I finished up doing all my own reel maintenance many weeks ago, built a pair (or trio maybe?) of new Abu Mini-Toggers for next season's adventures, all the parts sourced right out of my own Abu parts inventory, and completed servicing all the reels that I took in from my regulars, other than one more batch that's coming in soon.
So, now it's all about reading online posts, catching up on my favorite YouTube channels, and cruising Ebay and Amazon for stuff that I really do not need, but kinda like enough to spend some coin on. In that vein, during my e-travels I came across some hooks that I want to give a good try-out this coming fluke season. They have a sharper bend than what I'm used to, sort of like the Matzuo hooks that I've always wanted to give a shot, but never have.
Found them on EBay, and at only $16 for 75 pcs of the 5/0 size, they are wildly less expensive than the Gamis that are widely "approved" by most guys using the larger GULP! grubs. Chinese-made (please get over it!), by a company called LuckyFising (!), and available on the Bay at Pardon Our Interruption... (ignore the weird link name, it is safe, it just means that the seller has lowered the price from the $17 I paid.
or at Amazon.com : luckyfishing hooks.
Anyway, take a look:
Here's a shot of the 5/0, between an equivalent-sized Gami above and my old favorite, the now-discontinued Mustad 3400BN below
Note the "crooked" bend, which I think might actually help with hook-ups when a "side-saddle - mouthed" fluke picks up the bait. Also, it features a "kirby-style" bend, meaning that the point is offset laterally from the shank. The Mustad does not utilize that feature, it's really more of a modified O'Shaunessy style. Closer view of the LF:
Regarding sharpness, fresh out of the box the Gami is the sharpest of the three. The new hook and the Mustad seem to be equally sharp. Since I only fish pre-tied B/S rigs, of which I carry at least 20 on the boat at any given time, and because I've always run a fine file over the point of the Mustads anyway (followed by a touch-up of the raw metal with a black sharpie marker), there'll be no change to that protocol with these new hooks.
As I am no advocate of Chinese metallurgy (a field to which I professionally vend instruments to inspect and test such matters) I gave one of these newbies the "garage destructive analysis" test. First I locked a Gami 5/0 in my shop vice at the bend, put a thin steel tube over the shank and applied upward pressure, until it bent out of shape. Then I repeated it with the LF (luckyfishing) version. Guess what? Same amount of pressure required to bend the metal. Conclusion? Meh, the LF hooks seem fine to me in this regard. How's that for a science-based test and conclusion?
O.K., so I'll be tying up a dozen or so B/S rigs for the coming season incorporating these new hooks and you can be sure that I'll post up what I find out. Believe me, I've got plenty of experience with the other two hooks to validate the results.
So, now it's all about reading online posts, catching up on my favorite YouTube channels, and cruising Ebay and Amazon for stuff that I really do not need, but kinda like enough to spend some coin on. In that vein, during my e-travels I came across some hooks that I want to give a good try-out this coming fluke season. They have a sharper bend than what I'm used to, sort of like the Matzuo hooks that I've always wanted to give a shot, but never have.
Found them on EBay, and at only $16 for 75 pcs of the 5/0 size, they are wildly less expensive than the Gamis that are widely "approved" by most guys using the larger GULP! grubs. Chinese-made (please get over it!), by a company called LuckyFising (!), and available on the Bay at Pardon Our Interruption... (ignore the weird link name, it is safe, it just means that the seller has lowered the price from the $17 I paid.
or at Amazon.com : luckyfishing hooks.
Anyway, take a look:
Here's a shot of the 5/0, between an equivalent-sized Gami above and my old favorite, the now-discontinued Mustad 3400BN below
Note the "crooked" bend, which I think might actually help with hook-ups when a "side-saddle - mouthed" fluke picks up the bait. Also, it features a "kirby-style" bend, meaning that the point is offset laterally from the shank. The Mustad does not utilize that feature, it's really more of a modified O'Shaunessy style. Closer view of the LF:
Regarding sharpness, fresh out of the box the Gami is the sharpest of the three. The new hook and the Mustad seem to be equally sharp. Since I only fish pre-tied B/S rigs, of which I carry at least 20 on the boat at any given time, and because I've always run a fine file over the point of the Mustads anyway (followed by a touch-up of the raw metal with a black sharpie marker), there'll be no change to that protocol with these new hooks.
As I am no advocate of Chinese metallurgy (a field to which I professionally vend instruments to inspect and test such matters) I gave one of these newbies the "garage destructive analysis" test. First I locked a Gami 5/0 in my shop vice at the bend, put a thin steel tube over the shank and applied upward pressure, until it bent out of shape. Then I repeated it with the LF (luckyfishing) version. Guess what? Same amount of pressure required to bend the metal. Conclusion? Meh, the LF hooks seem fine to me in this regard. How's that for a science-based test and conclusion?
O.K., so I'll be tying up a dozen or so B/S rigs for the coming season incorporating these new hooks and you can be sure that I'll post up what I find out. Believe me, I've got plenty of experience with the other two hooks to validate the results.
