, but if they ain't, it's NOT. Back to the drawing board.

I tied up my very first hangback circle hoochie spinner (that charteuse blue dot pictured in post # 141) for the first springer re-opener in 2021, but it never got bit... so no way to really determine how the hook would hold. Figured I'd give it a go with my proven spinner patterns this fall... BINGO! No turning back.

As for bending your J-hooks out to open the gap.... SERIOUS NO NO! You may get that point to stick a few more fish, but you SERIOUSLY compromise the ability of that hook to hold and maintain a secure purchase... FISH OFF! Re-curved points (toward the shank) are a MUST to optimize retention rates on barbless hooks.... TROOF!

 

[Wicked_Stix]

Definitely some nice looking spinners, Doc. What know did you use to loop your circle hooks on?

NV....I found the answer....simple Surgeon's Loop (post # 83).

 

[eyeFISH]

I would think the hook up vs take downs would be less with the circle hooks. Did you find you had less hook ups using these? I can see how once the fish is hooked, that this could increase your chances of getting them to the net. Are they easy to unhook the fish in the net? Kirk

The one day at B10 where 4 of 5 rods were trolling 360’s with hangback circle hoochie spinners, they went 10 for 14 (71.4%).

My rod straight out back went 3 for 7… one that rattled the rod, three that pulled drag for a fraction of a second, and three that were off to the races. The other 3 rods running them went 7 for 7. I believe rod position had everything to do with it as mine was in an attitude that produced the LEAST load before stripping line off the reel.

Once hooked 100% were destined to come to the net.

 

[Kirkll]

Is that a 5/0 hook there? Looks bigger than a 4/0. Good looking rig.

 

[eyeFISH]

Is that a 5/0 hook there? Looks bigger than a 4/0. Good looking rig.

6/0

 

[Kirkll]

6/0

I like the looks of those two beads spread apart with some kind of tubing instead of loading up on beads. That would lighten up that spinner a lot doing that……what material is that ? Kirk

 

[eyeFISH]

I like the looks of those two beads spread apart with some kind of tubing instead of loading up on beads. That would lighten up that spinner a lot doing that……what material is that ? Kirk

I use both straight beads and colored tubing. Tubing allows me to add some scent in the lumen without marring my blades or hoochies.

All the good colors seem to only be available in the softer tubing material with the white lumen, and the stuff is very susceptible to compression/crushing where the violent force of the aggression bite on spinners typically shoves the stopper bead(s) into the tubing. So I reinforce them with more rigid material... coffee straw, old plastic tubing, brake tubing... it all works.

 

[DogZilla15]

I’ve started using small Corkies on some of my stuff because they are lite and don’t react chemically with hoochies like most beads do. Tried something new on Sunday and that is to use a Spin-n-Glow in place of a blade. Did get one bite and I think it’ll be a real Silver killer when they come in.

 

[TanTastic84]

I've tied up a bunch with Smile Blades. I am not sure if they'll work the same as the 3.5 blades but they seem to look pretty.

I certainly poked my finger a couple times while tying them up so obviously they work on me.... ¯\(ツ)/¯

 

[Roady]

I’ve started using small Corkies on some of my stuff because they are lite and don’t react chemically with hoochies like most beads do. Tried something new on Sunday and that is to use a Spin-n-Glow in place of a blade. Did get one bite and I think it’ll be a real Silver killer when they come in.

I’ve been doing this the past four or five years. I can’t say that the SNG rigs have caught more fish than spinner blades, but they have caught fish. In fact, the rig on the left (Glow in the dark SNG) is a favorite of mine at dawn and dusk. It produced my fish yesterday at first light.

The coho really seemed to like the Green/chartreuse SNG, green/chartreuse hoochie combo the past couple of years.

 

[Roady]

Oh, forgot to mention…

For my bait rigs, (both SNGs and spinners) I really like running a 4/0 Gami Finesse Wide Gap for the top hook. A LOT easier to thread on a coonieshrimp. Then a BRB or recently a 4/0 or 5/0 Gami Circle for the hangback.

I’ve started tying my hoochie rigs (both SNG and spinners) with a single 5/0 Gami Circle hook. I’ve tied all of them this year with the surgeon’s loop like Doc has shown, but I have yet to hook up with a fish on them yet.

 

[DogZilla15]

I seem to get a better spin with the 2/0 wide gap on herring rigs. 4/0-5/0 for trailing hooks.

 

[Roady]

I should clarify, the 4/0 FWG hooks I’m only using with coonies. I will give the smaller ones a try for herring. I’m still very much in the learning phase of fishing herring.

 

[DogZilla15]

Despite all the new stuff everyone is using, herring never quit working.

 

[DogZilla15]

Here’s something I just now tied up. All I have is Steelhead color Spin-n-Glos. The stuff I have in the boat has lighter hoochies.