Hooked-Trapper Tackle Hooks
After a long winter, I was eager to get out on the water and pursue smallmouth and largemouth bass. Recently I got my hands on the new Trapper Tackle bass hooks, which are produced by Landum Outdoors. These hooks won the Best New Product award at ICAST 2016 and have made quite the splash in the bass-fishing scene.
Want to get your hands on the new Trapper Tackle bass hooks? Check them out here.
In the early season, I am a big fan of fishing Senkos, or other finesse worms, weedless on offset wide-gap hooks. Fishing weedless plastics in the shallows is sure to produce quality fish but also involves chewing through a lot of plastics on bass, weeds, and timber. In fact, I generally expect to donate one Senko per caught bass, not to mention a few along the way to milfoil or timber.
Looking for the subtle, natural action of a Senko? We have Yamamoto here.
Rigging and fishing weedless plastic is no different on Trapper Tackle hooks than other offset wide-gap hooks. However, the differences emerge from there. When looking at the Trapper Tackle hooks I immediately noticed the "bait lock" that forms the hooks’ unique rectangular shape, which helped to keep my worm in the horizontal position after dragging it through the weeds. This lock prevents downward slippage of the bait. While fishing Senkos on the Trapper Tackle hooks, I spent far less time sliding the worm back up the hook and into position. As a result, my worms lasted longer, I spent more time fishing and less time fidgeting with gear.
More bass bonaza articles online here.
I also noticed that hooksets were solid and consistent on these ultra-sharp Trappers and performed equal to competing brands. More importantly, once I hooked a fish the unique "bait lock" suddenly converted itself into a "fish lock." Once hooked, the lip of the fish is effectively trapped and the only chance it has to reverse the hook off would require a near perfect vertical dive right below the angler. I've enjoyed a 100 percent landing success on the 30 or so bass I've hooked on the Trapper Tackle hooks, including fish as small as a half-pound and some that stretched to 20 inches long. While I don't fully expect that ratio to hold over the course of summer, I have gained a lot of confidence in these hooks and they’ve found a permanent place in my tackle box. They should in yours, too.
Stop by the North 40 store in Omak, or your neighborhood North 40 Outfitters store, and myself or another fishing associate will be happy to show you just how to rig and fish Trapper Tackle hooks.