Hook replacement for IMA Skimmer

[Ericmaxfishing]

I throw a ima skimmer quite a bit and the stock hooks bend pretty easy. Has anyone found a good hook for them? I went to a owner and the bait wants to dive more instead of walk

[DrewFlu33]

I throw a ima skimmer quite a bit and the stock hooks bend pretty easy. Has anyone found a good hook for them? I went to a owner and the bait wants to dive more instead of walk

Which Owner did you try? I always thought Ima baits came with Owner hooks. I'd guess a #4 ST-36 on that bait. If that's not what it comes with and not what you tried, that'd be the first thing I would try. Those are excellent trebles that are a great blend of sharp, economical, and strong (for regular wire, anyhow).

In any case, a #4 G-Finesse MH version would probably be a good choice that isn't going to make it heavier that will still have a lot of strength. You could probably even go to a #3 in that hook...I've noticed that they run a little smaller than other trebles for a given size, at least in the regular version. As far as I know the MH is the same size/configuration, just heavier wire.

[City17Banner]

I will echo DrewFlu33 thoughts, I throw the IMA Skimmer and OSP Bent Minnow a lot for smallmouth bass in NW Wisconsin and it's interesting that you find the stock hooks on the IMA Skimmer to bend easily as they are #4 Owner ST-36 treble hooks so perhaps your IMA Skimmer(s) didn't come with the Owner ST-36 as stock treble hooks for some reason or you might have inadvertently replaced the stock Owner hooks with a heavier hook from their large selection of treble hooks.

From a replacement treble hook standpoint beyond the Owner ST-36 treble hooks which nominally weigh an average of .66g, you have a couple of options, you can stay within the Owner model family and go with the Owner ST-38 Zo-Wire hooks which weighs approximately 10% less on average than the stock Owner ST-36 treble hooks and are a light wire replacement hook that is lighter by weight and is absolutely sticky sharp.

The other option in the same vein is the Gamakatsu G-Finesse TGW Nano (non-MH version) treble hook which weighs on average approximately 15% than the stock Owner ST-36 hooks. The notable aspect of the G-Finesse treble hook, as DrewFlu33 pointed out, is that it's about one size smaller than a comparable brand of hooks in the same size, so the combination of a smaller hook size and lighter hook allows you to upsize the treble hook with little to no impact on the lure action. This is the route I have taken, and I have replaced all of the stock Owner ST-36 treble hooks on my IMA Skimmers with size #3 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Nano TGW treble hooks and the walking the dog motion created using a gentle jerk has been maintained without fail on my lures.

I decided to add on to the replacement treble hook information from the Spybait thread in this forum, so everyone has access to this knowledge without having to get out the Mitutoyo 500 series digital calipers to measure the hook gaps and the digital jeweler's scale to measure the hook weights. Lastly, I added the Mustad Triple Grip Short Shank EWG hook which I sometimes use if the smallmouth bass are getting off the hook "more than expected" and I added the VMC Round Bend treble hook which is common on many hard baits manufactured in the US as a control.

IMA Skimmer Replacement Treble Hook Information: Please note that weight is in Grams (g) and Hook Gap is in Decimal Inches

Hook Manufacturer	Hook Model	Hook Size	Hook Weight #1	Hook Weight #2	Hook Weight #3	Average Hook Weight	Hook Gap
Gamakatsu	G-Finesse Nano TGW	#4	43	43	43	43	0.28
Gamakatsu	G-Finesse Nano TGW	#3	63	63	63	63	0.33
Owner	ST-36	#4	66	66	66	66	0.33
Owner	STX-38	#6	49	49	49	49	0.27
Mustad	Triple Grip KVD (Short Shank)	#4	64	64	64	64	0.34
VMC (Control)	Round Bend	#4	72	72	72	72	0.34

Please have a great day!

[Ericmaxfishing]

I throw a ima skimmer quite a bit and the stock hooks bend pretty easy. Has anyone found a good hook for them? I went to a owner and the bait wants to dive more instead of walk

I will try it thanks

[Ericmaxfishing]

I will echo DrewFlu33 thoughts, I throw the IMA Skimmer and OSP Bent Minnow a lot for smallmouth bass in NW Wisconsin and it's interesting that you find the stock hooks on the IMA Skimmer to bend easily as they are #4 Owner ST-36 treble hooks so perhaps your IMA Skimmer(s) didn't come with the Owner ST-36 as stock treble hooks for some reason or you might have inadvertently replaced the stock Owner hooks with a heavier hook from their large selection of treble hooks.

From a replacement treble hook standpoint beyond the Owner ST-36 treble hooks which nominally weigh an average of .66g, you have a couple of options, you can stay within the Owner model family and go with the Owner ST-38 Zo-Wire hooks which weighs approximately 10% less on average than the stock Owner ST-36 treble hooks and are a light wire replacement hook that is lighter by weight and is absolutely sticky sharp.

The other option in the same vein is the Gamakatsu G-Finesse TGW Nano (non-MH version) treble hook which weighs on average approximately 15% than the stock Owner ST-36 hooks. The notable aspect of the G-Finesse treble hook, as DrewFlu33 pointed out, is that it's about one size smaller than a comparable brand of hooks in the same size, so the combination of a smaller hook size and lighter hook allows you to upsize the treble hook with little to no impact on the lure action. This is the route I have taken, and I have replaced all of the stock Owner ST-36 treble hooks on my IMA Skimmers with size #3 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Nano TGW treble hooks and the walking the dog motion created using a gentle jerk has been maintained without fail on my lures.

I decided to add on to the replacement treble hook information from the Spybait thread in this forum, so everyone has access to this knowledge without having to get out the Mitutoyo 500 series digital calipers to measure the hook gaps and the digital jeweler's scale to measure the hook weights. Lastly, I added the Mustad Triple Grip Short Shank EWG hook which I sometimes use if the smallmouth bass are getting off the hook "more than expected" and I added the VMC Round Bend treble hook which is common on many hard baits manufactured in the US as a control.

IMA Skimmer Replacement Treble Hook Information: Please note that weight is in Grams (g) and Hook Gap is in Decimal Inches

Hook Manufacturer	Hook Model	Hook Size	Hook Weight #1	Hook Weight #2	Hook Weight #3	Average Hook Weight	Hook Gap
Gamakatsu	G-Finesse Nano TGW	#4	43	43	43	43	0.28
Gamakatsu	G-Finesse Nano TGW	#3	63	63	63	63	0.33
Owner	ST-36	#4	66	66	66	66	0.33
Owner	STX-38	#6	49	49	49	49	0.27
Mustad	Triple Grip KVD (Short Shank)	#4	64	64	64	64	0.34
VMC (Control)	Round Bend	#4	72	72	72	72	0.34

Please have a great day!

Thank you! You seem to be very knowledgeable!

[City17Banner]

You are welcome! There are lots of knowledgeable people on BBC, I'm just trying to do my part to help you out sir! It just happens that I throw a lot of JDM lures and I'm OCD about my replacement treble hooks in particular.

On a related note, my favorite small top water walking bait for smallmouth bass just came back into production after a few years of being not in production, the incomparable Lucky Craft Sammy 65, it's works great like the larger Sammy's but when the flowages around me have lots of small shad and other small minnows, there's no better lure to entice the smallmouth bass than the little Sammy 65!

Good luck with your IMA Skimmer, it's a great lure and hopefully you get the treble hook situation squared away and catch lots of big bass!

Please have a great day!