s
| Owner's
Ringed Gorillas are widely accepted as the best hooks of their kind.
They feature a unique "cutting point" that allegedly penetrates better,
a highly corrosion-resistant "black chrome" finish, and a very chic
brand name, for which most anglers happily pay a bit of a premium. We
use them, too, although we're actively looking for less expensive hooks
of equivalent quality. Again, you pay a little more just for the Owner
name. Why ringed hooks? We think they allow baits to swim more freely. It also seems like with nose-hooked mackerel and caballitos, the hook rotates in the nose and buries its point less often with ringed hooks. For now, we're carrying only 5/0 Ringed Gorillas. That's the size you need for fishing with average-size mackerel and caballitos for yellowtail, grouper, dorado, billfish and white seabass. |
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Owner Ringed Gorillas, 4-pack $7.00/4-pack $5.75 (ship weight .10 lbs.) Seven packs left |
Mustad Ringed Hoodlum Hooks
| Mustad
ringed Hoodlums, left to right: 2/0, 6/0 and 5/0 Owner ringed Gorilla
for comparison. |
| There's
no question that Mustad's Hoodlum ringed bait hooks are knock-offs of
Owner's Ringed Gorillas, but they also happen to be very good
knock-offs. They have a similar corrosion-resistant shiny black finish,
a similar shape, and, of course, a similar welded ring. The Hoodlums are made of slightly lighter wire than the Owners, which we don't mind, because they're still plenty strong and they're probably a little easier on baits. They also have a simple conical point instead of Owner's elaborate "cutting point." Doesn't look as neat, but does the trick -- and it's sticky sharp right out of the package. For now, we're carrying only 6/0 and 2/0 Hoodlums, which are ideal for typical mackerel or caballitos and typical sardinas, respectively. The 6/0 Mustad is about the same size as the 5/0 Owner. The 6/0s come in a 4-pack; the 2/0s come in a 5-pack. |
 |
Mustad Ringed Hoodlum Hooks 6/0: $6.00/4-pack 6/0: $4.75/4-pack 2/0: $6.00/5-pack 2/0: $4.75/5-pack (ship weight .10 lbs.) |
Mustad 94150 Econo Bait Hooks
| Mustad
94150s, left to right: 1/0, 2/0, 4/0, 5/0, 6/0. |
| The
good old Mustad 94150 live bait hook is what you might call "plenty
good" -- and it is. It's not quite as strong and it's not quite as
sharp and it doesn't stay sharp quite as long as more expensive hooks,
but it still does its job perfectly well. Thousands upon thousands of
yellowtail and tuna are caught every year with these hooks aboard the
San Diego sportboat fleet. In fact, they're probably the most popular
live bait hooks on the West Coast. Their only really significant shortcoming is that they're not resistant to corrosion. Bronze hooks are essentially disposable -- at least when it comes to saltwater use. Cut a wet bronze hook off your line and drop in your box, and by the next day it'll be rusted. So will any other bronze hooks in the same compartment. Because you can't put a bronze hook that's been in saltwater in a closed space with new bronze hooks, you've either got to figure out a way to keep used hooks separate or just throw them away after using them -- which you can probably afford to do. Use 1/0s and 2/0s for sardinas, 4/0s for mini-mackeral and the little mullet you can usually barter for in Mag Bay, 5/0s and 6/0s for mackerel and caballitos. |
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Mustad 94150 Bait Hooks 1/0, 2/0, 4/0, 5/0: $1.15/8-pack 6/0: $1.15/5-pack (ship weight .10 lbs.) Out of 6/0 |
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