I'm loosing a good number of fish on cranks, mostly when they hit at the beginning of my retrieve. I bomb my casts when cranking and I think it's due to the lack of force I can generate due to line stretch. I use 10lb. Fluoro for most cranking under 10ft. and 12lb for anything deeper.

I just picked up a replacement Wiggle Wart and noticed the hooks are short shank, thin wire.

Does anyone know what brand they are, or if there is a Gammy or Mustad like them?

not sure what's on them, but if you want a really thin wire but incredibly strong hook, the gamakatsu G-finesse are fantastic. I swap them onto the front hooks of my topwaters to keep them front light and on any cranks that I want a light wire hook.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_Aaron_Martens_TGW_G-Finesse_Treble_Hook_MH/descpage-NFMH.html

I have the original AM finesse trebles and those are great. I imagine the heavier finesse ones would be great as well.

38 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

not sure what's on them, but if you want a really thin wire but incredibly strong hook, the gamakatsu G-finesse are fantastic. I swap them onto the front hooks of my topwaters to keep them front light and on any cranks that I want a light wire hook.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_Aaron_Martens_TGW_G-Finesse_Treble_Hook_MH/descpage-NFMH.html

These are my go-to replacements on jerkbaits. Scary sharp.

2 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

I'm loosing a good number of fish on cranks, mostly when they hit at the beginning of my retrieve. I bomb my casts when cranking and I think it's due to the lack of force I can generate due to line stretch. I use 10lb. Fluoro for most cranking under 10ft. and 12lb for anything deeper.

I just picked up a replacement Wiggle Wart and noticed the hooks are short shank, thin wire.

Does anyone know what brand they are, or if there is a Gammy or Mustad like them?

I use short-shank EWG's on most all treble hook applications.

I have also had to come to terms with the idea that I can 'outcast' my hook-setting ability.

Had to come up with a solution to 3 separate challenges as far as the treble hook selection.

1- Wire size, which can actually be two separate deals. First, if it's too thick, I can't sink it.

Too Light—it can flex on the hookset, and that's no good either.

2- Hook point, barb size, and positioning.

A sharp hook is obvious. But having an unnecessarily large barb, especially one that is way far away from the point, can be a problem. Took me a while to figure this one out.

3- Treble hook size & length. Short shanks reduce hook tangles, and a larger size offers a better bite.

So in the perfect world of A-Jay treble hook production, I prefer a short-shank, thin but strong treble with a sharp point that has a beneficially sized barb, positioned pretty close to the hook point.

These, I can work with.

In the end, after making a few concessions, the Gamakatsu EWG Treble Short Shank Magic Eye is my choice, but I ALWAYS pump up the hook size one more than stock—at least on the front but often all of them.

A-Jay

Take a look at the BKK 21 SS. I use these on some of my BFS cranks. Sharp, strong hook.

Another is the Ryugi Pierce or the Dagger. The Pierce is heavier but is still thin. The Dagger is pretty thin but still strong. I like the Pierce for everyday cranks and the Dagger for trout baits that I use for bass.

If you want super strong, the Ryugi Brutal is on the extreme end of things. A size 3, I think, is the smallest. It'salso a short shank. I use them on 6XDs.

Storm/Wiggle Wart is Rapala owned now, so most likely VMC.

I’ve put the VMC “finesse” trebles on a couple of baits, and I really like them.