Hook up ratio on sluggos

[american spirit]

I have minimal experience with sluggos. How necessary is it to do the double hook rig method sluggos? I got some fish on sluggos this week and all were near gut hooked. Do two hooks really matter if fish are inhaling these things? Also, less action with two hooks??

What's your experience?

[Clogston29]

steve probably has the most experience and hopefully he'll chime in, but I think that the rear hook is important, especially if you fish them relatively fast. it improves the action a bit. but more importantly I do find that I hook a pretty good percentage (around 25%) of my sluggo fish on the rear hook. the way I look at it, it can't hurt to have more hooks and you'll never know what you miss by not taking the time to rig them. why know, you may have missed a 50 the other night? probably not, but what if?

gut hooking them? never had that issue. were you fishing them really slow? the two hooks is probably less important when fishing them low and slow or with alot of pauses because the fish get a better shot at it.

[Mr. Sandman]

clog...nice avatar

[american spirit]

yeah, i fished em slow, with a twitch and pause. i let them drift a little in an outgoing current. i could see the hook, but i had to stick my hand way down fishes mouth to push the hook down and pull it out.

Originally Posted by Clogston29

gut hooking them? never had that issue. were you fishing them really slow? the two hooks is probably less important when fishing them low and slow or with alot of pauses because the fish get a better shot at it.

[JeffH]

I have used Sluggos fishing the Connecticut River spring run for well over 10 years. With moving current and the fish keying in on herring the hook-up ratio is high (70%) using just the hook that comes in the package. I also think reports of the inpackage hook being junk and prone to straightening is over stated as I have never had one straighten on fish into the high 30 lb range in heavy river current.

Funny as successful as I am with them in the spring I still dont use them much in the salt even with all the recent press regarding them.

[spinncognito]

Originally Posted by the_shocker

I have minimal experience with sluggos. How necessary is it to do the double hook rig method sluggos? I got some fish on sluggos this week and all were near gut hooked. Do two hooks really matter if fish are inhaling these things? Also, less action with two hooks??

What's your experience?

Are you using the 9" sluggo or a smaller version? I fish both single and two-hook rigged sluggos and the hook-up ratio is better with two hooks for obvious reasons. I do not notice any less action with two hooks but once I add the sluggo weights I find the action is affected. One thing for sure is that they are fish magnets and if fish are not hitting them, fish are simply not there. I have watched bass eat a sluggo that was simply laying on a submerged rock!

[MikeToole]

I only use two hooks on the 9" or larger. Even then I will often start with the single hook and switch to the double hook if I'm missing fish or when the fishing is slow. When the fish are agressive the second hook only gets in the way.

[american spirit]

[QUOTE=spinncognito;595217]Are you using the 9" sluggo or a smaller version?

I've been using the 9".

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by the_shocker

yeah, i fished em slow, with a twitch and pause. i let them drift a little in an outgoing current. i could see the hook, but i had to stick my hand way down fishes mouth to push the hook down and pull it out.

only one hook is needed when fished slow like that, either with or without a jighead

the 2 hooked rigged ones should be fished rapidly

[BassDawg]

only began fishing them last Fall, from Sept on................

most hook-ups were on the tail hook, and i've always rigged them
the way that Steve rigs them. after all, he invented the method and
i've always used his retrieve ~~to many successful nights in RI & MA.

was thinking of going with Hogy's line this year in a sort of comparison
experiment. you know sluggos (to find the fish), tie on a Hogy to see if El MoSax has a preference. last year i did that with blk 9" Sluggos and a blk med darter into the same white carpet and "hot" area.

no joy for the darter, went back to sluggos,
bite back AWWWN! that is one lethal lure, boyz..........!!!

[FishermanTim]

I rig my 9" Slug-gos the same way each time: 3/4 - 1.75 oz. jig head. Trim off about 1/4 inch of tip to allow it to seat up against the jig cleanly, or as cleanly as possible. (Add glue to hook shaft to keep lure from slipping.)

The main difference would be the retreive, and this also depends on the fish and what they are going for. Sometimes a steady retreive will entice a strike, other times jigging will do.

The are, and never will be any rules for fishing a lure other than putting it in the water!