I've grown to love flippin/pitchin...in fact, I use this method more than ever when I hit the water.

The other day I was organizing my terminal tackle box when I came across a pack of Mustad flippin straight shank hook. Never been used. Then it hit me...I have never used this style of hook before for flippin/pitchin. I've had so much success and confidence in the EWG hooks that I had overlooked and buried this style of hook in the back of my mind and tackle box.

I'm probably going to give it a try now that I can't seem to get this off my mind, just to compare it to what I'm already using.

What's your take on the straight shank/EWG hooks for flippin/pitchin?

I use EWG all the time. I several packs of straight shank and offset worm that just sit there. I tried them but got hung up way too much. EWG is by far a better choice in my opinion.

I use EWG all the time. I several packs of straight shank and offset worm that just sit there. I tried them but got hung up way too much. EWG is by far a better choice in my opinion.

I use both. I use EWG type hook when I have to have the big gap on a shorter shank on a shorter bulky bait like a tube. Straight shank will have a higher hookup land ratio though than an EWG with the same size gap so it's my choice most of the time.

I haven't noticed a big difference in my bite to hookup ratio with either hook but I seem to go through a lot more baits on the straight shank. I just stick to the EWG hooks anymore, I have more confidence in them anyways.

It’s simple geometry

Wide gap hooks have the hook point directly in line with the eye of the hook or slightly above the line eye on "extra wide gap" hooks. When you set the hook, the sinker and the front of the lure clear a path for the hook point to escape a bass’s mouth without imbedding. On straight shank hooks the point rides substantially above the eye of the hook and aims for the roof of the bass’s mouth, resulting in a more hook-ups. The extra wide gap hooks do an excellent job of holding fish if you manage to get the hook through the bass’s mouth on the hook set. There are plenty of times when a bass completely takes the bait and even on a short pitch with braided line, the hook flies cleanly out of the bass’s mouth on the hook set. Missing an extra fish every once in a while doesn’t sound like a big deal, but if that fish is the Lunker of a lifetime, losing it is a huge deal.

A straight shank with my line snelled to the hook is the only way I'll flip/pitch plastics.