Broken hooks
yak2you2
2009-03-12 17:26:52
Nothing is more frustrating than getting a fish on, then hauling back a spoon or a hootchy with no hook on it. In order to get stainless steel as hard as it is, the manufacturers give way to the metal becoming very brittle. Where this becomes an issue for me is bending the eye closed around whatever swivel or ring your attaching it to. I have noticed that if i don't get the eye bent closed in a near perfect circle or smash it down to far, it will almost surely fail, The best remedy I have for this is to close the eye with my crimping tool in a series of stages by moving further around the curve of the eye with each pinch. This cuts down the number of snapped eyes considerably, but it still does happen every once in a while.
Another thing is, you'll notice that hooks that have been hanging around the boat for a while will get a small rust spot right at the curve of the eye, throws these away immediately. I've been either to lazy or to cheap in the past to replace these, and it has cost me. Take the hook in one hand, and the spoon in the other and give it a little twisting pressure, the eyes I'm describing will likely snap right in your hands. Blued hooks are one answer to this as the steel is much softer and will not snap, but then you have the constant battle of keeping it from turning into a rust ball, and, softer can lead to a straightened out hook, which is even more aggravating because likely it will be a hog that you lose to a straightened out hook.
Anybody got any further ideas for avoiding this dilemma??? I would love for this to happen almost never.
Salty
2009-03-12 17:32:19
Change your brand of hooks. Check the batches. Every batch seems to be different. Mustad 95170 and 95165 are notorious for the problem described but we still use them. The Southern Tuna hook is a better hook but it has a closed eye.
Maybe someone can clue us into better hooks that don't break.
yak2you2
2009-03-12 17:35:31
Yeah, Mustad straight points are all I use. I've also noticed that the bigger the hook size, the more brittle and prone they are to this happening.
yak2you2
2009-03-12 17:41:02
I've considered trying brazing the eye shut rather than bending it, kind of the same idea as a welded ring, but it seems like to large of a gap to stick shut.
Salty
2009-03-12 19:22:21
Southern Tuna Hook, Mustad 7691S.
actionalaska
2009-03-13 15:33:33
Try annealing the stainless hooks at the eye, when you crimp them shut that metal work hardens and becomes more brittle than the rest of the hook. You'll probably have to try it a few times to get the heat right without taking the alloy elements out of solution in the parent metal which is what makes the hook stainless. Annealing the eye may make the hook more prone to corroding, but it won't ever be as bad as a blued hook. Annealing is taking the hardness in metal, caused by tempering or work hardening, out and returning the metal to it's original state which is less brittle and tougher. Anneal it by taking a small propane torch and heat the eye to red hot, then let it cool in the air slowly, you can even add some heat to it while it's cooling to make it cool slowly. Do not use oxyacetalyne because if you don't have the flame just perfect you can carbeurize the metal and change the amount of carbon in solution in the metal which will change the characteristics drastically. Hope this helps.
yak2you2
2009-03-13 19:45:17
Sounds worth a try, thanks.
mswkickdrum
2009-03-13 21:32:27
Make sure I got this right.
1. Using propane torch, heat eye of hook just till red/glowing
2. attatch hook to lure etc. and close eye working in stages around the circle to close gap.
3. Let air cool, maybe lightly back and forth with torch a time or two to keep cooling slow.
Yes?
I'm a "newbie" and sadly my boat came without any tackle. So I've been on shopping expeditons
to get eveything and it all needs hooks.
thanks,
MSW
Salty
2009-03-13 22:25:12
AEQUITAS
2009-03-14 00:00:31
Hey Guys, Dont waste time annealing your stainless hooks,This has to be done at the exact temp. If to hot stainless becomes like glass and to cold you take the chance of untempering which has the same out come. If closed eye is what you want, For pennies more per hook you can buy the soutern tuna(mustad #7691s) I have not had one break yet. You wont know if you messed up until that 30 lb king is swiming away with your hook. I feel my time is better spent finding fish than spent staring at a torch flame and piching my fingers in the channel locks. Just my opinion. Chad
yak2you2
2009-03-14 00:04:28
Closed eye won't work, not for spoons anyway. Somehow it has to be attached to the ring before being closed.
AEQUITAS
2009-03-14 00:10:48
I replace the welded rings on the spoons with spilt rings.Works great.
Salty
2009-03-14 01:20:05
For king spoons I have gone back to the 9510 xxx blued. The # 8 works good on the 7 superior. Blued seems to fish better on those bright spoons anyway. The 11 (yes 11) duranickle also works fine on the # 7 superior.
So, do you use that tuna hook for hootchies, spoons, and bait? I have used it for bait and love how it hooks, holds up, and doesn't rust.
I guess some of the Canadian trollers use it. That is how I got turned on to it.
carojae
2009-03-14 04:29:55
Yak, I think your idea of looking for that rust spot makes the most sense - that's what I do. I call it the brown stain. Very easy to do a visual while your hooks are stacked. Disclaimer: I can't say I am 100% broken hook free though.
Salty, I like the 95165's but they (seamar) are telling me they are not going to sell them anymore. Don't know why they are choosing to do that but I wish they wouldn't drop them. They seem pretty durable to me.
$0.02
Jim
Salty
2009-03-14 18:06:03
The 95165 7/0 has been my main hook on the hootchies and #5 superiors and coho spoons for many years. Probably why I don't catch much on coho spoons as the #6 seems to work better. But I sure get tired of having to replace them every season. Chuck Barker himself came over to my boat in 1982 and told me the history of how he saved that hook and that it was the hook for the #5 superior.
You see any brown on that bend and you have to have the discipline to toss it. Otherwise you end up with a missing hook.
More boat work today. Two sets of used Easthopes arrived yesterday. Not in the best shape but certainly serviceable for parts.
Ocean Gold
2009-03-15 00:20:59
Parts are good, you got the memo that Kolstand gurdies are being made again by the guys that worked there.
I have several extra Easthope spools
Salty
2009-03-15 02:56:40
Ed,
How much do you want for those?
carojae
2009-03-15 17:24:47
:idea: I still need the hydraulic valves for easthopes. Anyone that can help me out
Jim
If you are wondering why I said valves for easthopes, the easthope valves are longer that your normal "bolt directly on the hydraulic motor valve".
yak2you2
2009-03-15 22:33:10
Maybe it's because your posting in the broken hooks section, instead of the things for sale section. =)
davidtettleton
2009-03-28 06:32:16
I switched to the soft blued , throw away hooks--moslty because the lions eat the expensive hooks like candy-or so it seems. The eye is so easy to bend on to a hook and they don't break like ss.