I've seen several mentions of the Trokar line by Eagle Claw. I have pretty much steered clear of all things Eagle Claw beacause of the bad experiences I had with their standard line of hooks. About the only thing I like about Eagle Claw is that they are made in the USA.

 

So, who likes Trokar hooks? Are they as good as Gamakatsu? 

they are a good hook.  They are a decently priced hook.  The thing to be mindful is that they are a cutting point so the edges are all sharp to cut a hole, not poke a hole, in a fish's mouth.  They tear up plastics a bit more because of that.  And when they cut a hole in a fish's mouth it is a bigger hole in my experience.

 

Gamakatsu have been my go to hook almost across the board for 30 years.  Bass hooks, fly tying hooks, trout/salmon fishing hooks, etc.  I've got a ton of confidence in them and they have never failed me.  

I fish a lot of the standard line of Eagle Claw hooks and I even catch a fish once in a while. The black platinum ones are good quality hooks for a great price. I don’t like anything about the Trokar line of hooks. They cut big holes in the fish’s mouth and dull very quickly

Thanks to you both. I won't like the sharp edges, so I probably won't try them.

I wasn't aware of the black platinum line, I'll have to look at those.

 

The hooks I used before were the bronze colored Lazer sharp hooks and they bent easily and rusted.

I’ve never been too crazy about Trokar hooks. They have always seemed to dull way too fast, and there’s too many better options at a better price point.
 

I do still have a stash of Lazer Sharp “.45 Auto” worm hooks that I won’t give up on. 

2 minutes ago, ElGuapo928 said:

I’ve never been too crazy about Trokar hooks. They have always seemed to dull way too fast, and there’s too many better options at a better price point.

 

This is how feel about them as well.  

 

They start out really sharp and then go dull quickly.  Also and might just be me, on small fish they stick pretty well but on a big fish they gash big holes that make them easy to pop off. I recall hooking a few fish and they were just being held by the pressure of the hook on the lip. Weird.  

 

I still have a few and use them from time to time but I'll stick with Ryugi, Owner and Gamakatsu as my main hook companies. 

They sucked when they first came out. The tips rolled all the time and the eyelets weren’t fused shut.  They’re great now - at least for me. Been using them for awhile and don’t have a problem. They do cut up plastics more so than other hooks out there but that’s my only complaint now.

I just don’t get it!

 

Anyway, I use Trokar exclusively for all single and treble hooks and have for years. Yes, they are sharp which is one of the reasons I use them. 
 

And no, it’s best not to tex pose, just bury 1/2 way in and go. 

Considering the whole package…

Strength, best designed bait keeper, welded hook eye and consistently, I won’t use anything else. 

The only exceptions are Gamakatsu keel weighted and Skip Gap hooks for stick baits. 
 

To each his own 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

They tear up holes in lips and the tips roll quickly. I would stay away from these.

 

For me is Hayabusa and Ryugi. Some Owner.

 

Never Gamakatsu, Eagle Claw or any other low quality hook.

I have somewhat limited experience with Trokar hooks. I've only used their flipping/punching hooks so far. They've worked fine for me. For what it's worth, in MY opinion, most of the hooks by the high end manufactures and smaller niche companies, are generally pretty good. What one angler swears by, the next angler swears at. Again, just my experience.

41 minutes ago, Kasrkin said:

They tear up holes in lips and the tips roll quickly. I would stay away from these.

 

For me is Hayabusa and Ryugi. Some Owner.

 

Never Gamakatsu, Eagle Claw or any other low quality hook.

Never heard anyone say that Gamakatsu hooks were low quality. Would you care to elaborate?

I tired Trokar years ago when they came out. Like others said, they tear big holes in lips. I’ve never been let down by Gamakatsu.

8 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I fish a lot of the standard line of Eagle Claw hooks and I even catch a fish once in a while. The black platinum ones are good quality hooks for a great price. I don’t like anything about the Trokar line of hooks. They cut big holes in the fish’s mouth and dull very quickly

 

I tried the TK130 flipping hook for a while and I will never use another Trokar hook again. Every single fish had obnoxious wounds from it, a few of them it looked like I had given them one half of a Glasgow smile. Wounds so big that even aside from how I felt ethically, I also felt it would be much easier for the fish to throw the hook.

Knife edge hooks like Owner and Tokar anglers exaggerate the hook damage. Gamakatsu are excellent hooks with a low profile barb and anglers complained the bass could through the hook easy. It’s BS imo.

Both EagleClaw and Mustad owned the bass fish hook market with marginal hooks until the Japanese Gamakatsu, Owner changed the hook performance for the better. Eagle Claw’s Tokar is an effort to recover a lost market.

Tom

 

 

 

I've not tried a lot of Mustad hooks, but the ones I have, I like.

When you view the technology in hooks currently, there are numerous options for good hooks. I’m more inclined to consider hook design over who makes it. My hook boxes contain Gamakatsu, Owner, Robo Worm, Ryugi, Hyabusa, BKK, Mustad, VMC, 6th Sense and even a few Trokar.

11 hours ago, WRB-2.0 said:

Knife edge hooks like Owner and Tokar anglers exaggerate the hook damage. Gamakatsu are excellent hooks with a low profile barb and anglers complained the bass could through the hook easy. It’s BS imo.

Both EagleClaw and Mustad owned the bass fish hook market with marginal hooks until the Japanese Gamakatsu, Owner changed the hook performance for the better. Eagle Claw’s Tokar is an effort to recover a lost market.

Tom

 

 

 

 

I'm not discounting your experience, Tom, but I saw it first hand with the bass I was catching using the TK130. I have had bad hook damage with other hooks, and sadly have killed my share of bass that choked a lure and caught a hook in the gills, etc, but nothing was as consistently damaging like that Trokar was. I don't feel bad when I hook into a fish, but I felt bad when I was using that hook.

7 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

 

I'm not discounting your experience, Tom, but I saw it first hand with the bass I was catching using the TK130. I have had bad hook damage with other hooks, and sadly have killed my share of bass that choked a lure and caught a hook in the gills, etc, but nothing was as consistently damaging like that Trokar was. I don't feel bad when I hook into a fish, but I felt bad when I was using that hook.

Same here. Although not with Trokar hooks, I’ve certainly tore large holes in the soft membrane portions of LMB, sure have, which is exactly why I only use Gammy or Owner needle point hooks for Trigs. 

23 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

I'm not discounting your experience, Tom, but I saw it first hand with the bass I was catching using the TK130. I have had bad hook damage with other hooks, and sadly have killed my share of bass that choked a lure and caught a hook in the gills, etc, but nothing was as consistently damaging like that Trokar was. I don't feel bad when I hook into a fish, but I felt bad when I was using that hook.

It’s not just Trokar either. I love Owner hooks also, but I won’t use any of the cutting point hooks because of that issue. 

Everyone’s preferences are different in almost everything. 
Mine might not be consistent with a lot of folks and that’s fine. 
 

Using Trokar hooks for almost everything is another example. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 7/22/2025 at 9:44 PM, Bazoo said:

I've not tried a lot of Mustad hooks, but the ones I have, I like.

Mustad changed their hook material, design more like the Japanese’s added black nickel and advertised Ultra Point needle sharpe hooks to be competitive. Good hooks today.

Tom

On 7/22/2025 at 5:17 PM, Bazoo said:

Never heard anyone say that Gamakatsu hooks were low quality. Would you care to elaborate?

Gamakatsu uses a softer steel that some of the higher end competition. In return, the hooks are more prone to bending and deformation, and have a tougher time holding an edge.

I’ve used their entire line-up for decades, and was always bending hooks on light line (16lb and under). Which forced me to go to Superline for finesse applications.

I didn’t realize until I started using good quality hooks like Hayabusa and Ryugi, that their medium gage hooks hold up as good as Gamakatsu’s super line.

 

Now, I can flip on 20# fluoro with WRM956 and never bend a hook, where I was bending Gamakatsus all the time.

i’ll step up to WRM959 for 65# braid or heavier flipping applications.

7 minutes ago, Kasrkin said:

Gamakatsu uses a softer steel that some of the higher end competition. In return, the hooks are more prone to bending and deformation, and have a tougher time holding an edge.

I’ve used their entire line-up for decades, and was always bending hooks on light line (16lb and under). Which forced me to go to Superline for finesse applications.

I didn’t realize until I started using good quality hooks like Hayabusa and Ryugi, that their medium gage hooks hold up as good as Gamakatsu’s super line.

 

Now, I can flip on 20# fluoro with WRM956 and never bend a hook, where I was bending Gamakatsus all the time.

i’ll step up to WRM959 for 65# braid or heavier flipping applications.

Thank you for elaborating.

The Trokar hooks I've used I've liked.  It's the hook used in all the Core Tackle.  However, I fish on the light/finesse side of things and my buddies all give me s#$& about my hook sets.