Took my son fishing in the creeks around the ICW today at Sullivans. When we got out the bottom rigs for whiting and such, something bent my son’s hook on the first cast.
I baited the hook (cut shrimp, maybe 1/2" square piece), he tossed it out. Three minutes later, the boat shifted position on the anchor, and Isaac had to reel it in to recast it. He had gotten no hits, and he had not snagged anything. Bait was missing, the only “clue”.
He handed me the hook to re-bait it, and when I couldn’t figure out how to get the bait onto the hook, that’s when I realized that I am obviously getting old and less observant. Something had bent that hook nearly closed.
The Mustads aren’t cheap wire hooks, they are a pretty stout little hook. You’d have to use pliers to do this by hand. The only culprit I can think of is a blue crab, maybe a stone crab. I would only suspect the stone crab of being strong enough to do this. Not a blue.
Anyhow, the hook wasn’t a dud. I bent it back out with pliers and he continued to use it all day.
striped burrfish have ridiculously strong beaks, that’s my guess. i’ve had them fold/break owner j hooks like nothing while sheepshead fishing, same #1 and #2’s that have gotten me 10+lb sheeps. i will never stick my finger too close to a burrfish’s mouth.
striped burrfish have ridiculously strong beaks, that’s my guess. i’ve had them fold/break owner j hooks like nothing while sheepshead fishing, same #1 and #2’s that have gotten me 10+lb sheeps. i will never stick my finger too close to a burrfish’s mouth.
That’s a great point. I had forgotten about these little gems. Sure wish we could have caught it, my son would have loved to see it.
I’ve caught a lot of those lil buggers in my crab hoops. That, and some other sort of puffer that only has sandpaper-hide and bright green eyes.
… The Cross of Christ is the anvil upon which the hammer of evil wore itself out.
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>Funny things happen to hooks. I check them often while fishing. They open, close, twist, blunt, break, etc. Even on the first cast. Crab or fish crushers? My hooks usually bend after a bail flip and a resulting smack against the side of the boat. Less frequently now that I am older than 7.
striped burrfish have ridiculously strong beaks, that’s my guess. i’ve had them fold/break owner j hooks like nothing while sheepshead fishing, same #1 and #2’s that have gotten me 10+lb sheeps. i will never stick my finger too close to a burrfish’s mouth.
you just come up with the craziest of things…I’m glad you are here
