Tail hook, up or down?

[tlapinski]

ok, does it matter to YOU? i see some people with the tail hook (siwash) pointing up, and some with it pointing down. i always have it point up. just always done it that way. Hab's needles come with the hook pointing down. i have yet to get a real good explaination from someone as to why they do one or the other.

[Backbeach Jake]

Up seems to snag bottom weed less for me

[Saltheart]

If its a surface plug , I think down , if its a bottom lure like a jig , up. I think it should face where the fish are coming from.

[BigFish]

Hook pointed down for some reason. That is just the way I put them on and hey, it works. Probably does not matter either way, the fish still puts the plug in their mouth.

[JohnR]

Good question!

[Joe]

Up - With a single tail hook as opposed to a treble. Bass seem to always take the treble up front.
I've been told that in the glory days of big fish many surfcasters thought that a big fish would foul-hook themselves with the rear treble and then get enough leverage (from flexing their bodies against the hook in their maw and the one in their body) to straighten both sets of trebles.
I don't know how one could prove that though, could be an assumption or a case of junk science.

[BigBo]

Up mostly. Same exp. as Salthearts.

[fishweewee]

Tail hook = down. I think the palate (roof of the mouth) of the fish is a little bonier so you likely have to work harder to stick the fish if the tail hook is pointing up. Just my $0.02.

-WW

[Fish On]

Goint "point" wee wee. However, if I could choose where to have a hook set I would choose the top of the mouth. Seems to be these hook are always well set and require significant pressure to remove. To me that means less chance to lose the fish, but I think you are right, getting the original set might be more difficult. Sharp hooks are the key here I would think.

[tlapinski]

well, since i posted this yesterday, i have been thinking about why/when i started using siwash tail hooks. i fish the CT river in the spring for stripers. i throw pencil poppers ALOT. i was catching many of my fish with the rear treble snagged in the eye, back, and all over, but not the mouth. as much as it was nice to be catching, i felt bad at how some of the fish came out of the battle. about 3 or 4 years ago, i tried putting a big siwash on the tail in place of the treble. i put it with the hook pointing up, because the bass would explode from underneath and often come right out of the water with the plug in their mouth. my thought was that the single hook pointing up would snag the fish less initially, but still allow to hook up as the fish came back down with the plug. it worked perfect. i would guess that my ratio of fish hooked to fish landed even got better as i usually had a much more solid hook penetration than before.

i then transferred this plan to my surface plugs, and just kind of kept doing what i had done with the pencil poppers as far as orientation. i have not felt like it has hindered my hook ups, but i have not done any sort of side-by-side comparisons. i just might have to do that now, though.

lastly, i use siwash on the tail of needlefish. i prefer the point up on my needles for one reason, less points to get hung up on rocks. even though i always have a treble on the belly hook, it is just one less hook to get caught on rocks.

so, has anyone ever compared there hook-up results with someone else fishing in the same way/area, but with an opposite hook set-up?

["uffah!!"]

I make my own fishing lures from old table ware, and I offfen use tribble hooks, but most of the time I use single hooks with the barbs crushed. Sometime they point up, sometime they point down, sometimes they point left and sometimes they point right.
I use them mostly for Bluefish! To a bluefish, I don't think it really matters, as long as it's shinny!

[Rappin Mikey]

Mr. Lapinski, I too fish the same area as you. However, I fish completely different. I caught a lot of decent fish down there this year, and I got a late start. PM me I'll tell you more.

[bloocrab]

I asked the Habster this question many moons ago...

"Why do you face the hook down?"

...his reply: "I just do".....


Go with your gut mr.lapinski - feel confident in the way your fishing - I'm not sure a test with opposing hooks is going to prove or disprove anything in this scenario. You'll get mixed results every time. My $.02 -

[Slipknot]

Forward.

[JHABS]

I FISH the HOOK down . And WHY because with a surface PLUG the HOOK in the DOWN position with the FISH hitting from under the PLUG it WILL hook easyer THAN a HOOK TURNED up.....WITH a HOOK turned up and a FISH hitting your PLUG the FISH would have to INHALE the HOOK TO GET HOOKED.........Just my .02 WHAT DO I KNOW..... J. HABS HAB'S CUSTOM PLUGS

[Notaro]

hmmm, this thread got me thinking. i replaced my 3/0 mustad teaser hook or siwash w/ bucktail on my 1/5 oz metal got-cha plug. i cut the treble out bec it was a hassle for me to dehook it from the blues. i wasnt paying attention to it and i got the hook up. my plug didnt have a split ring. so lucky me because this hook has an open eye. so i bended it. oh no, i think i might have made a mistake....

[bloocrab]

Originally posted by JHABS
...WITH a HOOK turned up and a FISH hitting your PLUG the FISH would have to INHALE the HOOK TO GET HOOKED...

Crabby Habby...when a fish strikes a plug, he normally dives down immediately afterwards so I wouldn't think he'd have to inhale the hook in order to get hooked...I still think it's hit or miss with the direction of the hook...but WHAT DO I KNOW....I'm not a custom plug builder, just a custom plug fisher

[fishweewee]

when you're rigging a crab for togging, is the hook up or down?

[Krispy]

My thought process was when you set the hook you pull up or away. With the hook facing up it sets into the roof of the mouth, facing down it may get pushed out w/o setting.
thats all BS conjecture on my part anyways, but im stickin with it

[bloocrab]

Originally posted by fishweewee
when you're rigging a crab for togging, is the hook up or down?

..it's inside out.

[fishweewee]

fine, just don't chop my wee wee off again.

[JHABS]

HEY BLOOO. NOT CRABBY. Thats what WORKS for ME and MY customers........TRY IT.....

[JHABS]

TREBLE HOOK on back of PLUG, IT faces in 3 DIRECTIONS, TO each HIS own. DO what WORKS for YOU........

[Strider]

Toby, tail hook (siwash) down on the surface plugs and pencils.
Been going with this set-up from the begining, seems to work for me. Interesting comment you had on the single hook "up" on the needles in rocky areas.......makes sense.

[Stewie]

Years ago I hooked a good size bluefish, after 5 minutes of give and take he was on the beach. The hook was up into the roof of his mouth and he was dead. I think the hook found his brain.I don't like the taste of bluefish so iv'e always put tailhooks down since see ya on the beach longshot

[Christian]

down for habs reason. i use trebs when fish are big, siwash for schoolies. i also think that siwash down keeps some plugs from rolling over and killin the action like some poppers do.

[tlapinski]

Originally posted by Christian
i use trebs when fish are big, siwash for schoolies.

why is this, christian? i have never had a siwash bend on a fish, but i have had fish demolish trebles. i have more confidence in a small siwash than a large treble. you get a better bite with a siwash, too.

[Christian]

trebs for big just so i know i have more of a chance of having more hooks in a bigger fish and giving me a better chance of landing it after a longer fight. the siwash for schoolies so i can do a quick release and get back to the action. ive never had a siwash bend, also i use the heavy vmc trebs, havent bent one yet either.