jigging hooks

[Cam Foley]

been using the owner ones but wondering if there are any better and do the ones with heat shrink on them work as good tend to use them when the kuta are around.

[Luke Wyrsta]

been using the owner ones but wondering if there are any better and do the ones with heat shrink on them work as good tend to use them when the kuta are around.

Hi mate,

The SJ-51 Cutting Point from Owner are pretty hard to beat.

I have also been using Decoy Cutlass JS-2 which i really like and am starting to use a lot with poppers & stickbaits.

The heat shrink serves no other purpose than to help secure the assist into position. It may serve some abrasion resistance but only very minimal.

[Cam Foley]

yeh write diddnt really like the heat shrink ones will check out the decoys thanks alot luke.

[Luke Wyrsta]

yeh write diddnt really like the heat shrink ones will check out the decoys thanks alot luke.

Obviously some hooks are pre-made with assists and heat shink - i wouldn't say that these are necessarily bad though. I'm simply saying that the heat shrink is just used to help secure the position of the assist on the hook shank and provide minimal abrasion resistance - provides little other purpose. Having said all this, i prefer to make all my jigging assist rigs and only occasionally use heat shrink tubing.

The only place i know where you can get big Decoys in Australia is from Neil at Jones's Tackle.

As i have mentioned before to others - heat shrink isn't essential - more of a 'nice to have'.

[Greg Burt]

Cam, the Decoys we got at Jones's Tackle where JS-1, I've used them on some bibless and deep divers. I put some on that Halco Crazy Deep in Mullet with holographic skin, It has hooked up three times out of four strikes [outfished pink chrome] and lost the lot, heaps of teeth marks around the middle hook. Might try them on a swivel or try a Jobu, but then again maybe the hook pulled on the 50lb braid

[Cam Foley]

are they the inline ones

[Greg Burt]

Yes, the JS-1 are the inline ones, i think the JS-2 is the same hook but normal eye.

[MarkR]

Shout Kudakos are nice jig hooks but the biggest they have are 7/0s...Kudakos need some sharpening though. Looking at the massive Varivas seriola hooks now, huge gape but gauge a little on the thin side.

Recently watched an AG video where a Fisherman siden 13/0 broke on a sambo...perhaps hook strength was compromised during the debarbing process, have witnessed a 9/0 SJ41 (debarbed) break on a Sambo too.

[Andrew Woodley-Page]

Spot on Luke, though the heat shrink serves to 'stiffen' the rig which helps reduce tangles when dropping the jig.

been using the owner ones but wondering if there are any better and do the ones with heat shrink on them work as good tend to use them when the kuta are around.

Hi mate,

The SJ-51 Cutting Point from Owner are pretty hard to beat.

I have also been using Decoy Cutlass JS-2 which i really like and am starting to use a lot with poppers & stickbaits.

The heat shrink serves no other purpose than to help secure the assist into position. It may serve some abrasion resistance but only very minimal.

[Neil]

Hmmm, stiff assists a good thing?
Most jap 'expert jiggers' don't seem to think so, just check out their rigs on the dvd's. Maybe it will prolong the life of the rig, other than that I haven't found any reason to go that way, in fact I think a soft rig will give you better hook up rates.
 Decoy Cutlass hooks in the appropriate sizes have proved bullet proof for me. These hooks have welded eyes so they fix one of the problems that is masked by the use of shrink. This problem happens when braid under load ends up in the hook eye of assist rigs. When lines cross a retrieved jig will often come up this way and it's much harder to untangle. Naturally, if your assist rigs are only being held together by shrink you'll still need it and a lot of jap rigs have spade eyed hooks so no problem there.

Neil

[Greg Burt]

 Neil, what Decoy Cutlass models do you use and is ther any more difference between JS-1 and JS-2 than just the eye, also what is their largest size ??
 While im asking, do you carry the Decoy spit rings and snaps?

[Andrew Woodley-Page]

Neil,
My bad, I should have elaborated.  I heatshrink only the connection of the cord and hook, effectively covering the knot and 1cm or so either side, not the whole assist cord length.  I like this 2-3cm section to be firm.

Andrew

Neil, what Decoy Cutlass models do you use and is ther any more difference between JS-1 and JS-2 than just the eye, also what is their largest size ??
 While im asking, do you carry the Decoy spit rings and snaps?

[Neil]

Cutlass JS-2 is a conventional hook, welded eye, in the bigger sizes and is good for making your own assists. Sergeant'N' JS-1 is a back shifted in line eye hook it is good for rigging onto those loops you see mid point on some jigs and is quite good for custom assists though I would choose Cutlass for assists. JS-1 is the best single hook lure hook I have used, either on minnow type lures or stickbaits. The hook up and retention rate is unbeatable, just make sure you have the right (big) sizes.

Neil

[Luke Wyrsta]

Cutlass JS-2 is a conventional hook, welded eye, in the bigger sizes and is good for making your own assists. Sergeant'N' JS-1 is a back shifted in line eye hook it is good for rigging onto those loops you see mid point on some jigs and is quite good for custom assists though I would choose Cutlass for assists. JS-1 is the best single hook lure hook I have used, either on minnow type lures or stickbaits. The hook up and retention rate is unbeatable, just make sure you have the right (big) sizes.

Neil

Hi Neil,

Can you help us understand what makes the JS-1 so good? Why is the retention and hookup rate increased from say the likes of the JS-2?

What sizes do the JS-1 go to?

Cheers,
Luke

[Neil]

JS-1 is an inline eye hook so it is orientated either hook point up or down (at the rear) when rigged directly to a split ring - it is a straight replacement for a treble hook (up or down point is up to you, mine are up, some run them down and do ok as well)
I don't see any advantage in a swivel rigged single hook, except maybe on heavy tackle YFT gear.
The hook up rate comes from the sharpness and the recurve design, which more efficiently uses the forces involved to drive the hook home. The size of the hook also, we are replacing 4/0 trebles with 8/0 Sergeants, and it's far better to have your 25kg mack-hoo-gt attached via a big hook than a small one.
When you look at the holding and hooking power of standard treble hooks fitted to most hard bodied bluewater lures it's a joke.
Now throw braid into the mix with it's ability to shred trebles and their hooksets and singles become mandatory.

Neil