Big Trebles - Which is best!?

[Ben Rivers]

Guys,

For big lures - Poppers and Stickbaits - Which do people prefer and why?

Decoy GT Special 10/0 - Approx $12.50 Each
Gamakatsu Recorder 8/0 - Approx $8.50 Each
Owner ST-76 5/0 - Approx $4 Each
Shogun Extreme 10/0 - Approx $6 Each

Additionally, these appear to be the largest of each brand, how do they compare in size to each other?

Cheers Ben

[Mark Harris]

I have never used a Shogun Extreme of any size, so cannot comment on those.

The Decoys are an insane price, but as you might expect they are very good hooks.  Frankly though I am not going to regularly cast any lure with $25 of hooks on it.

Gamakatsu GT Recorders are also excellent hooks. There is something about the profile that seems to encourage a solid hook up. Whether that justifies the extra price tag compared to Owners is open to debate.  I have often found that they also corrode quite quickly, especially around the eye.

I user Owner ST66 5/0 and Owner ST76 5/0 as my regular GT lure hooks (or the same in 4/0 for smaller GT lures). Some of that has to do with cost but I would also say they are both very good hooks indeed. I remember a debate a while ago here where I think it was Brandon who put forward the argument that the thinner gauge of an ST66 actually encourages a deeper hookup, and if a big GT is going to straighten a hook, then it just will almost regardless of the gauge!  I took that on board and definitely use ST66 5/0 more than any other treble hook now.

[Brandon Khoo]

oh God, I hope you don't end up losing something huge because it straightens out a ST-66 one day! What I do is use two split rings which I believe helps reduce the number of incidences of the hooks being straightened. I use stickbaits a lot and I just don't feel that softer stickbait rods are that suitable for driving in a hook with a gauge like a Shogun. Those things are like bloody grappling hooks.

[Ben Rivers]

Does anyone have a selection of these hooks, and post up a pic to demonstrate the size variances, given a 5/0 is not a standard instrument of size etc.

[Mark Harris]

oh God, I hope you don't end up losing something huge because it straightens out a ST-66 one day! What I do is use two split rings which I believe helps reduce the number of incidences of the hooks being straightened. I use stickbaits a lot and I just don't feel that softer stickbait rods are that suitable for driving in a hook with a gauge like a Shogun. Those things are like bloody grappling hooks.

 . Don't worry Brandon.  The logic makes sense to me - it is easier to drive home a narrower gauged ST66 and thereby get a more secure hook up.

I do use ST76s or GT Recorders on really large sticks and poppers. But on a "standard" set up (eg a GT3 150 or a Gamma 160) then it is ST66 5/0.

Ben, I don't have any Decoys at the moment. Otherwise I would post that pic for you. Quite why manufacturers can't agree to a size scale for hooks is absolutely silly!  The variances are huge as you have already pointed out,.

[Christoffer Hansen]

Hey ben,
              I use the shoguns in sizes 7/0-10/0 and the owners in 5/0 and down. My reason for this is the smaller shoguns points are turned in too far IMO and I don't think the gape is large enough for the jaws of the fish I'm always hoping to catch! The 10/0 shoguns are a very large hook and probaly could be used to anchor your boat to the reef if need be. I only use them on lures over 300mm n 200g. Even a hammerhead Icup cast and works better with 8/0 and there's plenty of hook exposure.
        Chris

[Scott Stonex]

I use 5/0 ST76 and Shogun 10/0
William had a 5/0 ST66 straighten on a 30kg GT on our trip to Tonga 3 weeks ago, with a little luck GT was landed.

[Graham Scott]

I think the most important point is what the lure works best with. I have straightened a few ST66 5/0's but when I went up to ST 76 the action was affected on many lures so I am back to ST66 generally and 76 on a few bigger ones

 For example a 140 ebi pop doesn't really get its head out of water with 2 ST76's so doesn't really POP, and 1 of my favourite stickbaits went from a floater to a sinker just changing from ST66 to ST76, so what? well I kept getting hit on this stickbait on the pause just as its head poked up through the surface, never got a looker as a subsurface stickbait.

Better to hook a fish and lose it than never hook one at all, after all isn't the strike the best part....after that its just hard work.

The best fun is telling lies to fish

[Chris Webster]

I like ST-76 4/0 and 5/0 personally.
I guess if i was throwing monster poppers i would use bigger but generally the owners are good for me.

[Mark Harris]

The best fun is telling lies to fish

Not for the first time, you just made me laugh Graham  .

[Ben Rivers]

When I say big lures, im talking - Ebipop 200, Orion 170, Dogtooth 150 etc.

[Antonino Augugliaro]

Some times should arrive something like this

this 160gamma, used by a friend of mine,  had 2 GTrecorder 5/0 (or 6/0? I don't remember well)... My be 2 GT attacked the lure in the same times. Whit a lot of fortune 1 GT has been landed, extimated on 35 kg.
After this experience I start fishing whit a short chugger whit only 1 ST76 5/0 stabilized by a blade on the rear and whit single hook for stick. Good hookup, no one problem of straightens after it. I love this game 'cause every time, every new trip, every new fish are new experiece...

[Mark Harris]

Trebles versus singles is a whole other debate and one we have had a "few" times already .  Of course large single hooks are must less likely to straighten than even the hugest trebles.

Ben, is Dogtooth 150 the Nomad branding for a Heru Wahoo 150? If so, that's not an especially large stickbait and I would use ST66 5/0.

If the Orion 170 you refer to is a Bigfoot (?) then they are dense lures and also not really big for their weight.

I use Ebipop 200's sometimes and usually rig them with ST76 5/0.

[Brandon Khoo]

yes, the Dogtooth is a 150 Wahoo in a different colour

Ben, is Dogtooth 150 the Nomad branding for a Heru Wahoo 150? If so, that's not an especially large stickbait and I would use ST66 5/0.

[Graham Scott]

The wahoo 150 is one  my favourites but sinks with a pair of st76 5/0s.A single 11/o back and centre was too light....a 76 on the back and a 66 on the cenre works as does 2/11s on the centre and 1/11 on the back.This lure has taught me a lot about weight.