Bay snapp pulls first hook straight

[ddobson]

Popped out for a bit on late dusk Saturday with a bit of burly tagging along to see if i could bring the biggens to the boat to save me a little time trying to find them and had my first big thumper take of and pull a TT 3/4 jig head straight, after it felt well and truly set. I have been getting heaps of tackers up to 45cm for weeks and no big hits until then. I know the big ones are well and truly here but changing rods over the drop off as it goes deeper certainely is tricky with the big boys in the shallow every now and then. I pulled the 82cm on a large bozo jighead and now i know how close i was to loosing it as i used 1/8 th TT before then and would have lost it in seconds. Its all trial and error and fun learning. Cheers all snapper hunters.

[SummerTrance]

Unlucky mate. Of all the stories ive heard of straightened hooks lately, its always been TT's. Ive only ever used Nitro's and never had any drama's with them.

Better luck next time.

[Bennywise]

Unlucky mate. Of all the stories ive heard of straightened hooks lately, its always been TT's. Ive only ever used Nitro's and never had any drama's with them.

Better luck next time.

Same here, I use to use TT's, but only use nitro owners now... My trebles are owners as well

[3rd degree]

Are you using the HD's?

Cheers

Jim

[Poodroo]

Bad luck and believe me when I say "I know how you must feel!" Something to know about TT is that they have been using Mustad hooks as well as a cheaper alternative for a while now. The Mustad hooks straighten out with big fish very easily. I use mostly home made jigheads now which Scalem and I make because there is no hook better than the Gamakatsu Finesse strong wire hooks which we use in our jigheads. They do not bend. All I need to do is sort out my flurocarbon leader breaking under the strain of late. ::)

Poodroo

[whatscracken]

Wheres the pics??

[For Steve]

Unlucky mate. I hope you have more luck next time. I'm sure you'll be connected to a big one again soon.

Do you think the the hook straightened due to drag pressure or the crushing of the fishes jaws?

Regards
Brad

[Trent Butler]

Guys,

TT Lures uses heavy and fine wire Gamakatsu hooks in their Tournament Series Jigheads. The fine wire hooks are sensational for hook penetration, but as a result, these gauge of hooks can not take as much pressure as the heavy wire hooks. The fine wire hooks are used in jighead sizes specific to bream, flathead and bass fishing and available in sizes up to 4/0.

The heavy wire hooks are used in situations when fish hit and pull harder. This is ideal for snapper/inshore/offshore situations as well as other species that hold tight to structure, eg Jacks in snags or bream in the racks.

This variety in hook strength and penetration gives the experienced angler the ability to match a jighead to the depth being fished and lure size used as well being able to use a fine gauge hook when the situation permits it.

The Head Hunter Extreme range of jigheads use the Mustad heavy gauge 60 degree jig hooks. These jig hooks have been tested to be stronger than the Gamakatsu heavy wire but are not as good as Gamakatsu for penetration.

In relation to straightening hooks, if the hook fails to penetrate to the bend of the hook, any hook on the market will straighten with sufficient force.

POODROO,

I don't know who your information source is, but i would sack him before you make a fool of yourself again. No other brands of hooks are used by TT Lures in their jigs other than Mustad and Gamakatsu. They are using the same Gamakatsu heavy wire hooks as you use in you home made jigs.

Cheers,

Trent

[jackextracter]

I have found when i use a ounce of lead the tt jig heads straighten and bend out of shape when on to big fish even the HD models i only use the nitro jig heads now there a bigger gauge hook and sharp.

[nuggstar]

yer mate im sold on the nitro owners as well but thats for stinken bream not snaps like you want. great read once again mate, you'l land that stonker next time.

[whatnow2]

nitros are crap compared to tt jigheads

[Poodroo]

Guys,

POODROO,

I don't know who your information source is, but i would sack him before you make a fool of yourself again. No other brands of hooks are used by TT Lures in their jigs other than Mustad and Gamakatsu. They are using the same Gamakatsu heavy wire hooks as you use in you home made jigs.

Cheers,

Trent

Firstly I have seen the TT jigheads that use the Mustad Aberdeen hooks and actually purchased and tried them and had them straighten out. They were purchased through an online tackle store who I will not mention and if you don't believe they exist have a look at this website.
http://www.ttlures.com.au/jig_heads_headhunters.php
They are a TT economy jighead. In my post I mentioned the Mustad hooks and in your thread you say that they use no other brands but Gamakatsu and Mustad so where exactly have I made a fool of myself? ::) I think you must have misread what I said somehow. Maybe I should have used a commer after "as well." It should read that TT are using Mustad as the cheaper alternative.

Something to know about TT is that they have been using Mustad hooks as well as a cheaper alternative

Back to you!


Poodroo

[hooknose]

tt,s are crap, my local hasn,t restocked them because of all the complaints - go the nitro,s and bozos !!!

[alleycat]

I find the berkley salt water pro as strong a hook as a person could want for salt water use.

[straddie]

I think the problem is a lot of people don;t know how to fish their own gear and prefer to blame gear rather than themselves.

A well set hook takes a lot of pressure to bend, so if you believe a well set hook bent then you are fishing too heavy a drag. Drags are supposed to be the weak point that gives line in your gear so nothing breaks.

The only other reasons hooks should bend is it didn't set and only the point penetrated in which case the hook will bend much more easily. Reasons are the hook may not have been sharp, or the line was too light to sink the hook into a hard mouth. Hence the problem usually comes a lot from guys fishing light for smaller snapper when a big boy happens along.

Test your gear guys to see what it can and can't do so you don't fish it in areas where it is likely to fail.

[Gagga08]

I've caught 50cm Snapper that have pull TT jigheads straight. TT's are rubbish. Needless to say I use nothing but nitro jigheads now. Far superior!

[Trent Butler]

PD,

My comments were based on exactly what you typed which to me indicated TT's where using the Mustads and a cheaper alternative. Anyway we are not going to achieve anything by discussing any further. All I can say is that I have been using TT's jighead to catch snapper in the bay for the last 8 years and yes you will at times lose fish to straighted hooks. But that is unfortunately the nature of the beast - you either pull hard and risk a straightened hook or fish normal drag pressure and hope the big guys don't get you on the bottom. In my experience you still lose almost all of the larger snapper hooked in the shallows, they are just to strong. I have also fished plenty of times with the Owner jighooks and found them to be topshelf for strength but tend to roll the point over much more easily than the GK's.

Gagga08,

Not sure how you are straighten hooks on 50cm fish, are you sure you have the HD version instead of the light gauge bass hooks?

Cheers

Trent

[whatnow2]

yeh straddie is right

all u other guys that blame tt are just dumbasses that dont know how to fish them properly

[For Steve]

yeh straddie is right

all u other guys that blame tt are just dumbasses that dont know how to fish them properly

Your 3rd post and you pull out a gem like that???

Welcome to Ausfish.

Brad

[Keechie]

TT's are bloody awesome hooks, i have never had a hook straighten on me. The only hooks that have bent for me are the squidgy ones, if you reckon the tt's are bad then what about these pieces of shit. I am not saying you are a bad fisherman but for your hook to straighten you must be fishing a locked drag on 30lb+ gear or you didn't sharpen you hook and it has not been penetrated through the mouth properly. don't be idiots and blame tt for poor quality hooks when look at the pro's they use them on bream right up to huge dogtooth tuna etc and they don't get straightened hooks.

regards,
keechie

[Poodroo]

For fear of being misquoted I will reword what I was trying to convey in my previous post. I was not saying that TT were using Gamakatsu, Mustad, and a cheaper alternative but rather they were using Mustad as the cheaper alternative. Hope this clarifies things. When I read the original post I can see how it may have been misunderstood. TT with the Gamakatsu hooks are great but the Mustad Aberdeen hooks that are also used will straighten out with a big snapper on the end.

Poodroo

[jackextracter]

yeh straddie is right

all u other guys that blame tt are just dumbasses that dont know how to fish them properly
yeah nice one mate::) ::)

What i was meaning when i said TTs straighten is I do alot of fishing up north for big fingermark and the country i fish is very un forgiving the only thing u can do to stop the fish is lock your drag up tight on the satiga 4500 and pray you can pull him out i was doing this with the tt jig head and every one was being bent out and making me lose fish it wasnt untill i started using Nitros as to when i started landing some big fish so yes Nitros in the 1 0unce size jigs are alot stronger then the tts and i have proven it from trial and error enough said.

[Leighton]

IMO it matters very little what hooks you use, if you dont hook a big Snap in the corner of the mouth it will crunch anything.
I have had both TT and Nitro straightened in the heavy guage

[Scalem]

It's all very much a balancing act and understanding the limitations of the gear you are using/ style of fishing you are doing. The type of Jig head you use is only one small ingredient to to puzzle, but cops all the blame if it fails when all the other things have held together under extreeme load.

If you contantly get bent hooks, then perhaps your rod, amounst other things, is too heavily rated for the style of fishing you are doing. If there is limited shock absorbancy in your rod, and you are using braid ( again, less shock absorbancy compared to mono) and you high stick in the battle with your fish, and you have short leader material, and you have poorly performing drag in your reel, then I'd say it is curtains for a light guage hook and a HW hook should always be used.

If you have no alternative to using heavy rods/line/tight drags because of the territory you are fishing, and the fish has a hard mouth,stay with heavier guage hooks.

Fishing Offshore, you don't have the luxury. Spend too long fighting a big fish on light guage hooks means the odds are not in your favour. Sharks or reefy bottom will make sure of the hook selection.

But I had a pro bream tournament contestant tell me that bream always respond better to light guage finewire hooks - In my limited bream fishing with plastics experience, I tend to agree, so lighter guage hooks would be my preference, so long as everything else is balanced accordingly.;) But in the context of this thread, which is bay snapps, the heavier the guage ( and therefore stronger) of hooks the better, snapper don't seem to mind.

Scalem

[ddobson]

Thanks for the tips boys. I have picked up a bunch of nitro jigs and see if my luck picks up. The large bozo jighead is a solid hook and my big fish magnet but i will find these nitro's just fine in mid water. Cheers guys.

[slyman]

My brother and I use both TT and nitro jigheads, and we have had both straighten on occassions, however, these were the thin gauge wire hooks. The quality of both brands is pretty good, and as already mentioned, its the balance you strike with your gear and how you fish them in the current conditions.

In defence of TT jigheads, I'll repost my picture of the jighead that caught me my pb snap, 1/8 2/0 light gauge. This was in open water 10mts depth and a good 100 off the reef of Peel, and a light drag setting with the rod in the holder. Yes I was lucky to land this fish, but then the conditions at the time allowed me to take my time. Had I been say 20 off the reef, it would have been all over quick smart. You cant see in the pic but the hook is also twisted off line, the barb no longer points back to the eye, but off to one side by a few degrees.

[wesley83]

i think they need jerry springer for ausfish funny shit,Good work on the 82cm snapper ddobson.. the snaps are slowly arriving this year, i havent been having much luck, only little ones around the islands..

[Mike Delisser]

I'd love to see some one do a fair-dinkum experiment with the same size TT's, Nitros, Bozzo's, Gamikatsu ect ect jigheads. Maybe suspend increasing weight off the bend of each jighead untill the hook bends. Certainly solve a few arguments.
Cheers
Mike

[matt fraser]

Well done on the big snapper ddobson, awesome fish!

As the designer of Nitro Jigheads, this is a very interesting thread.

Snapper are ruthless on hooks, particulary jighead hooks as they are generally hooked in the front (toothy/boney) part of the mouth. They dont tend to inhale plastics like Jewies for instance. So you need a very sharp hook, and also a very strong hook, as quite often there isn't a lot of penetration in that area. If a hook is able to be sunk to the bend - it can take a lot of strain, but if has only just past the barb, then it can be easily opened.

Snapper also have a habit of crushing hooks - I've had then sent back to me in also sorts of shapes. The crushing power of a snapper's jaws is awesome!

When it comes to choosing jigheads for snapper, you've firstly got to look at the line and leader you are using and then decide on what strength of hook you need. Guys in the bay mostly use 8 - 15lb line and about the same leader depending on water clarity. Offshore you would double that - plus! Depending on depth/clarity.

It can be a trade off between going too heavy and not getting the bites, or going too light and getting smoked. Lighter lines means lighter drag settings, less hooksetting pressure. Thats why guys in the bream comps use Gamakatsu light wires hooks almost exclusively (Best fine wire hook by far).

But for snapper stay away from Gamakatsu light wires and Mustad Aberdeens. Starting point would be Gamakatsu heavy wires. Then Mustad Heavy Duty Hooks and Owner Heavy Duty hooks.

There are many different brands of jigheads and the good ones have a wide range of jigheads build on a various hooks to suit specific applications. Which can be confusing - sorry! Next time you buy a pack of jigheads, make sure you check out the wire diameter!

We have had very good feedback on the Nitro Range, and the Saltwater Pro Series is very popular, because of the strength and sharpness of the Owner hook we use in it. The only complaints we have is that they are a bit long, and some people still want them stronger.

So, the next shipment hitting our shores soon will be built on the same owners, but they will be 12% shorter in the shank, and the wire diameter will be approximately 10% larger than the current wire.

For the offshore guys we will be increasing the range up to 5 Oz and 9/0 (big 9/0).

It will take some pretty serious snapper to mess them up!

Cheers,

Matt

[paul cooper]

i had a lot of trouble with black magic leader it is too soft what size braid are you guys using to straighten out hooks im using sure catch 23lb flouro leader and no more problems yet lol coop

[BC....]

Very well explained Matt

[Gagga08]

yeh straddie is right

all u other guys that blame tt are just dumbasses that dont know how to fish them properly

whatnow2. Why is it that I don't experience the same problems when I fish Nitro jigheads?

P.S We may be 'dumbasses' but at least we can spell and use correct grammar.

[snapperbasher]

all i'm going too say is we fish TT's all the time and as yet have not had one straighten we fish them on 20 / 30 lb gear and even on snags usually bust the line and not straighten hooks. I'm not sure whats going on here but i find it a bit strange. What line classes are you guys straightening hooks with?

Cheers Lochie

[snapperbasher]

Too add a bit more I just tetsed one of my tt's it was a 3/4 6/0 I hooked the point of the hook onto a sleeper and tied about 1 mtr of 60lb mono to the jig head then attached a set of scales to the end of the mono I then pulled until the hook straightened enough to pop out of the sleeper the scales read 7kg. This says to me you should not have any problems with these hooks as at 7kg the hook should have penetrated fully to the bend of the hook which would dramaticallly increase the pressure needed to straighten the hook enough to pull it out of a fishes mouth.I think you would be very unlucky for one of these hooks not too penetrate and therefore straighten at 7kg.Anyways just my 2 bucks but i wil continue to use TT's.

Cheers Lochie

P.S even after the hook pulled out of the sleeper it was not bent that much I think these figures are a minimum. I am still not sure even at that it would have straightened enough to pull free from a fish.

[Steven78]

ddobson Thats one good Snap :)

I have had TT's and Nitro fail before I use both brands depending on weigh and hook size. The only thing i have found with Nitros they seem to rust way to quickly the rust would be caused by the Iron content in the hooks. I have attached a pic of a of a TT jig that caught a 87 fish.

[matt fraser]

Lochie,

Good test, even fishing 30lb braid, its unlikely you would run 7kgs of drag.

I reckon sometimes the problem is that the hook is only partially set into the hard part of the snappers mouth, they then crunch down on it and open it up with jaw pressure.

I've actually caught good Brisbane river snapper up to 58cm on light wire Gamas - very lucky to get away with that! It just depends on where the hook goes in!

You guys are lucky not to have some sort of hook issue so far!

Steven,

To address the corrosion problem the New Nitro Saltwater Pros have a super tin finish - just like the Owner ST66 Trebles.

Shipment arrived and starting to filter out to shops!

Cheers,

Matt

[SummerTrance]

To address the corrosion problem the New Nitro Saltwater Pros have a super tin finish - just like the Owner ST66 Trebles.

Shipment arrived and starting to filter out to shops!


Just picked up a pack of these today. I was chasing 1/6 2/Os, but they only had the 1/Os so I got them instead. After getting them home and having a look, I think the new smaller hook size will be too small for the 5" jerk shads I usually run. They should be good for 3" & 4" plastics though. With the new smaller hook sizes, I think ill need 2/Os or larger for the 5" plastics.

[Steven78]

Thanks Matt i will keep my eye out for them. I might buy a few bulk packs

[coraltrout68]

Where can you get the Nitro's ? (I live at Victoria Point).

Fish Head have decided to go the TT's and I dont like them as much as the Nitro's.

[ThePinkPanther]

.............. and the GPS co-ords are??????

[SummerTrance]

Where can you get the Nitro's ? (I live at Victoria Point).

Fish Head have decided to go the TT's and I dont like them as much as the Nitro's.

All BCF's have them & Tackle Warehouse on Old Cleveland Road. :thumbup:

[Roo]

One of the things i preferred about the nitro's was the longer shank. looking forward to see some new ones when they get down my way!

Cheers Roo.

[ddobson]

Thanks to all who put in to the info we can all use. It curtainely has opened a few eyes and started a bit of a who uses what and what works better and the tips will help me. The jig i think may have only just hit the tip of his lip but he did run a long way before the sound of a ping and then slack on my 14 pound fire line and 20 pound leader and that hurt more than loosing him i think because it has been a quiet few weeks of pulling in tackers. I like all brands and will use most in different areas. I think all work with different ways of fishing but i use a normally looser drag on snapper until i am hooked while they are pecking at it with short runs until hooked and it drives my brother ad but it works and that was the only one i have lost in a long while. I think the burley running made the night more fiery and woke the reds up. Cheers to all that fish for snapper because i am hooked and will take a long time to wear of.