I know we have some bass folks here

I am a whatever is biting but gotten some bass lately , sure are fun

I was long time live bait mostly , but my neighbor got me going on the wacky rig

I found these what I thought were nice weed-less hooks at the store
they actually seem to be fairly weed-less

the one on the left was the one I was using last night , 4 fish landed and that weed guard was mangled I had just been bending it back into shape.

but hook up ratio seems not good , probably 1 in 5 good hits make it in the boat , lots are on the line for about 5-10 feet then off.
what I was noticing last night nothing that made it in the boat had what I would like to see for a hook up
roof of the mouth mostly but in the soft tissue or one lucky hooking stuck in the upper jaw but not around it had it broke tension and turned it's head it would have gotten off also.

if I understand it right I want a upper or lower jaw hooking all the way around the jaw bone , and I was not getting that on anything

I also had to resist the urge to set the hook on the first hit and let them have it a bit

You sure your hook is big enough? With it being smaller it makes me want to ask if they were smaller fish you were catching and if they weren't quite getting it all in their mouth? I bass fish with much larger hooks.

no I do not think it was big enough with the soft plastic in the way I think it was slipping off the jawbone , going into the bone in one case or getting the top inside of the mouth soft tissue and it was that I played them out a while I managed to land them.

I should clarify , I think that is a 1/0 I am thinking a 3/0 or 4/0 is a better option but that is part of the question , do you have a preferred hook and hook size

weedless or not

there are a fair number of down trees along the bank we cast up to , but not a lot of dense weeds in this spot.

the fish were about 16 inch bass not trophy but very nice size , they were chunks as well , meaning , more filled out than one might expect for a 15-17 inch bass

I use 1/0 RED Gamakastu octopus hooks. I’ve caught multiple fish in the 6-8 lb range. Dont set the hook, just reel fast and let the hook do the work.


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gamakats...n_teYiQMVhTgIBR3VhQ81EAQYAiABEgIQBPD_BwE

Wacky rigging is a blast. Hook might be to deep into the worm. Try using the o-rings.

I also use the gamagatso 1/0 hooks. No weedless hooks.

Favorite color is the pink bubblegum.

I have the O ring tool , I didn't like how it turned the hook 90 degrees
I was trying clear plastic tubing about 3/16 to 1/4 inch peice slid over the sanko , great that you can fish it a long time but I think I need to not hook through them the middle of the worm and possibly also use a larger hook

Best hook made. I use 2/0 Have for 30 years

Too large of hook defeats the purpose of a weightless rig. 1/0 is plenty. You’re going to hook them all over the place with that rig, its just part of it. Don’t expect to hook them in any particular place.

Like I said. 30 years of using a2/0 octopus hook I think I can qualify for adding to this thread. O ring does turn the hook so hookups are changed. Yes saves the baits but I don’t like them. As for weightless, try to measure the WEIGHT difference between a 2/0 and 1/0 ! In fact some people put a finishing nail in the bait.
95% of fish I catch on my wacky rigs are hooked in top of the mouth
2/0 has wide gap and hooks up better on a large mouths upper roof of its mouth

You seem to think you’re making a point but who knows what it is. I forgot you like to think you’re the resident expert on everything. No sense in anyone else responding, jbyrd has the only opinion that matters.

Thanks , I talked to the neighbor as well , he gave me some of the thinner more flexible clear tubing he uses
I had gotten a foot at the hardware store and it was too thick too stiff

here is a picture of a part of bait with the tube on it (no point in getting a fresh one out till headed out fishing) , it is between the red lines and hooked through just the edge of the tubing so that it opens the hook space back up and the hook doesn't cut the bait.

I will look into the larger hooks and the red gamagasu octopus hooks

2/0 is what we normally go with for both smallies and largemouth. Have been using split rings for years. No need to pierce the worm. Having a variety of split rings allows one to use different diameter worms.

This is what works for us.

Some folks say a 1/0 is too small. Ain’t hating on anyone that uses bigger, but I like my rate of fall and hook up percentage with the 1/0.

My last wacky rig catch…

You don't need big hooks to catch big bass finesse fishing. I use mostly Matzuo or Gamakatsu Size 1 with Zoom trick worms when whacky riggin.






My go to worm is usually Watermelon Red Flake Trick worm. But sometimes you just gotta throw some hot pink. LOL

Those are some very nice smallmouth Dan.

nice fish

I am hoping to get out again but with pheasant season open and it could snow any day , I am not sure when it will happen