Last week I had a really productive top-water fishing session. After the beating my lure took, the hooks were a complete mess. They were bent so badly I am really surprised I was catching anything toward the end of my trip. That afternoon I ran by the tackle shop and picked up a package of treble hooks. I did not think to take a hook with me to try and match the size and I was really in a hurry and picked up a pack that I knew were a little larger, but I thought they may actually help with the hook up ratio. Thankfully I thought to take a trip down to the landing before my next fishing trip to see how the effect of the replacement hooks on the lures. The hooks I chose were much too heavy and caused to lure to sit very low in the water and it almost sank when I stopped my retrieve.
Manufacturers spend a lot of time tank-testing lures to make sure they mimic the real thing as closely as possible. Each lure design is balanced with the right amount of weight on the front and back of the lure. Throwing the weight off can be the difference between a lure that catches fish and one that sees no action. Many anglers want a different type of hook when they purchase top-water lures. Many believe that the hooks that come with a lure are often not the strongest or sharpest hooks you can buy. When replacing hooks you need to take the time to find a hook that is both similar in size and weight.
I asked a question on the site recently about replacement hooks and a member recommended a hook that he preferred to use when fishing Zara Spooks, which was the lure I was using. I emailed a friend that works for the company that makes Zara Spooks and he confirmed this hook worked well with their lures. I replaced the hooks and went back to the landing for another test run and was pleased with the new hooks. The lure ran perfectly without any problems and now I just need to find a day to get out and put the new hooks into action. As those of you that fish top-water lures know, they are not cheap. Replacing hooks is an excelle