I caught a few fish on a northbar last weekend after the fling, nothing big. It was the first time i used it and rigged it myself with 4x 3/0 trebles. And when i went to snap it on this morning i noticed that one of the hooks broke off right at the shank. Apparently it happened last weekend. Has anyone else had this happen? I didnt hang up on the bottom, but did miss a few fish. I cant believe the fish broke the hook. I wish it was just bent then i would have a good souvenir and a story to go along with it.

One probably snuck through their Quality Control, most likely wasn't soldered right.

I I wish it was just bent then i would have a good souvenir and a story to go along with it.

like this rob? i got my butt handed to me wed night.....4/0

sorry for your loss Don, must have been fun though.

I have had instances with batches that I have cut to put on plugs and they break on me when I bend them back. Not all the time but seems there are batches that I get 3 or 4 that bust when I bend them back and then I will have 50 with no problem. Probably just a bad hook like I ran into once in a while.

Sorry bout the hook don. Nice plug. Its gotta be hard to do quality control on hooks when so many of em are popped outta the machine.

like this rob? i got my butt handed to me wed night.....4/0

Don, that is total heartbreak,,,, That happened to me last year on a VMC hook,,,,,

Drag to tight?

Something to think about...

A buddy of mine saved $8 on 100 """ VMC "" 4/0 hooks :err:

This was about 3 weeks ago.... he bought them on "flea-bay"

He was going to give me 20 of them for "replacements" but before they hit my box i cut 1 and the eye popped... i also broke the solder joint on another... I gave them back to him and told him to get his money back because they were not VMC hooks...

He got a reply back from the seller telling him that he needed to read the auction and it was "LIKE VMC HOOKS"... Chinese knock offs...

Seen this before. Thailandese, Chinese, 99.9% of what they put out is cheap crap to rip you off. Alot of this on Ebay. Even with every day products like batteries, razors, etc. Some of the counterfeits are so good that you can't tell the difference in the packages.

Even the vmc quality has not been very good in the last few years. Broken, missing barbs, bad points, misbent.

I wish Eagle Claw made saltwater grade treble hooks, it'd put these guys to shame. I think they make some of the best hooks in the industry.



Something to think about...

A buddy of mine saved $8 on 100 """ VMC "" 4/0 hooks :err:

This was about 3 weeks ago.... he bought them on "flea-bay"

He was going to give me 20 of them for "replacements" but before they hit my box i cut 1 and the eye popped... i also broke the solder joint on another... I gave them back to him and told him to get his money back because they were not VMC hooks...

He got a reply back from the seller telling him that he needed to read the auction and it was "LIKE VMC HOOKS"... Chinese knock offs...

Scotty, EC does. I bought 2 boxes of 4X 4/0 trebles 2 years ago. I cannot remember where but they were black not silver or nickle. I do remember that they were very expensive. Like more than $1.00 per hook. Hook number is L777G-4/0

I bought them on a lark as I wanted to put black hooks on some black metal lip Dannys I made.

That's the problem Paul they're not going to stand up to saltwater like the permasteel is.

Scotty, EC does. I bought 2 boxes of 4X 4/0 trebles 2 years ago. I cannot remember where but they were black not silver or nickle. I do remember that they were very expensive. Like more than $1.00 per hook. Hook number is L777G-4/0

I bought them on a lark as I wanted to put black hooks on some black metal lip Dannys I made.

That's the problem Paul they're not going to stand up to saltwater like the permasteel is.

I think it's time the Eagle Claw folks wake up and take notice ... there is a need ...

That's why I use 6x VMCs ;)

And EC makes a 4x saltwater finish L777 hook. Before VMCs were generally available, it was all I used. The finish holds up much better to corrosion than the VMC Perma-steel does. However, they are as dull as a butter knife out of the box, and they have longer shanks so they may not work as well as VMCs when used with a split ring.

Here you go--L777 trebles with the "Sea Guard" finish. Looks like they still make them. I'm pretty sre they came in sizes up to 5/0:

http://fishlazer.com/products/hooks.php?styleID=15&styleName=Treble

Sometimes you could compromise one by accidentally cutting partway through when fish-handling. I get these huge boxes with a 1000 or more VMC's and there is maybe one or two that are funky looking.

Shiite happens - they don't suck though.

I broke a 4x vmc a few weeks back and then found the piece on the boat when cleaning it at the end of the day. Thats my first one ever, but it does happen with every thing, as someone said quality control has got to be hard on hooks.

Don Ooouuch that must hurt, but im sure revenge will be yours.

Im wondering if something that is designed not to bend or give AT ALL makes it actually brittle? a little give is good... just thinking...

Im wondering if something that is designed not to bend or give AT ALL makes it actually brittle? a little give is good... just thinking...

You are absolutely right. Buildings in California have sway designed into them as a shock absorber for earthquakes.