Best Fishing Hooks for Beginners | A to Z Fishing Hook Guidelines

You can’t imagine fishing without your fishing hooks. It plays one of the most vital roles in your fishing. The hook determines whether that one big fish you want to catch will be in your inventory or not. We will have a deep look at fishing hooks today.

When you go to the market to buy hooks, you will be bombarded with different sizes, shapes, and colors of hooks. Even if you are a professional, it could feel quite intimidating to you. But worry not, my friend, we will guide you to find the right fishing hooks you need to catch that one big fish. Here we have got a complete fishing hook to guide for you.

Structure Of A Best Fish Hooks

Most of the fishing hooks out there have five parts. Such as the eye, the bend, the shank, the barb, and the point. Let’s explore each of them:

1. Eye

This is where you connect the fishing line. It works as a link between your hook and line. The siwash hook has an open section of its eye that enables you to connect the hook to a lure.

2. Shank

The shank works as the backbone of the hook, which provides most of the strength. It is the longest part of your hook. The circle hook has a comparatively short shank; on the other hand, the Aberdeen hooks come with very long shanks.

3. Bend

The sound of this word explains what it’s really about. It is the curved part of your hook, which provides the hook much of its necessary torque. A hook known as the circle hook comes with a twisted bend.

4. Point

The point is the ending portion of a hook. Without it, you can’t imagine catching a fish. This is the part that hooks the fish into your hook and makes sure the fish stays hooked under any circumstances. It works somewhat like a shark tooth.

5. Barb

The barb is what keeps your bait and fish strongly attached to the hook. This part could turn out to be a bit problematic at times because of its sticky design. Sometimes they might get stuck on your shirt or thumb. Though, not all the hooks out there come with a barb.

You will find barbless hooks that remove those sticking issues. But for a barbless hook, when it comes to keeping the fish attached to the hook during a fight would be a bit challenging.

There are also some other important terms of fishing hooks you should know. For instance, the hook gap means the distance between the point and shank and, the hook gauge means how thick the wire is. If it’s mentioned that the hook is offset. Then it refers to the point of your hook is not aligned to the shank of the hook.

Different Sizes of Fishing Hooks to Uses

The hook’s sizes don’t follow an exact universal standard. Different brands may produce different sizes of hooks. For instance, a size 6-hook from Eagle claw may not matches the size-6 from the Gamakatsu hook.

It’s like an L size shirt from a certain brand may not matches another L-sized shirt from another brand. Fishing hooks may not follow an exact size but, they are not exactly comparable.

When buying a fishing hook, you find sizes like 1, 4, 1/0, 6/0, and so on. What the heck is this all about? You need to keep in mind that in fishing hook, sizes /0″s is bigger than #’s. Another important thing, /0 is like “aught” but, it is pronounced as “ott.”

in /0’s – the higher the # the bigger the hook

in #’s – the higher the value of #, the smaller the hook

The size of the hook you use makes a big difference in your fishing performance. For instance, fish finds it hard to detect smaller hooks but easier to set. Besides that, the current doesn’t affect it much and, you can cast it much further. It’s also easier for any fish to gulp.

Types of Fishing Hooks

In this section, we will have a look at different types of fishing hooks and their characteristic.

1. Standard J-Hook

The design of the J-Hook is quite simple. It looks exactly like the word “J.” The hook is handy with many lures but excels all the way when it comes to cut bait or live. Its widely used with small minnows and worms.

2. Bait-Holder Hook

These are also falling into the category of J-Hooks but, it comes with a special-barb. These barbs help to stick your bait and keep it farm to the hook also provides you a quality hookup.

3. Siwash Hook

Siwash hooks are also J-hooks with an open eye. The eye stays around 80% closed. Their shapes can be adjusted by using pliers. These types of hooks work as a replacement for treble hooks; they are used on lures.

Single hooked lures have a wide range of uses and popularity among salmon and trout fishermen. In some regions, treble hooks are not allowed. You can use the siwash hook in such places.

4. Aberdeen Hook

You can easily recognize this hook by its long shanks. You will find a thin wire in these long-shanked j-hooks. They are also ideal for worms and small minnows. Aberdeen hooks are good at catching panfish or small-fishes.

5. Circle Hook

The appearance of the circle hook is quite attention-grabbing. It comes with a twisted point so that the hook can easily twist inside any fish’s mouth and make it’s firmly hooked. This type of hooks is good at catching fish.

6. Octopus Hook

The design of the octopus hooks appears to be a combination of circle and j-hooks. Yeah, they look almost like circle hooks. But, when it comes to set up, you have done it in j-hook style.

The look of this hook doesn’t give you the impression of a standard hook. They perform well for small baits and are proven to be quite strong. So, you can deal with powerful fish with a small mouth, such as salmon or carp, without any trouble.

7. King Kahle Hook

King Kahle hooks are usually super j-hooks. The baits will stay stuck pretty firmly because of the strange bend of this hook. The point remains exposed and, it won’t bear back into the bait. If you are into wreck fishing groups, then this one is an ideal choice for you. You got to set them like j-hooks.

8. Shiner Hook

Shine hook is the smaller design of a king Kahle hook. They perform well when it comes to catching largemouth bass and catfish with minnows, bluegills, and shiners.

9. Treble Hook

Treble hook is also a type of j-hook that has a single eye and shank. They are excellent at holding soft baits such as liver and salmon eggs on the hook. You can fit them on most of the fishing lures out there as they advance the ratio of the hookup.

One downside of this hook is they tend to snag up often. Also, they tend to damage fish’s mouth and, in some regions, they are banned.

10. Worm Hook

The worm hook comes with an indented neck placed right after its eye. This type is ideal for salamanders, worms, and crayfish and, they are a good fit for plastic worms. You will need a hard hookset with this hook.

FAQs

1. What the Color of a Hook Means?

You will find different types of colors when buying a hook, such as red, blue, bronze, and gold. Red-hooks are widely used for trout. Like this, each color of the hook identifies its purpose but, I highly rely on bronze and black hooks.

2. What Type of Hook is For Me?

The price of a fishing hook determines its quality. You know there’s a saying, “you get what you pay for.” Good hooks usually come with a sharp quality point. Fishing hook brands such as Owner, Gamakatsu, and Mustad are widely popular around the world for their quality products.

They will cost you a few extra bucks but, it’s worth it. If you are not really into serious fishing, just looking for some fun, then you may go for the cheaper ones; they aren’t that bad.

But if you are planning to go for big fishes like pike, salmon, and catfish, then the quality hook is a must. Hooks play a much bigger role in your success in fishing than reels and rods. Even they are much more significant than a fishing line.

Final Words

Fishing is such a pleasing and thrilling activity. Many people choose this activity in their vacations. Some are just looking for a good time and, some are into competitive fishing. If you are into serious fishing, then getting a quality hook is a must.

Some people out there blame their luck for not being able to catch fish. But trust me when I say, in many cases, it’s the wrong fishing hook that keeping them away from catching the fish. We hope after reading out the complete fishing hooks guide, everything is clear to you now. We wish you happy fishing. See you soon, buddy.