How To Choose The Right Size Hook For Soft Plastic Fishing Lures
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
How do you know which size hook to use for your soft plastic lures?
Do you pick a size at random?
Do you just go with whatever you have in your tackle box?
Or do you carefully plan it out?
Choosing the wrong size hook could cause you to miss strikes, or, even worse…
Get no strikes at all.
So in this video, I’m going to give you a simple rule of thumb to help you decide which size hook to use with your soft plastic fishing lures.
Check it out below.
How To Chose The Right Size Hook [VIDEO]
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Here’s the general rule I like to use when deciding what size hook to use with my soft plastics:
Match the hook size to the length of the bait.
Here are some examples:
3″ lure — 3/0 hook
4″ lure — 4/0 hook
5″ lure — 5/0 hook
One exception to this rule is if I’m using really tiny baits.
If I’m using a 2″ bait, I like to go with a 1/0 hook.
And as far as if a bait is not a whole number, I like to round down.
For instance, if I’m using a 3.5″ lure, I’ll use a 3/0 hook.
This rule of thumb is helpful because if you choose a hook that’s too small, a fish may bite a large part of the bait, but still not get hooked because the hook is just in a small portion of the front of the lure.
And if you choose a hook that’s too big, it may come out of the tail and cause your lure to have much less action, which can cause you to get fewer strikes.
Of course, this is just a general rule, there are definitely situations where I’ll choose a different size hook, but this tip will help you choose the right size hook next time you’re confused.
Conclusion
A simple rule of thumb to help you choose the right size hook to pair with your soft plastic lures is to choose the same size hook as your bait’s length in inches.
Have any questions about choosing the right size hook?
Do you have another way of selecting which size hook to use?
Let me know in the comments below.
And if you know someone who needs to see this tip, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
This might sound dumb, but when would you use a 3″ vs a 5″? Is it just a matter of I want to catch a bigger fish? How would you determine what size if appropriate for the environment? (I’m guessing I missed that class)
Hey Joseph!
Time of year will be the biggest factor. Bigger baits will work better later in the year (late summer into fall) because baitfish are also bigger that time of year. If I had to pick one size to throw all year it would be the 3 to 4 inch size. When in doubt, keep it small.
Hey Tony, What hooks were you using? It looks like the led is in two places on the hook and the led looked to be narrowed on the ends.
Hey Dale!
The black hook is a Mustad Grip Pin wighted hook and the other ones are ChinlockZ hooks. They work great for Zman baits for rigging compared to the twist lock hooks. The lead on the front of the hook acts as a keeper so the nose of the bait stays in place, and the lead in the middle is the weight. Man baits slide right over those weights.
Makes sense to me…….. Thanks
No problem Stuart!