Other Tackle

Hook, Line and Sinker—it's all the things you need for fishing besides a rod, reel and lures. And that's a lot of stuff.

Fish Hooks

The earliest known evidence of the fish hook dates back to Palestine more than 9,000 years ago. Over the centuries, hooks have been made of wood, animal and human bone, horn, shells, stone, bronze, and iron. Today, hooks are manufactured from either high-carbon steel, steel alloyed with Vanadium or stainless steel.

To find out what kind of hook works best for a particular kind of fish or fishing situation, talk to somebody at your local tackle shop. They'll usually describe a hook based on how a particular part of the hook is made.

Hook types can be named after the design of the point, barb, eye, shank, bend or size.

Fun Fact:

Forbes magazine has named the fishhook as one of the top twenty tools in the history of man.

Points

The point is the sharp end that penetrates the fish's mouth or flesh. The profile of the hook point and its length determine how well the point penetrates.

Point types can be used to describe a certain kind of hook. As in straight, kerbed (offset to the left), reversed (offset to the right), needle point, rolled-in, hollow, spear, beak, mini-barb, semi-dropped and knife-edge.

Barbs

The barb is the projection extending backwards from the point that keeps the fish from unhooking. The length of the barb determines how much pressure is required to penetrate the point and hold the fish on the hook. In other words, how deep you need to set the hook.

Barbless hooks make hook removal and fish release less stressful on the fish, especially if you're doing catch-and-release fishing.

Eyes

The eye is the part of the hook that's used to connect the hook to the line or lure. Hook eye design is usually optimized for strength, weight and/or presentation.

Eye types can be used to describe a certain kind of hook: ring or ball eye, brazed eye (the eye is fully closed), tapered eye (to reduce weight), looped eye (traditional on Atlantic salmon flies), needle eye and spade end (no eye at all, but a flattened area to allow attachment of the leader to the hook).

Hook eyes can also be positioned one of three ways on the shank—up-turned, down-turned, straight, ringed or lopped.

Bend, Shank and Shape

The bend and shank is that portion of the hook that connects the point and the eye. The shape of the hook shank can vary widely from merely straight to all sorts of curves, kinks, bends and offsets. And can contribute to better hook penetration, better fly imitations or better bait-holding ability.

Many hooks intended to hold dead or artificial baits have sliced shanks, which create barbs for better baiting holding ability.

Shank length can be used to describe a certain kind of hook, as in standard, extra long, 2XL, short, etc.

Shape names include Aberdeen, Sproat, Model Perfect, Limerick, Kirby, Carlisle, O'Shaughnessy, Pennell, Eagle Claw, Keel.

Size

Hook sizes are generally referred to by a number from the smallest (size 32) to the largest (size 19/0). For hook sizes from 32 to 1, the larger the number, the smaller the hook. For hook sizes from 1/0 (called a one aught) to 19/0, the larger the number the larger the hook.

Type and Names

In general, there are three types of hooks: bait-cast hooks, fly-cast hooks and bait and spin-cast lure hooks. But within these broad categories there are countless types of hooks for different species of fish and different fishing methods

Hooks can be named for their general purpose (bait-cast, fly-cast and bait and spin-cast lure hooks). They can also be named for one or more of their physical characteristics (point, barb, eye, bend, shank and size.) or for a particular species of fish.

Finally, hooks can be named for a combination of characteristics. Truth is, it can get a little confusing. So always ask for a translation.

Single, Double and Treble Hooks

Single hooks have a single eye, shank and point. But the eye, shank, point and bend characteristics can be combined to create hundreds of different hooks for different types of fish and fishing methods. Most sport fish are caught on some sort of single hook, whether it's a hook with bait attached, a hook attached to a lure or hook with a fly.

Double hooks have a single eye merged with two shanks and points. They're formed from a single piece of wire and may or may not have their shanks brazed together for strength. Double hooks are molded into some artificial lures and are a traditional hook for Atlantic salmon flies. Otherwise they're fairly uncommon.

Treble hooks have a single eye merged with three shanks and three evenly spaced points. They're formed by adding a single, eyeless hook to a double hook and brazing all three shanks together. Treble hooks are used on all sorts of artificial lures and for a variety of bait applications.

Typical Fly Hook Shapes and Names

Typical fly hook shapes include Sproat, Sneck, Limerick, Kendal, Viking, Captain Hamilton, Barleet, Swimming Nymph, Bend Back Model Perfect, Keel and Kink-shank.

There are two basic types of fly hooks. Dry and wet. Fly hooks are also named for insects they simulate (nymph, swimming nymph, scub, pupa, mayfly) or by traditional shapes (Sproat, Sneck, Limerick, Kendal, Viking, Captain Hamilton, Barleet, Bend Back, Model Perfect, Keel, and Kink-Shank.).

Fishing Line

Fishing line is available in a variety of weights. Most anglers use monofilament nylon. A good line weight to start with is 6- to 12-pound test. "Pound test" refers to the strength of the line. It's the amount of weight required to break the line. For example, 10-pound test lines are stronger than 4-pound test.

The trick is to match the pound test line to the size of your rod and reel, the kind of bait or lure you're using, and the species of fish you want to catch. And there, is the key to good fishing.

Using heavier line than necessary may reduce the number of bites or strikes you get because heavy line is more visible in water. And if your line is too light, a bigger fish can break it and take your whole rig.

A fly-fishing fly line is a fairly short length of line made of a plastic coating on a core that is often tapered to make fly casting easier. Backing line is a much longer length of monofilament line with one end attached to the end of the reel spool and the other end tied to the fly line. When you're playing a fish and you run out of fly line, the backing line comes into play.

Environmental Alert:

To protect wildlife and the environment, always take any discarded line with you when you leave. Discarded line can snag and harm wildlife and kill fish, turtles, frogs, birds and small mammals.

Sinkers

Sinkers range in size from split shot, the size of a BB, to weights of a pound or more. BB-size split shot to 1/4-ounce sinkers are most common. Sinkers allow you to cast your bait and help take it down to the bottom.

Bobbers and Floats

Bobbers are used to keep your bait at the depth you want it. They also help you to know when you have a strike. Use a bobber that's just large enough to keep your bait from dragging it under the water.

Floats, or pencil-style bobbers are more sensitive than round ones. So it's easier to tell if a fish is nibbling at your bait. Round bobbers are easier to cast.

Slip bobbers can be easily adjusted to allow you to fish at different depths. Their main advantage is that they are easy to cast. They come in both round and pencil styles.

Many bobbers attach to your fishing line with a spring clip and move up or down the line easily, depending on how deep you want to fish.

Leaders

A leader is a length of fishing line (or wire) tied between the end of the line and the lure or hook. Leaders provide extra strength or abrasion resistance from the mouth, teeth, scales, gill covers and tails of fish. It's easier for a fish to snap a single strand of line attached to the hook than it is to snap a line with a leader.

 

Snaps

Snaps are small devices similar to a safety pin or a dog lease snap, tied to the line and used for attachment and quick release of hooks, rigs and lures.

 

 

 

Swivels

This is a small device with two or more eyes (rings) and a central swiveling part. They're used between a lure or leader and your line to prevent line twisting or tangling from a revolving lure or a barrel-rolling fish.

 

 

Bait Spreader

Anglers use bait spreaders to separate a lure and a hook or to keep hooks from tangling when using two separate hooks in a rig.