ASSIST HOOK SIZE

[paul708]

when you guys are jigging what hook size do you seem to use more?
i have been using the 10/0 alot
this last trip i saw a 12/0 work well
do you see a differance?

[Flatdog]

Paul good question.
I think it really is down to the gape, rather than the size of the hook, seems a strange thing to say but ,quite honestly we all fish over size.
Big fish big hook?
Modern hooks, short shank's must be some of the toughest hooks out there.
To be quiet honest in my mind for most soft mouth fish 3/0 5/0 is more than enough, only when we start to talk about sharks or bill fish where the "reach", or gape of the hook needs to be bigger then size plays a part, but to blow both your and my argument out of the water are circles, which I still cannot get my head around, when using this technique in fresh water the bait is not on the hook at all, but hair rigged.
The same as an assist hook on a jig.
So a move to smaller more powerful hooks makes sense in my mind.
Just my thoughts

[Cowboy]

Paul 2 years ago when I started jigging we used what was available and that was 6/0 +/- and we had a lot of pull outs with no explination, I felt the hooks where to small for the large jaws of the big Bluefins so I started tieing my own 10/0 live bait hooks into swinging stingers and Wala the pull outs seem few and far between. Now the bigger hooks are available pre rigged so I am gonna say for the bluefins opt for the 10/0 and you aint gonna scare one away with a 12/0

[paul708]

Paul good question.
I think it really is down to the gape, rather than the size of the hook, seems a strange thing to say but ,quite honestly we all fish over size.
Big fish big hook?
Modern hooks, short shank's must be some of the toughest hooks out there.
To be quiet honest in my mind for most soft mouth fish 3/0 5/0 is more than enough, only when we start to talk about sharks or bill fish where the "reach", or gape of the hook needs to be bigger then size plays a part, but to blow both your and my argument out of the water are circles, which I still cannot get my head around, when using this technique in fresh water the bait is not on the hook at all, but hair rigged.
The same as an assist hook on a jig.
So a move to smaller more powerful hooks makes sense in my mind.
Just my thoughts

i will measure a few and post results