I find that whenever i lose a fish on the hook set either the fish didn't have it all in it's mouth or i am setting like a little girl! Unless of course i set the hook into a lily pad or something, LOL! You really have to hit them hard to penetrate their bony mouths.

quoted for truth! whenever i miss a fish due to hooksets it's usually because i wasn't paying attention and set the hook like a little girl.  :-/

you guys and your crazy hard hook sets. a little tug is way more than you will ever need on a ewg.most of the time they hook themself.

you guys and your crazy hard hook sets. a little tug is way more than you will ever need on a ewg.most of the time they hook themself.

You must not fish them very much or fish them in cover! A lot of times the lure will ball up on the hook shank causing the hook point to have to penetrate the lure several times and then the fishes hard bony mouth as well. So you keep on light tugging them and we will keep hooking them!!

I have no problems hooking bass with EWG hooks. I texpose most of my plastics though unless fishing very heavy cover. A stiff graphite rod and a good solid hookset are a must though.

I use the owner 3/O wide gap plus and most likely wont change anytime soon.  I had the issue with hook sets when using the gama 3/O EWG, but have had no issues with the owners.  I would probably switch to and try out the straight shanks if I do start having issues, but no reason to fix what is not broken (for me).  

sometimes its the operator more so than the equipment

Or it is simple the operator choosing the wrong equipment

well just got some gamakatsu straight shank, offset roundbend

will try these out today compared to the EWG

I find it important to think about things logically and see how things actually work prior to making a determination on which is better. After another post on this same topic I tried an "experiment". I tied on a sinker and an EWG hook. Then closed my fingers over the sinker like a bass closing their mouth over the bait. Slowly pulled the line out of my fingers. If I pulled it straight out then the hook point doesn't "engage". However, if I pulled at an angle the point will try and stick my fingers.

This is the logical result because an EWG hook has the point in line with the eye so if the hookset is pulling straight out of the basses mouth the point will follow the eye of hook straight out of the bass's mouth. The angle is necessary to allow the point of the hook to come in contact with the bass's mouth. Once it does that a sharp hook will penetrate with ease.

The question then becomes: How many times are you going to be setting the hook straight in line with the fish's mouth?

Logic or geometry which works every time?

Logic or geometry which works every time?

I wasn't disagreeing with you. I was just trying to put in words what convinced me that EWG's have a flaw in their design.

I won't be buying anymore EWG hooks because of this. I'll use my current stockpile for thick plastics (when other hooks won't work) and buy other styles.

But, it all still boils down to how often do you think you'll be setting the hook straight on and if you feel that that amount requires you to use different types of hooks. That is a personal decision that each individual makes on their own. However, the potential for missed hooksets with EWG remains.

I've been using 4/0 gamakatsu ewg's for t-rigging everything from hula grubs to 10" powerworms and tubes. They work great but i find that i lose alot of fish on the hooksets. Would i lose less by using a smaller ewg like a 1/0 or a 2/0 when using smaller baits?

I use EWG on everything. The smallest I go is 3/0. but it does make sense ( at least to me) to go for the right size hook for the bait. For my 10" to 12" worms I am using 5/0 or 6/0. For my Ugly otters,Baby brush hogs and beaver style baits I am using a 3/0. I know a lot of people who use a 2/0 or 1/0 for wacky worm, but I preffer different.

I run 5/0 gami EWG when fishing 10" Power Worms and have yet to have a problem. I love having that big hook to stick them.  As far as penetrating, use some 50lb braid and it'll punch through!  

I thought that EWGs were meant to be tex posed, there for the weird offset they seem to have

                      -gk