For the safety tubing that now comes on most plug hooks as part of the protective packaging I used to tug and pull at it with needlenose pliers. Now I've found that simply using your fingers to twist (spin) as you pull on the safety tubing allows it to easily come off the hook.

nose hair scissors...:)

or the small hobby scissors with a point... snip snip and your done..

i wrestled with those for the longest time.

glad to see im not the only one :)

Oh!!! Is that what their for? I thought they were to keep hooks clean. I just strike a little harder when I set the hook.