Fishing hooks: sizes run backwards, and three shapes cover everything

The numbering system, once and for all

Hook sizing is two scales bolted together at the middle, and nobody explains this on the packet.

The first scale counts down. A size 12 hook is tiny; a size 6 is bigger; a size 2 is bigger still; size 1 is the largest on this scale.

Then it flips. Past size 1 the numbers gain a slash-zero and start counting up: 1/0 (said “one aught”), 2/0, 3/0, and so on up to 10/0 and beyond for very large hooks.

There is no cross-manufacturer standard, so a 3/0 from one maker may be visibly different from another’s. Treat the number as a guide, and check the hook against the bait you are actually rigging.

The three shapes that matter

Offset worm hook (EWG). The one with a Z-bend just behind the eye and a wide gap. The bend grips a soft plastic and stops it sliding down; the wide gap leaves room for the plastic and still has space to reach a fish. This is the hook for every Texas rig you will ever tie.

Octopus / bait hook. Short shank, round bend, often with an up-turned eye. Designed to be small and hard to notice with a live bait threaded on it. This is the live bait hook, and it is what goes under a float.

Treble. Three points on one shank. You do not usually buy these individually — they arrive attached to crankbaits, jerkbaits and topwater lures. They hook fish extremely well and they are the reason those lures need a line with some stretch.

Match the hook to the bait, not the fish

This is the rule that fixes most hook-selection problems.

A 5 inch soft plastic worm needs a 3/0 or 4/0 offset hook, regardless of whether a two-pound or a six-pound bass eats it. The hook has to be long enough to run through the plastic and leave a usable gap. A 1/0 in a 5 inch worm buries its point in plastic and misses fish.

Equally, a size 6 bait hook with a single worm on it catches bluegill and the occasional surprisingly large bass, because the bait is small and so is the hook.

The gap — the distance between point and shank — is the number that actually matters, and it is the one nobody publishes. Hold the hook against the bait: if the point has room to clear the plastic when it folds, the hook is right.

Wire gauge, and when to care

Heavy wire resists bending, so it is what you want when you will be pulling fish out of vegetation or wood. Light wire penetrates more easily and weighs less, which matters on small baits and light line.

The trade is real in both directions. Heavy wire needs more force to set, which is why a bladed jig with a heavy wire hook wants a medium-heavy rod. Light wire straightens under load, which is how people lose good fish on panfish gear.

Sharpness is a consumable

A hook is sharp when it is new and it stops being sharp faster than most people think. Every rock, every dock post and every fish dulls it.

The test costs nothing: drag the point lightly across your thumbnail. If it catches and bites in, it is sharp. If it slides, it is done. Replace it or sharpen it — a dull hook is the most common reason a fish comes off, and it is entirely preventable.

On hard baits, this is a good argument for keeping a few spare trebles. The hooks on an inexpensive lure are usually the weakest part of it.