For those of you that fish specifically for smallmouth - do you change out the hooks on your Whopper Plopper when in smallie waters?   I heard someone say to use the same hook size only thinner wire.  

 

Do you agree, is it necessary, and if so what specific brand, size, gauge, etc?

I have been doing very well with Whopper Ploppers for smallmouth. The river smallies I've been catching were pros at throwing my swim baits and inline spinners back at me every time they jumped. The only bait that seemed to keep them hooked up was the Whopper Plopper with the original hooks. I can't see any benefit to switching the factory hooks out. 

On the 90 size I fish it 100% stock, hooks and all. Never had an issue to speak of.

The hooks on the 110 are fine and seldom miss a hooked fish

The hooks aren't the worst on either size Plopper, but I almost always change out my hooks because bait companies can keep costs lower by putting middle of the road hooks on baits. On the 90 size Plopper, I use KVD Triple Grips- 1x Strong, 2x short, in sizes 2 or 1, and the 130 size lure in sizes 1 or 1/0. The biggest concern with smallmouth and a topwater bait is they tend to slap at them or crush it so hard, they miss the bait and have to come back for it, so you certainly don't want any hook flex and you need something that pins them once hooked, and the Triple Grip style of hook does that better than round bends, period. I used to be a round bend guy, using Gamakatsu, Owner, or Daiichi brands but over the last few years I've really been sold on the KVDs for several reasons. First, they simply hold fish once pinned better than round bends, they don't flex like round bends do, resulting in fewer pull-offs, and while they aren't the sharpest hook out of the package (they're still very sharp), they hold their point better than Gamakatsus, Owners, and Daiichi, even though all 3 are sharper out of the package than the KVDs but their points don't hold nearly as long. Also, a misconception and untruth regarding using round bends over EWG hooks is that when fish do slap at a bait, they snag a piece of the fish and EWGs don't, but that's not true at all. If you take your finger and gently...gently push on the top of a round bend hook, the hook swings away from you, resulting in less direct penetration, whereas, the same thing done with an EWG hooks yields a hook that doesn't swing away allowing it to get direct penetration. I swore I would never change from round bend hooks to EWG hooks, especially on my hard jerkbaits, but my hook to land ratio has gone up considerably on all of my treble hook baits. And they are cheaper than the other premium hook companies. Don't forget the importance of the correct rod, reel, and line for all treble hook presentations...

Get a 110. Hooks are upgraded for sure. 90s hooks are good but the 110 are better.

The hooks on the Whopper Plopper seem to be quite durable. I can vouch for that personally when I was clipping the barb off after I got hooked. It put a dent in the pliers!

If you change anything change the split rings on the hooks.  They may have fixed the issue but at one time they were weak.  I had one on a 90 break off with a 10" fish.

What are everyone's favorite Plopper size and color for smallmouth??

Size 90 in Perch pattern for Smallmouth and the 110 for Largies in Bone.

The stock trebles are probably OK, take a close at them though, a couple of mine had rolled hook points and a messed up barb right out of the package. I'm a little surprised everyone else seems to like the stock trebles, maybe I was just unlucky.

The stock hooks on my 90's seem to be great and I don't see the need to upgrade them at this point. They work well and stick when smallies are slapping at it.

I swap the stock hooks out for 2X EGW short shank Gamakatsu. They hold onto fish much better than the stock hooks do. 

I use the size 90 in Bone color. I haven't swapped out the hooks as they are super sharp and thin enough.

 

River Smallies love the Plopper!

 

I have been thinking of swapping the hooks on my 90s out to single hooks or just removing the belly hook altogether.  I fish the WP the most around dusk and I do not like messing with multiple trebles in general, but especially not in low light.  

 

I assume that so long as the lure still floats nose up, I can mess around with different hook sizes pretty freely?  

6 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I swap the stock hooks out for 2X EGW short shank Gamakatsu. They hold onto fish much better than the stock hooks do. 

I think I know where to find this but wondering if you have a link?  Also, do you use that size hook for both the 90, 110?  Thx

On 9/6/2017 at 7:30 AM, FryDog62 said:

I think I know where to find this but wondering if you have a link?  Also, do you use that size hook for both the 90, 110?  Thx

These for the 90's in #6

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_EWG_Treble_Short_Shank_2X_Magic_Eye_6pk/descpage-GETX.html

These for the 110's in #2

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-VMCTERMINAL.html?from=basres

21 hours ago, Bunnielab said:

I have been thinking of swapping the hooks on my 90s out to single hooks or just removing the belly hook altogether.  I fish the WP the most around dusk and I do not like messing with multiple trebles in general, but especially not in low light.  

 

I assume that so long as the lure still floats nose up, I can mess around with different hook sizes pretty freely?  

I had though about removing the tail hook or going to a single in the back.  All of the smallies that hit my 90 had the front hook in the mouth.  Most of them had the rear hook in the gills, spine or belly.  I always catch and release so I'm not a fan of the extra holes.  Hook removal would be much quicker as well.

36 minutes ago, IndianaOutdoors said:

I had though about removing the tail hook or going to a single in the back.  All of the smallies that hit my 90 had the front hook in the mouth.  Most of them had the rear hook in the gills, spine or belly.  I always catch and release so I'm not a fan of the extra holes.  Hook removal would be much quicker as well.

Huh, most of mine, which have all been LMBs, have been stuck on the rear treble.  Maybe I will try one each way and see.  

On 9/6/2017 at 11:22 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

These for the 90's in #6

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_EWG_Treble_Short_Shank_2X_Magic_Eye_6pk/descpage-GETX.html

These for the 110's in #2

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-VMCTERMINAL.html?from=basres

Hmmmm....Blue, you dropped down to a #6 from the stock #4? There must be a reason.....does the bait sit higher as a result?

What are the stock hooks on the Whopper Plopper?

 

 

Whatever they are they are super surper sharp and miss very few fish.