Christmas Day Report!!!!!

[Toby]

Walleyes are fast and furious in eight feet of water just off the shoreline break. 15+ inches of ice. The hot lure was a reddish pink buckshot jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head with a single hook instead of the treble. We lost tons of fish on the trebles until we made the switch to single hooks. The best bite was on a VERY aggressive presentation. Hope all of those who made it out did as well as we did. Merry Christmas.

[Meadow Creek]

That really makes sense about the treble hook thing. I've been having the same problem lately. I'll have to change some hooks out and try it.!

[steeplechaser2]

i wnder why the treble would cause difficulty...did you consider upsizing the treble? By the way, is the walleye bite during the daylight hours???? Rip some lips!

[Toby]

Singles are supreme because a walleye only creates so much water suction when it opens its mouth. And a single hook will swing more often (because of its lessened resistance and lighter weight) into the walleyes mouth when it engulfs your bait, thus more hook ups.

Where we were (6-8 feet) the walleyes actually bite better during the day. I don't know whether this was an isolated ocurrence or not.

[steeplechaser2]

Great post....single hooks......never thought that much about it......

[james_walleye]

What size and style of single hooks are you guys using if i may ask??

[TMan]

No offense, but I'm not sure if I believe the limited suction of a walleye theory that is stated here...for one, how do you know that? Second, seems like groundbreaking R&D for the gazzilion tackle companies out there that produce spoons with trebles. Not that we couldn't have missed it... However, I would guess that the improvement in hookup is related to hook gap and/or shank length given your comments about agressive action being more effective. After all, if your jigging aggressively as you stated, the premise is that a fish isn't going to be sucking a lure in lightly like it was hanging from a bobber, they're most likely hammering it. And, potentially missing a shorter shanked buckshot treble hook.

Inceidentally, we make them with a single hook :-)

Either way, good idea to switch it up but I wouldn't hang your hat on the theory you present.

Tackleman

[TR0PHYPHISHIN]

I take off all my treble hooks on all of my jigging spoons and replace them with size 4 or 6 single hooks. It makes a HUGE difference!

[Ebiz]

FYI - Your web site (www.phelpstackle.com) is down.

[Mjen]

The theory I heard about trebles not hooking up as well had to do with each hook working against the other. The forces on a single hook do not enlarge the wound as much as two or three hooks prying each other free. (I heard this from a Muskie fisherman).

[hanson]

I have to disagree as well with the single hook jigging spoon idea.

Frankly, I prefer treble hooks and have tremendous hook up ratios with my treble hook jigging spoons.

A jigging spoon to me, is an aggressive fishing lure. I constantly jig, shake, lift-drop, pound my spoon. Its always moving. When I notice a fish on my Marcum, I watch how it responds to my jigging. Does it eat it right away? Does it take a little while for it to commit? Do I have to raise the lure up a foot and get the fish to chase? Do I have to keep pulling it up 2,3,4,5 ft before the walleye decides its going to get away?

When these fish eat, they hit the lure with force. The way I fish a spoon, a fish doesn't have much of a chance to analyze it and suck the hook in.

I've got a couple photos from the other day of smallish walleyes (12-13") that devoured my 1/4oz JB Lures Rattling Varmint and minnow head. When I mean devoured, I mean devoured. The entire hook & spoon were way in the back of their mouths. I'm actually quite astonished that a walleye that small will chase and destroy a bait that large. (I can't post the photos right now but will when I get a chance)

Sometimes I even catch walleye on spoons and they aren't even hooked. The fish will grab the spoon, bite down hard, and will not let go. You then have to pry open their mouths with a needlenose to get the spoon back. The entire time, they weren't even hooked, just had a really good grip on your bait.

I personally feel that if a fish is acting that negatively towards a jigging spoon presentation, I'll switch to something else like a hook & minnow, jig & minnow, or a much smaller spoon.

Like anything in fishing though, if a single hook on a spoon gives you more confidence, by all means don't change. Use what works and use what you have confidence in.

[Toby]

Todays International Falls Daily Journal shows a 33" Cristmas walleye caught on a swedish pimple with a "single" hook!!!!!!!

web page

[Northlander]

We use single hooks on some spoons in the summer on lake superior. The thought behind it is a fish shakes its head back and forth and a treble will open up big holes and its easier for a fish to then shake loose. With the single hook its only 1 smaller hole and harder to rip/shake the spoon.

I dont see this as a issue ice fishing unless its big/deep lakers. I also almost always use a treble on my spoons in the winter.

[hanson]

Well... I better start changing all my crankbaits to single hooks now too.

[walleyefey]

I was up at the twin cities fishing show a couple weeks ago and Chip Leer, the host of fishing the wild side, was talking specifically about the single hook buckshot spoon. He mentioned that success with a single hook takes place when aggressive walleyes are feeding. The hooks act like pendulums and are more easily drawn into the fish' mouth. Now when fish are picky or more like nibblers, then the treble hook presentation is more successful. Just a few thing that I have been told. Take it for what is worth. Good luck fishing!!

[icehousebob]

I cured my treble hook problems by switching styles. I've switched my favorite lures over to Mustad Triplegrip trebles. Few fish are lost that you hook with them, and also, your bait stays on much better when you are actively jigging. Their only downside is that it usually takes a plier or some such tool to get the hook out of their mouths. Try a few #8's or #6's and they'll make a believer out of you. They're not cheap but they sure work.

End of commercial.

[walleye101]

It seems to me that the biggest advantage to the single hook over a treble hook would be the ease in unhooding and releasing walleye. Since catch rates are high, and bag limit is low, and all fish between 17-26 inches are required to be released, minimizing hook damage might be an important consideration for the conservation minded angler.