Finding a Fishing Hook for Success

The hook is the one piece of tackle between you and every fish you catch, yet it is the part most anglers think about least. Get the size, shape and strength right and your hookup rate climbs immediately. This guide demystifies hook sizing and points you to reliable, inexpensive sets worth owning.

How hook sizes work

Hook sizing uses two scales that run in opposite directions, which trips up almost everyone at first:

• In the numbered range, a bigger number means a smaller hook — a #16 is tiny, a #1 is much larger.
• Once you pass #1 you switch to "aught" sizes, written like 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 — and here a bigger number means a bigger hook.

So the run from small to large goes #6, #4, #2, #1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, and up. Match the hook to the size of your bait and the mouth of your target fish, not to the fish's weight.

Common hook types

• Worm and EWG hooks for soft plastics. Wide-gap offset designs like the FCFKUK offset worm hooks or the heavier UCEC EWG hooks are the backbone of bass fishing.
• Circle hooks for live and cut bait. The offset point of a set like the JSHANMEI circle hooks self-sets in the corner of the mouth, which makes for cleaner releases.
• Weighted swimbait hooks such as the SHUNWEI weighted hooks for rigging soft swimbaits.
• Specialty hooks, like the weedless Harmony wacky hooks for skipping Senkos into cover.

Buy assortments, not singles

Because the right size depends on the day, an assortment is the smartest first purchase. A bulk set like the HETH 2,000-piece worm hook kit or the small-hook 500-piece carbon-steel assortment keeps every size on hand for pennies apiece. Compact options like the Sougayilang worm hook set live easily in a tackle bag.

Keep them sharp

Even the best hook dulls. Touch up the point with a file or replace cheap hooks often — a sticky-sharp point is the cheapest upgrade in fishing.

Hooks are only one piece of the puzzle: pair them with the right rod, the right bass lures, or — for fly anglers — the right trout flies.