Weighted Fishing Hooks

When thinking about how to set up the best rig for your fishing trip, fundamentally you want it to be the most attractive set-up for your targeted fish. Sometimes this means having delicious-looking, live, squirming bait on your hook, and a good-sized sinker to keep it in the right spot. Other times, lures and plastic bait are more effective. At these times, it’s worth your while to consider a weighted fishing hook.

A weighted hook holds the extra weight on the hook’s shank, and works best with soft plastic baits. For swimming baits, like a minnow, the weight acts as a mobilizer, keeping the wiggler upright and moving. Rather than using a sinker to help keep your hook and bait in place, a weighted hook allows you to combine both weight and hook into one, putting fewer objects on your rig, and ultimately, making your bait the main focus. By simplifying the objects you put in the water, you create less distraction for potential fish, and hopefully increase your chances of hooking a beautifully sized keeper. Another benefit of the weight hook is that it is more weedless than other types of set-ups because it eliminates the sliding factor, which can cause snags in vegetation.

There are a few schools of thought on how to bait a weighted hook. Some argue that sliding the bait up the hook for a traditional Texas rig will actually work against you and damage your bait. (A Texas rig involves, among other things, hooking the worm about a quarter inch down from the head, rotating it up toward the hook’s eye which locks it in place, and then placing the other end on the hook.) Others feel that a more precise method is necessary for weighted hook, regardless of the weight. There are two alternative ways to do this. One, push the hook’s eye through the bottom of the bait and out the top, leaving the hook free, or two, line the hook up against the bait in its desired position, then push the hook eye into the opposing end and out again. It’s worth your while to try baiting your hook a few ways, and see what works best for you and your fishing conditions.

Weighted fishing hooks work for a variety of fish species, from bass to redfish, and come in a wide array of weights and sizes that will fit most types of fishing excursions.

photo credit: Nicolas Valentin via photopin cc