I notice there are several different types of hook – what are the key things to look out for before picking the right pattern?
ATake a look in any well stocked tackle shop and you’ll find a mind-boggling array of hook patterns! Some will be general-purpose patterns, whilst others will be highly specialised, featuring a particular set of features that make them ideally suited to for use with a particular rig.
The best known of these would be the out-turned eye patterns that have been designed for use with the high memory hooklink materials used in tying curved chod rig and hinged stiff rig hook sections. It can all get extraordinarily complex very quickly!
So how do you identify the right hook for you? Well, a full article on hooks barely scratches the surface, so this is going to have to be brief!
In-turned eyes help most hooks turn aggressively. Therefore, they are a great choice if you want to use a braided hooklink, as the in-turned eye and soft hooklink work together to create a good reactive hooking mechanism
Straight-eyed hooks are highly versatile. You can make them do what you want, and as such they work well with mono or fluorocarbon hooklinks. If you want to use them with a softer hooklink, adding a kicker emulates the reactive nature of a hook with an in-turned eye.
I cannot sign off without mentioning how important it is to check and keep your hooks razor-sharp. Thinking about how best to get the hook to penetrate is also vital and that is to consider the angle of draw (the angle the tip moves as it buries). If the point is drawn in the direction that it’s pointing when under pressure this reduces resistance and helps it bury as quickly and smoothly as possible.
This is exactly why many relatively short shank hooks feature a slight in-turned eye and curved point.
Lewis Read, Thinking Anglers