Trolling for Kings

[Nolongeramember]

56 minutes ago, wazatherfisherman said:

Hi Paddy great point about using bronze trebles. I don't reckon a lot of younger fisho's would realise the value of using the bronze trebles as opposed to the common use of silver coloured trebles regardless of  the various strength and rust proofing qualities. Better hook-ups and far, far better "matching the hatch" properties

I’ve never heard of or seen bronze trebles. They sound worthwhile. Why do you get better hook ups and match the hatch with them?

How is the strength and bend resistance?

[wazatherfisherman]

1 hour ago, Hateanchors said:

I’ve never heard of or seen bronze trebles. They sound worthwhile. Why do you get better hook ups and match the hatch with them?

How is the strength and bend resistance?

Hi Hateanchors bronze trebles are still often used on freshwater lures and small saltwater lures such as Rebel Crawdads. They have definitely lost popularity over the years with new age corrosion and strength treatments being chosen instead of them, however, they have always produced more and better hook up rates and most older rock spin men know the value of them and would still probably prefer to use them where possible.

They don't offer great saltwater/rust resistance nor are they "chemically sharpened" although some are "laser sharpened" and they also are a little harder to find in multiple "extra strength" varieties. 

Better hook ups are achieved because the fish attack the lure, not the hooks. By this, what I mean is for example if you are spinning with metals or hard baitfish profiles, the most common types are chrome/silver, if the predator species are feeding on say 2 inch long pilchards, then a 2 inch long silvery (main colour anyway) lure would be the one you'd try first. If said lure then has a 1 inch long treble on the back, it then becomes a 3 inch lure due to the silver hook becoming part of the profile as it is same colour, Some species such as Frigate Mackerel, Salmon, Mack Tuna etc can be frustratingly hard to tempt if you haven't got an almost identical match to what they are chasing and you often see heaps of people casting right into the thick of them feeding for no result- this is because although they may have matched the right profile size and colour wise, the trailing silver (usually) hook has then increased the size of their overall lure..

High speed spinning from the rocks, you didn't really need a lot of lures, As Paddy said, 1/2 x 1/4 chrome plated bars in different lengths to copy the baitfish lengths were the mainstay of most, you could add a couple of sizes in hexagonal bar (marketed as "arrows") for better imitating smaller gars or maybe a few coloured lead 'fish' profiles, but in general the reflectivity of the chrome was the most widely used. Bronzed trebles were added because the profile size wise wasn't altered and the fish took the lure more into it's mouth resulting in less pulled hooks. 

You could also use a bigger size hook as it isn't compromising the integrity of the size, which also adds to better hooking/holding power. In the larger sizes (2/0 upwards) Mustad, Eagle Claw and VMC all make 2x, 3x, 4x strong (and stronger) varieties and also short shank styles as well. Yes they rust but if  you wash them as you do most lures after use then they last a lot longer.

A quick touch with the stone and they stay sharp and you can 'colour-in' the points with a permanent marker to keep the points sharp when not in use.

Easy experiment is next time you come across feeding fish and you're using metals, is to try 2 of same chosen lure profiles, one with silver hooks one with bronze and see the depth of the lure in the fishes mouth- I guarantee you'll find the bronze hooked lure deeper and better hooked up and if the fish are fickle, will be the difference between a strike or a follow. 

Tailor and Bonito can be exceptions to 'profile size' but they also are hooked better. Give it a try!

[zmk1962]

Awesome discussion guys. I have mostly baitfished and trolled so this level of insight is new ground for me - thank you. 

Has anyone tried spray painting silver hooks a different colour - would that have the same result as using the bronze trebles?

Cheers Zoran 

[PaddyT]

What Waz said was certainly the reason i used and most of the gun spin fishos I used to see in the late 80's and 90's usedbronzed trebles. The idea was always that the fish would hit the lure rather than hit the treble which meant a deeper and more secure hook up. I very rarely spin the rocks these days and think that the original Raider lures were actually an improvement on the 1/2x1/4. Most of my spinning lures are fitted with dark trebles- these days i use the black Owner trebles. I dont worry about it for minnows, just metals. Another good tip particularily for bonnies is to use a stop /start retrieve- 10 really fast cranks/stop/10 really fast cranks. The old 1/2x1/4 was a deadly lure in its own right, key was that it needed bevelled corners so it didnt spin on a fast retrieve.

[wazatherfisherman]

7 hours ago, zmk1962 said:

Awesome discussion guys. I have mostly baitfished and trolled so this level of insight is new ground for me - thank you. 

Has anyone tried spray painting silver hooks a different colour - would that have the same result as using the bronze trebles?

Cheers Zoran 

Hi Zoran I've tried painting them but the paint doesn't stay on long and the penetration is not as smooth as the surface of the hook becomes 'grippy'. Easy way is to take a permanent marker which also aids (albeit slightly) with preventing the points blunting. Better off using as Paddy says Black trebles for same effect. Tried red trebles on Tailor spinners but found the buggers went for the hook as much as the lure resulting in heaps more 'jump-offs', so pretty much a reverse of the point of using them!

Have been using tiny size coloured trebles on Bream lures for years but only because I got a big container of them really cheap at a close-out sale and they are dangerously sharp! The bronze and black are definitely worth putting on metals and baitfish profiles. Don't bother doing it with minnows, divers etc. The Owner ones Paddy uses are the go

[Mr Squidy]

A couple of years back i picked up a Molix stick bait for about $8 as a cheap casting hard body. I was initially extremely un-impressed as casting and retrieving it seems to have zero action. I've since however used it a few time trolling in close to the cliffs running it quite quick at 10 knotts. Because it has so little action it seems to hold in the water quite well for a shallow diving hard body and I've now caught a few kings along with tailor, salmon and bonnies on this lure. So far its out performed the skirts that I usually run on the other rod. Not a bad option for a very cheap lure.

 

Cheers,

Rich