Hi All,

I have been hooking into a lot of fish using a Megabass Vision 110 (a minnow jerkbait), but the land ratio could be a lot better.  1/2 the time they throw the mouth hook, and I am lucky enough that another hook grabs a hold of the body somewhere.  And if they jump, it is inevetible they throw the bait loose.

I was looking at the hooks, and the barbs seem pretty small.  The hook in the middle is even barbless!!!

Question:  If I changed out treble hooks, maybe go up a size or so, with something that has some more pronounced barbs, would it mess up the designed action of lure?  Do they engineer these things for a specific weight/size of hook?  This bait has a specific tight roll that I like, so I don't want to screw it up...suggestions?

thanks!

They say you can go up or down one hook size without changing the action of the lure. The other thing you my want to check is to make sure your hooks are razor sharp. You should be able to draw the hook over your thumb nail with no pressure on it the hook should bite into your nail. If the hook just slides down your nail its dull and needs to be sharpened. I have bought new hooks Im talking Gamakatsu and Owner here and out of the pack only one or two hooks would bite into my nail with out being sharpened. So don't think just because there new there sharp. May be the reason for a low hook up rate. JMHO  

Good point... (no pun intended-haha)

Actually, I just used the lure fresh out of the box assuming they were sharp-so I will check it out.  The hooks they come with just seem a little undersized, and lack good barbs IMO.  I guess I could hunt for a same sized treble that has more bite to it.  

Why in the world would they use a barbless hook on the middle one?

I know you're talking about the hooks...but can't the rod make a difference as well. I always hear use a mod-fast action for rods with trebles. It could the rod pulling the hooks out!

What rod are you fishing these on?

I agree to the sharpness of the hooks and not so much with the barbs. my fatherinlaw no longer uses barbed hooks and he almost never loses a fish. After watching him I have learned that playing the fish is more important then the hooks. If you know they are going to jump like my smallies like to make sure that you keep the line tight or they will throw it.

I dont think it is the hook. I have a few of the jerkbaits you describe. The hook on these Megabass Itos are the sharpest hooks I have ever used. The barbs are also on the outside. If a fish so much breathes on the lure it is hooked. I havent had a problem with the hookup or fish throwing the lure. I use fiberglass, but I am not sure this makes that much of a difference with jerkbaits. Perhaps some of our jerkbait experts can comment.

Yes, the rod makes a difference when fishing any treble hook lure. I have three different rods for "treble hook" lures, but for topwater and jerkbaits I prefer my Avid AC66MF which has a soft tip. For these two techniques a shorter, firmer rod allows better control when working the baits. Otherwise, I fish a AC70MM for light and medium lures, a Lamiglas SR705R for heavy and deep diving crankbaits.

The key is flexibility. Treble hooks generally don't bury deep and

can be pulled out or thrown. The "forgiveness" of a soft rod reduces

this chances of this occurring.

8-)

I find it very strange that u lose so many fish on the ito

Read this from Tackle tour

Each Vision comes equipped with three Katsuage hooks which are specially designed for jerkbaits where anglers often draw quick strikes. Two of the outside Katsuage hooks feature barbs on the outside of the hook, and the center treble has no barbs at all. What this essentially does is drive either the front or rear hook in combination with the center hook into the fish creating an anchor point so that fish cannot easily dislodge the lure.

On my experience : ito has the best landing % of my jerkbaits

ditto on what rw said

I agree with RW. The rod power and action is very importantant when fishing anything with treble hooks. I use a med-light rod for jerkbaits.

To add,, I feel the line is important as well. I use a limp line that has good stretch, like P-Line CXX 8 lb. test.