What are some opinions on hooks and placement.4/0 seems like a good size to me and I was putting hookless bucktails on the ass.Some leave the middle off entirely and put a siwash on the ass.The iron man fills the whole shootin match with trebles.

i like a 3/0 on the front and a 4/0 on the rear as far as trebbles. I do this because it balances out the plug a bit and keeps its head up.
5/0 siwash on the kiester.

It really depends on the size of the body. Large I am gonna go with NEBE! Smaller like some I make I go with 2/0.:uhuh:

I can't remember too many bass that I've gotten on the ass hook ,but those toothy bastages are a different story.That's why I am considering going sans hook on the posterior.I picked up a lot of beachmaster dannies and the 4's look good but the Nebe suggestion warrants looking in to.Never want to go underprepared into battle cuz that 50 could be behind the next rock!:musc:

dangles, i love a good bloofish fight so thats why i use the 5/0 on my dannies, but if you just use a bucktail with no hook, it will improve the action greatly, especially if you are crawling it in super slowly..

Stainless screw eyes are perfect for tail dressings.. the threads really hold the material in place.

Medium Beachmasters for instance should only be fished with 2/0's and a 5/0 rear end dressed siwash.:uhuh:

Use the hooks like any other tool in ur arsenal.I have found the Beachmasters to be on the heavy side.to crawl em on top in flat water u will need 2/0's.bigger surf u could go bigger on the front.Same with trowin em in the breachways there are heavier hooks u can use also like the owners.on danny's wit 2 hooks i like no hook on the tail just dressing.To some this may seem like overkill.I got alot of lures i dress em accordingly an fish em as the situation dictates.Yea its good to be prepaired when mr.big comes along but how do u know he was there all along an decided not to take ur offering...

for the beachmaster dannys I'v always gone 3/0 in front w/ a dressed 5/0 siwashed in the rear,I'll have to try the 2/0 in front and see the difference.

Always crimp the barbs on the rear belly hook.

dangles, i love a good bloofish fight so thats why i use the 5/0 on my dannies, but if you just use a bucktail with no hook, it will improve the action greatly, especially if you are crawling it in super slowly..

Stainless screw eyes are perfect for tail dressings.. the threads really hold the material in place.

Nice tip... I NEVER thought of that...

for the beachmaster dannys I'v always gone 3/0 in front w/ a dressed 5/0 siwashed in the rear,I'll have to try the 2/0 in front and see the difference.


Yeah... like I've EVER seen you throw a plug...

I've been running a pair of 3/0's with #5 split rings on the belly of the Danny's I've been fishing for the past year or so and no tail hook, just a teaser back there. Works well enough for me.

I'll be running cut VMC's so I don't have to use the split ring this year but I'm going to stick with 3/0 except on one plug where I might try the 2/0.

I'm obviously in the minority on this... but I believe hook size/ weight as it effects plug- action, is an extremely over- rated issue! I believe that only on the smaller finess- type plastic plugs, and maybe with some of the smallest wooden plugs (ex. 1 oz. Dannys, Tattoos), does any beefed- up hook size within reason provide "too" much weight for optimal plug action. This is very over- rated a concern I find-- largely a myth! Furthermore, if you are using 4x VMC's as you should-- cut ones only are required on Dannys in particular, not just to save using a split ring... but because that extra swing distance of a split-ring-attached head Treble, on most Danny- type plugs results in lip- caught hooks & thus wasted casts when it happens. Direct- attached Trebles don't reach the lip! Finally-- VMC's of larger sizes, weigh way less than Mustad trebles of lesser sizes!

So: I really forget hook "weight" when deciding sizes of head trebles on plugs. Also, as a "large hunter" only, I'm always thinking strength first, "optimal" action second... So here's what I use: btw, all are head- hook suggestions. To me it goes without saying that 98% of plugs (except the very most outsized) should be fished with one head treble, no middle at all, and a rear single (or no rear hook, depending) (again, some will say heresy on much of this!):

--Large (3 oz) Gibbs Dannys: 4/0 open- eye Mustad 3x. The 4/0 cut VMC just seems too physically small to match this plug to me/ my eyes (with that "50" in mind)... the 5/0 VMC too big... and the 4/0 Mustad is the only Mustad 3x treble I trust! (the 4x 4/0 Mustad trebles are junk-- & expensive!) :poke:

--Medium (2 oz.) Dannys: 4/0 cut VMC (4x 'natch). (Second choice: another 3x 4/0 Mustad)

--Large Beachmaster/ other heavy/ duty Danny- types: 5/0 cut VMC (4x). Yes, 5/0! Large hook physically, true: but no way the weight affects these plugs' action at all negatively! At least by my field testing. Way more important to action, is the fishers' skill in retrieve...

-- Smallest/ 1 oz. Dannys/ Swimmers: 3/0 cut VMC 4/x

To discuss all other non- Danny- type plugs, & what (larger) hook patterns & sizes are workable would be a very lengthy discussion (& some think this too lengthy no doubt already! Some not...). But suffice to say, I go much bigger & "heavier" than most of my peers when it come to plug hook sizes at least on the head-- and can't think of one (largish/ wood esp.) plug that ever suffered action- wise as a result. Just leave off that middle treble, and go rear single or with Nebes' idea of a hookless tail- dressing... and your plugs' action will do just fine with a beefed- up head hook (that is, if fished properly)! And if you're about landing (& releasing!) large only like me-- you will be much more confident when something starts peeling drag off your reel like never before! (the moment we all live for!) :bc:

When Mr. Big starts running and turning and rubbing on the bottom I would feel much better with the middle hook on.

Hey, S.D.:

No one wants to lose large-- not even C & R guys like me!

Question is: which holds better?? An oversized single beefed- up head treble... or two smallish trebles?

I've decided it's option #1! Again, I know this is controversial... but don't knock it 'till you try it! :hidin:

I like mine to have 1 4/0 in the belly and a 6/0 in the tail... not two..
I take most 2 hook dannys and beef the front and remove the back belly hook...
then again I dont fish dannys all that often...

My two cents:

Sea Dangles - You don't really want that third treble if your worrying about keeping a fish hooked. Big bass, when hooked with multiple trebles, have a tendency to work the trebles against each other putting them under extreme stress and causing them to fail and straighten. Believe me - less trebles is better (but not under all applications - see below). Just look at the reason for developing the danny stubby needlefish. The pocket rocket was fitted with a single hook so as to counteract the basses ability to straighten trebles on traditional size needlefish.

Now - the advantage of fishing a plug with all three trebles attached is that you will miss very few strikes. Usually if a bass hits a plug with three trebles - you hook it. I generally don't fish a plug with three trebles EXCEPT for times when the bass are just nudging my two treble plugs and I can't hook them. Then I break out the three treble plugs: Atom Junior, old Gibbs Darters and 6 inch Bombers. But I do this fully knowing that if I hook a good fish there is a good chance I'll lose it to straightened trebles.

DZ