Hookers go fishing

By: Milwaukee Fishing Examiner, Lawrence Van Veghel

Hooks were a fantastic, fishing world invention. No longer did sport anglers have to rely on a fish getting a wedge stuck in its throat or deeper. Catch and release had few fish that lived. Anglers had no idea how cutting the line would help the survival rate of released fish.
Commercial anglers used nets.

Before the wedges, sport anglers relied on a fish keeping something in its mouth or swallowing a small fish tied with a long manmade string, such as horse hair, to bring in a bigger fish. Many were lost just because the fish opened its mouth. Spearing was the method by the entire human race.

We now have all kinds of hooks. For pike, many anglers prefer the circle hook. More and better hook sets are made, and the hook can be set earlier. This prevents pike from swallowing the hooks, which in turn eliminates much of the yanking on the guts of the fish and killing it. Bloody guts are not the way to release a fish. Consider it dead, and consider it useless for future spawning.

Plastic worm users for largemouth bass, and now more often with 4 inch worms for walleyes, have hook styles beyond comprehension. There are weighted hooks, bent hooks, colored hooks, wide shank hooks, Kahle hooks, jigs, which are hooks with their own weights, vertical and horizontal presentation hooks, via the positioning of the hook eyes, bait holder hooks, and I’m sure some new ones that are being invented as this is being read.

Large hooks having a strong backbone are used when fishing in aquatic plants (weeds) for largemouth bass, pike and muskie. You want a hook that won’t straighten when you rear back on your rod. The hook should “rip” through the plants. Don’t continue the retrieve. As on the Beverly Hillbillies, let the bait “set a spell.” This is a short period where any gamefish under the weeds at stalk level will hammer your offering. These fish, including walleyes, rarely see baits under the weed canopies. Sure, you’re always cleaning the weeds from your baits; you are fishing where fish live. Fishing in open and clear water has fish so scattered that finding a productive pattern is difficult. It’s like fishing immediately after the thermocline collapse when lakes homogenize. The main difference is the murky and smelly water during homogenization.

The biggest hooks for our freshwater fishing are used for lunker pike, muskies, and by those who live bait fish on Lake Michigan. You want sharp hooks, but they must be sturdy. A big fish can easily straighten a thick wire hook.

Lawrence Van Veghel is an Examiner from Milwaukee. You can see Lawrence's articles on Lawrence's Home Page.