red hooks seem to spook in clear h20

[weedangler]

I recently fished at a friends small pond and you cou see the bass swimming. he was catching em like crazy on a watermelon seed superfluke, i was using same lure with red hook getting nothing. in clear water i think the red hook might have been to flashy.

[zman]

Maybe, good observation. I think most people use them in muddy water, but still there is no consensus if they work or not.

[southern_2]

they always work for me in clear water

[basshunter205]

I doubt it was the hook. Probably just weren't presenting the lure right. I dont believe they work that well in muddy water, as red doesnt show up worth crap in muddy water. most of my spinnerbaits have red hooks, and i honestly dont think it makes a difference in muddy water. However, i do think they have got me that extra reaction strike in clear water during tougher conditions. I usually rig my tubes with red hooks in clear water, sometimes flukes. I really do think it makes a difference when you're going for that one reaction bite.

[Bassin_Dude]

thats odd, usually for me, when going for a reaction bite, the bass dont even get a chance to look at it, they just hit it. when a reaction bite occurs, the bass arnt even hungry. sometimes they arnt to sure they even hit it untill they feel us pulling him in. so for me i could care less what the bait looks like, because that doesnt matter when a reaction bite occurs.

[basshunter205]

I think in clear water, just having them see the flash of red off the hook or see the red in the skirt can make the difference between a look and a strike. I agree, most of the time a reaction strike im throwing something loud and fast, trying to get it close to them so they strike it.

Bass have a built in instinct to kill things that are woudned. Even when not hungry, a bass will hit a wounded baitfish just to kill it. i really think that you can get them to react to a wounded pattern lure or something that moves likes its wounded in clear water over a regular lure that acts like a normal baitfish. just my .02

[Bassin_Dude]

ya, i see your point, the extra flash will help out.

[basshunter205]

i used to be in the middle as far as red hooks. I didnt have confidence in them, but i didnt totally reject the idea of them. what really changed my opinion was George Cochran talking about them at Bassmaster University. The way he described why he used them(from experiences working at a fish hatchery raising bass) just made me want to try it. After fishing some terrible days this spring when it got slow, i've really come to think that red can really make the difference. just a little thing you can do to increase bites on those bad days. i kinda see it like using flourocarbon on tough days, or downsizing lures on tougher days.

[Bassin_Dude]

ya, im not sold on the whole red hook shabang. i see it if for decades and centutries before red hooks were out people have been catching monsterous bass, and even the world record on regular hooks, i can to. i do have red hoooks on some of my spinnerbaits, but it really doesnt last long between me sharpening my hooks, and basic wear and tear from fishing.

[basshunter205]

yeah, the coating doesnt last very long, especially when you fish in the rocks. one of my strike king bleedig spinnerbaits is pretty much dead as far as red goes.

i dont think the red hooks make a difference unless for reaction strikes i dont think they look very real or unless your fishing really slow

[jason]

i personally think red hooks are garbage, just stick to the black gammy hooks.