Trailer hook on a spinner bait?

[Mike Meier]

What is best trailer hook or no trailer hook? And if you use one do you rig it hook point up or down?

Thanks

Mike

[Kelly Ripa]

I don't use one on a blade even when I use a trailer(grub,etc.)but I do on a buzzbait...I prolly don't know what I'm missing I have not felt I needed one too often and if I did I always carry them. I use 2/0 gammie's for spinnerbaits and I like the red ones If I can get them . I fish my trailer hooks up. I always have just so I can get through more of the jungle. If you fished the hook down or used a treble hook for a trailer you would be hard pressed to do slow roll or a bump the stump/structure thing without getting jacked on everything between you and your lure.

[ash]

I am with Kelly on this one I hardly use one on a spinnerbait and always use one on a buzzbait. I use a trailer when burning a blade or this time of year on the spotted bass fisheries we have in Nor-Cal.

Typically if I am getting short bit or feel a fish swipe the blades and not connect I may do a trialer hook but I am more apt to change color of skirt.

[B Becker]

always, always, always throw a trailer!!!! I get alot of short strikes on the colorado river lakes (Mead, Mohave, Havasu).....I am a firm believer in them...I use Gama 2/0, they used to have a 1/0, and probably still do, but they are hard to find......I run mine hook up and I put the stopper over the eye of the hook and then hook it on the spinnerbait....I don't like the free flowing trailer.....this is just my .02....also if you are going to run a trailer hook, leave your skirt longer to cover up the hook more....that is why I like the smaller 1/0 and 2/0 hooks.....

[Ron C]

...I most certainly will if I am getting short bit. The exception to this is when I am fishing at Shasta or Oroville (or any other spotted bass lake), where I almost always use a trailer hook. I use Gamakatsu Trailer Hooks in 1/0 or 2/0 sizes (3/0 on buzzbaits). They come with clear plastic (surgical) tubing and are available in both nickel and red.

When I use trailer hooks, I always put them on with the hook point up (the same direction at the main hook). If you put them on with the hook point down, you will miss A LOT of fish. The reason for this is because most fish hit a spinnerbait (or buzzbait) from above. If your trailer hook is pointing down, the fish will hit it and push it down without getting hooked.

Anglers Marine and J&T Tackle carry Gamakatsu Trailer hooks. You can also get them from the better on-line stores, such as Tackle Warehouse and Bass Pro Shops (etc.). If you are not familiar with them, here's what they look like: http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog. ... ler%20Hook

[Bulldawg Dave]

That if you place the trailer hook upside down you run the risk of hooking the fish in the tounge, which hurts its survival rate.

[mark poulson]

Naw.....it just puts a crimp in their love life for a while. Think of it as a tongue stud.

[Bulldawg Dave]

Now thats funny right there!

[Hollywood]

Darn Freaky bass these days i tell ya.

[Jim V.]

I fished a pro-am at Mead years ago & was paired with Dean Rojas. He asked me to throw a spinnerbait all day & a spook occasionally. He gave me one of his SBs & it had a treble hook as a trailer. I asked him about it & he said he always uses a trailer hook & almost always it's a treble. If one extra hook is good, 3's got to be better. It's worked well for me eversince. Works on a buzz-bait also. Sometimes I cut the bottom hook off it's it's too weedy.

[Mike Meier]

Thanks everyone for the information.


Mike

[macinckirk]

spinner baits have been my #1 bait for years and 99% of the time I NEVER use a trailer hook, Man now that I think about it I have not used 1 in the last 10 years or so.

I have never had a problum with short hits on a blade though

[mark poulson]

This is more a general question. The thing about short hits is, if they are really just nipping and missing totally, how would you know if you don't use a trailer hook? How many fish have I missed over the years? Dammmmm!!!!!
I use a trailer with a buzzbait, but not with a spinnerbait, because I usually throw it deep into cover, and don't want to get snagged.

[ash]

I can feel when a fish swipes and never touches the bait. It is why I use a sensative glass rod and FLUROCARBON line for blades. I can feel the blades turning and when they stop or the turn is interrupted you just been swiped by a fish who turned short.

I still say changing up color until the fish are eating it good is much more productive then counting on the trailer hook for short swipes.

Regards,

JMA

[mark poulson]

I only throw blades on 50lb braid (thank you Gerry) because I love how indestructable it is in brush and crap. What weight flouro do you use for your blades? I use the same setup for blades and chatterbaits.

[ash]

Typically I use 12lb on lakes and 14 on Delta \Clear Lake. I would think with the Braid you would have more sensativity then with the flurocarbon.

[Ray L.]

Braid is fine at times but Fluro works better for most situations for me. On the Delta or Clear I throw them with 20 pound fluro and on the river lakes and our s. cal. lakes I use 12 to 14 pound. I also always use a trailer hook and I do throw it in cover always. If I am fishing open water I sometimes use a treble hook or even run 2 trailer hooks.

[Kelly Ripa]

I've been thinking about them on an off since I really looked at them at the booth. I think I'll give 'em a try to be honest.

[mark poulson]

Jonathan,
One thing I've noticed about flouro over the three years I've been using it is that it transmits strikes on a slack line, like when I'm letting a jig or Ika just sit, or dead sticking a Senko. Braid is so limp that, if it's slack at all, you lose all contact with your lure until the fish pulls tight. Maybe that's why you feel so much with flouro and blades. I'll have to try it, because I use a jerky retieve a lot of the time when the water is clear.

[Ray L.]

1 thing though glass rods are not as sensitive as Graphite