Hook Recommendation For Jr-1061

[micro]

I like to use a ball jead with a 4" grub. What hook would you guys recommend and what size. I was thinking matzuo sickle hooks or ec 570. Would one size hook fit the 1/8 and 1/16 mold? Im concerned about the hook rusting though. Any advice?

[cadman]

What kind of fish are you after? Also as far as hook size, you should be able to fit one size over and under on any Do-It mold. On jig heads that small, you can probably go two sizes over. If I were to use a hook, first I would get the black nickle(platimnum ) plated hooks, this will alleviate any rust issues if you do not dry your jigs out thoroughly. Next I would probably use the Matzuo sickles, as they are extremely sharp. What size hook are you looking at and what is the mold #, this way you can get more direct answers from guys here.

[micro]

I mostly target smallmouth bass with the occasional largemouth. Mostly smallmouth when grubbing though. I was thinking size 2 hooks. The mold is jr-1061. Do they make the matzuo in a black nickel?

[ute]

Take a look at the Eagle Claw 500BP [Li'l Nasty Black Platinum] they are comparable to the Matzuo Sickle and in my opinion the quality control is much better.

[cadman]

 Do they make the matzuo in a black nickel?

 

Yes Matzuo does make a black nickle hook, as I have them. I don't have any of the 500BP Eagle Claws, but I will tell you this, and that is EC's quality control is far superior to Matzuo's. If you are only making a few then fine, if you are making thousands well then the EC's might be a better choice.

Edited June 25, 2015 by cadman

[Munkin]

I would look at a 1/0 or 2/0 hook? I have a Hilts 1/8oz mold that is a round ball with barb collar and these are what I use. Any smaller and there is not much hook gap between the grub body and hook point. Like Cadman said black nickel is the way to go for hooks.

 

Allen

[smalljaw]

I think a different mold would work better for a 4" grub, I use the RHB-6-1816 and it is perfect for what you want it for. It has 6 cavities, 3 - 1/16oz and 3 - 1/8oz and it uses oversize hooks. I really fell in love with the Eagle Claw 500BP little nasty and I use the 2/0 and 3/0 for grubs, I use the 2/0 for 3" grubs and the 3/0 for the 4" grub, very good hook. I always liked the Matzuo sickle hooks, I've used them in my small hair jigs for years as they are super sharp and do a good job at holding fish once they are hooked, the problem is you get anywhere from 6 to 15 bad ones per 100 as the quality control seems to be bad. When Eagle Claw came out with the black platinum series a few years back I was really impressed as the hooks seemed to be better than the Mustads I had been using at a better price. Well I guess the patent wasn't renewed on the sickle hook so Eagle Claw decided to make these in a black platinum finish and let me tell you, not only is the hook as sticky sharp as the Matzuo, it also has better wire which is stronger and out of the 2000+ hooks I've gone through so far I haven't found a single bad hook and that tells me there is a high degree of quality control. If you want to use the mold you have, I'd try a size #1 hook in the 500BP little nasty, it is small for a 4" grub but it will work and as I said before, the little nasty hook holds really well and takes very little pressure to penetrate, good luck.

[micro]

Thanks so much for the replies everyone. Unfortunately, I am stuck with this mold for now. It may not be ideal for 4" grubs but I can probably make it work. I got a good deal on it and figured it would be fairly versatile. I think it has a good collar to tie hair to. I use a lot of 1/8 and 1/16 jigs. This jig may not hold a grub very well though.

I think i am going to try the sickle hooks by both companies. I really like the eagle claw L111. It is the only ec hook i have used to make jigs.