Jerkbait hooks??

[Pool14RiverRat]

I fish the Mississippi River so I don’t by $25 jerkbaits I buy the cheap strike king KVD ones and they work fine. The hooks that come on strike king hard baits suck. Just wi seeing what you guys like to put on them? I was thinking an Owner ST-36? Let me know

[John Jackson]

ST35 on the front 2, with one hook pointing straight forward. The other 2 hook points stick further out the side due to a 150* spread instead on normal 120* spread, and the hooks don't eat up the sides like normal trebles. Otherwise Gamakatsu finesse trebles, Arron Martin style.

[PJ-Rohlf]

I like either the Gamu Finesse A-mart hooks, or the Mustad KVD 1x triple grip hooks. I have been using the 13 jerkbaits that come with mustads and caught about 25 pike on one this weekend and they were still super sharp after that...

[DrewFlu33]

Owner ST-36 is definitely my jam for jerkbaits. Strong, super sharp, middle of the road in terms of cost, and hold a point for a long time. They also won't break like some other stronger hooks out there. They will bend out, but that usually takes a pike thrashing them to do that. I actually landed multiple smallmouth with one or two pushing 5 lbs on one bait in particular on Friday and did not have issues with them bending.

If you want to go cheaper, the KVD Triple Grips work well when the fish are really getting the bait and they stay pinned, but you won't usually get the slashers. The Gamakatsu Aaron Martens ones are definitely top notch, but they're super spendy and though they don't usually bend, they will break when they get thrashed by a pike. They're also a little lighter weight so I've had issues with a bait or two that used to suspend not suspending as well after switching to them, for what that's worth.

[bassmastermatt]

What size do people prefer?

[basscat21]

Owner ST-36 is definitely my jam for jerkbaits. Strong, super sharp, middle of the road in terms of cost, and hold a point for a long time. They also won't break like some other stronger hooks out there. They will bend out, but that usually takes a pike thrashing them to do that. I actually landed multiple smallmouth with one or two pushing 5 lbs on one bait in particular on Friday and did not have issues with them bending.

If you want to go cheaper, the KVD Triple Grips work well when the fish are really getting the bait and they stay pinned, but you won't usually get the slashers. The Gamakatsu Aaron Martens ones are definitely top notch, but they're super spendy and though they don't usually bend, they will break when they get thrashed by a pike. They're also a little lighter weight so I've had issues with a bait or two that used to suspend not suspending as well after switching to them, for what that's worth.

Agree 100% but no to triple grips......

[PJ-Rohlf]

What size do people prefer?

I use either 4 or 6 usually

[Apex400]

G-finesse trebles #6 , been using em for a while and like em. Never tried the st-36's. I just bought some daiichi deathtraps to use on my warts, price was definitely right, hope they're good.

[DrewFlu33]

I put size 5 ST-36s on most 110 size jerkbaits, #6 on anything smaller, #4 or #5 on bigger baits depending on what the stock ones have. I think the 130 size baits I use take #4s. I believe the A-Mart / G-Finesse ones are a little lighter than the ST-36 for the same size, so keep that in mind if you go that route.

I'm about to try some ST-38s as my usual place where I order them is out of size 5 ST-36s. ST-38s are supposed to weigh the same as the ST-36 but are stronger (and are more expensive...) as they're made from Owner's "Zo Wire" which I think is essentially the same as Gamakatsu's TGW / Tournament Grade Wire - the stuff the AMart hooks are made from. They do have a different bend to the hooks that they advertise as holding fish better. That last part has me hesitant to try them as the bend makes me think EWG style and as mentioned above they don't often hook the slashers as well, but I have some of my rashed up baits (read: the good ones) that are in need of new hooks and I've got a tourney coming up where a jerkbait may play, so I need to get them ready to go. I'll report back on how those work out.

[Casslaw]

I use Strike King jerkbait a lot and found their hooks to be pretty decent. I replace them with u bend gammys, the same that come in the Little John. I really want to try the ST-36s though.

[Walkabout7781]

The only ones I've replaced were the old hooks that came on Rapala minnows. I think they come with VMC hooks now. Anyway, I put on Gammakatsu EWG trebles and had zero problems getting fish into the boat.