The Best Hooks For Topwater Lures (That Are Safer & More Effective)
- By: Justin Ritchey
- on
In theory, treble hooks sound good.
More hooks give you more opportunities to hook into fish, right?
Well, I recently swapped out my treble hooks for single hooks on a topwater lure to see what would happen.
My biggest questions were:
- Is it easier to handle fish next to the boat with a third of the hooks?
- Will my hookup ratio go down?
- Is it safer for the fish?
See how it went in the video below!
The Best Hooks For Topwater Lures [VIDEO]
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I liked the single hooks a lot better than I thought I would!
And now, I’ve changed all of the hooks on my topwater lures to single hooks.
With four less hook points on my lure, it was easier to handle the fish once I got them next to my kayak.
Plus, it was safer for them — no extra hooks getting stuck in their gills or eyes.
But the two most surprising things were my hookup ratio and strength of connection.
My hookup ratio didn’t seem to be changed at all (which was my biggest fear).
And I actually seemed to get a stronger connection to the fish because there was just one hook going into their mouth.
With a treble hook, your connection is spread out between two or three hooks, so it’s less secure.
If you want to make the switch to try out some single inline hooks on your topwater lures, you can get the Owner 3X Single Inline Replacement Hooks from our shop here:
They come in the 3/0 size, which is perfect for larger topwater lures like the Rapala Skitter Walk in size 11.
Plus, they’re 3x strong, so you’ll have no problem landing 30-40″ redfish and snook.
Have any questions about using single inline replacement hooks for your topwaters?
Let me know down in the comments!
P.S. They’re also much safer for you — you’re much less likely to get a hook in the hand! Get the Owner 3X Single Inline Replacement Hooks here.
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I don’t know, I’ve went to the single inline hooks on my topwaters and several times already with big trout and reds, I have gotten them to hit hard and run with the lure even bowing up the rod and pulling drag, then the lure just pops out of their mouth. Not just once. Too many times. Do you have any explanation or tips? I want to use the single hooks, I really do, but I do not like losing fish that have the lure in their mouths and running.
Yes that does happen with other lures from time to time, but not as often as this has happened over and over with the Moon Walker, which comes with inline hooks. I thought it was the hooks it came with, so I changed to the Owner inline hooks. Same thing. I have lost 5 trout in the last 2 trips that went over 25″ and 2 reds that were over 30″. So I would like to know if I need to go back to the treble hooks. I am changing them out today before I go to the Laguna Madre tomorrow, I will try to remember to come back on here with any reports of better or same or worse.
In the meantime, anyone else had this problem, or am I alone?
thnanks for your time
Glen
What size hooks should I use with mirror lures? I have 2/0 on them but thinking those might be alittle to small
You’re right, Todd. The 2/0 Owner Single Inline Replacements are just a tad big for say a MirrOlure MirrOdine or MirrOminnow. But if you had a larger MirrOlure Plug (Suspending or Topwater) I would say the 2/0 is fine. If you are referring to the MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbaits, I personally like the #1 size hooks.
Definitely bought the hooks to eliminate the trebles. My question involves the the fish gripper used in the redfish mouth. I have heard not to use these because it harms fish? Any feedback ?
Good question! I really think its species specific. A Redfish is much hardier than a big Gator Trout, for example. Big Trout have a tendency to thrash around, even after the fight, and they risk injuring themselves if there was a fish gripper attached. And always supporting the belly of the fish is important when holding them up to the camera. Having a quality net would probably be a better alternative.
I noticed you had the remains of your leader on the Rapalo and it was tied with a cinch knot. Is that what you usually use on top waters? Thanks
I personally do, yes. Luke, Tony & the Team have produced a number of videos about using Loop Knots for their Topwater Lures here: https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/search/?wp_searchable_posts%5Bquery%5D=loop+knot+for+topwater
In terms of strength, a Uni knot offers a stronger connection. But in terms of action, I personally have not noticed a difference. But then again, I use a much softer/slower rod than most anglers, so the action I impart in lures might be different than what’s imparted with a traditional fast action rod.
Four or five years ago I was going to change my saltwater lures to inline hooks. I called Owner and asked them how to determine hook size for different lures………..none of them had an answer. MY QUESTION. How to you determine what size inline hooks to use on what size lures? I hope you have the answers. Thanks
Here’s a lesson about that: https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/articles/choose-right-size-inline-hooks-replace-treble-hooks/
Note: Different brands often have different sized hooks, so we always make sure to show charts in our tackle store to help with size selection as seen in this page for the Owner inline replacement hooks: https://fishstrong.com/collections/saltwater-hooks/products/owner-single-replacement-hooks?variant=32601346277461
Lure will walk better if you use a loop knot!
Noticed you tied your top-water with a cinch knot as opposed to a loop knot. How does the knot effect the actual presentation?
Personally, I haven’t noticed much difference between the two knots when it comes to throwing Topwater Lures. I’ve used both knots over the years, but because I prefer to use a slower action rod when using topwater lures, I don’t notice any difference with how wide a topwater lure zig-zags across the surface. In this instance, it’s the rod that’s helping to impart the action of the lure, not the knot itself. In other words, I haven’t found that a loop knot increases the action of a Topwater Lure for me personally. I’ve probably just become accustomed my rods over the years so I’m used to using a single Uni knot for my connections because it’s a stronger connection 🙂
I have never been a fan of treble hooks. Probably has something to do with all the times I managed to hook my fingers as a kid fishing with my Dad. As a result, I tend to shy away from the large collection of lures with treble hooks in the collection of tackle I inherited from Dad. Replacing those trebles with single hooks sounds like a great idea that I will be testing out. If nothing else, I will give me pleasure to use some of Dad’s old lures – he would have liked to see that.
Awesome to hear, Stu. Do it!
I have to disagree. I tried single hooks on a trip to fish the Zambezi River for Tiger Fish. My lures were hammered time and time again with the single hooks and no hook up. Probably 1 in 8 hooked up where as the treble hooks were probably 1 out of 3 hook ups. Yes maybe they are a very hard mouth difficult fish compared to a Redfish but the results on Tiger Fish were clear.
That’s true, Jim. When fishing for Big Yellowfin Tuna, I also would prefer to use Treble Hooks. But that’s only because I have intention to harvest those fish, so I don’t mind having a hook placement in dangerous parts of the fish. If I intend to Catch & Release, I will try to use Single Replacements as my alternative, since it will just make for an easier release boat side. Every species is a little different in terms of results 🙂
I started using these on the Rapala twitchbaits and really like the single inline hooks. Not only for all the reasons you’ve mentioned but also for those days where the floating grass is a pain . The inline hooks seem to work through the floating and suspended grass so much easier and with less fouling. Not saying you won’t still get grass on the hooks but it’s much less frequent. It seems to clear easier too by quickly snapping the bait, the single hooks shed the grass more often than trebles. Did the 3/0 strong hooks weigh the bait down any? Or change the action of the bait from the factory setup? Thanks.
Good points, Brian. It’s definitely not a “weedless” application, but it does prevent hooking those stray pieces of floating grass better than treble hooks. And not at all! I am able to impart the same action on my Topwater Lures with Single Replacements as I am the stock Treble Hooks they came with.