I dug this from the archives out of sheer boredom...where is everyone today? Gamakatzu is my favorite.

yeah im with you there mo. those are the only ones i get.

I like the bass pro xps hooks. I have had no problems with them and you cant beat buy two get one free at the spring classic

I like gamakatsu also

Can't argue with the effectiveness of Gamakatsu. They've got my vote.

I use gamakatsu almost all the time , I just started useing the bass pro shop's xps and have not had any thing go wrong with them. JOHN

Hmm...never tried those BPS hooks...anyone ever try Matzuo? They're a sort of "bargain" brand...half the price of Gama's but probably equal in performance. They are my best seller at the fleamarkets. I've used them when I ran out of Gama's and they are a great hook.

I have tried the bps ones there ok. But I still think Gamakatzu are sharper. I’ll have to check out Matzou.

I am restricted by the style of hook I prefer. Seems that the only octopus circle hooks I can find smaller that about 1/0 are made by Gamakatsu. I suppose it could be worse, like if the only brand available to me was utter junk. For a while I could find Matzuo snelled circle hooks but my local Sports Authority seems to be eliminating their fishing dept. Never had a problem with them.

pegsguy- if it looks like there starting to get rid of there fishing dept. i would say keep an eye out for some sales.

Posted By Bassman47312013 on 03 Feb 2012 12:17 PM
pegsguy- if it looks like there starting to get rid of there fishing dept. i would say keep an eye out for some sales.

Same here...The Sports Authority in my neck of the woods seems to be carrying less and less fishing gear and tackle. S.A. used to stock Quantum reels, Cabo's and Boca's...not anymore...I found a deal last year, I picked up the Cabo CNW 30 (trolling reel) for under 70 dollars...That reel retails for 179.99. So keep an eye out...maybe more deals to come!

nice grab barresi yeah i need to start looking around more and hit up alot of garage sales

I have replaced the hooks on all my lures with either Gamakatsu or Owner hooks. For catfishing I use only Gamakatsu Octopus Circle hooks, 4/0 for channels, 8/0 for flatheads. 

My favorite is whatever is on sale. You can catch the same amount of fish on an Eagle Claw as you can on a Gamakastu! Be confident in your ability, and the hook doesn't matter. I've seen modified paper clips catch fish.

There's alittle more to it than that...True any ol'hook will catch a fish, or get caught in a fishes mouth, but there certain qualities that some hooks have over others. For example: some hooks are sharper than others, some will resist rust longer than others, some have a stronger breaking/bending point than others, and thats just to name a few examples. So the reality is, not all hooks are created equal, no matter how confident you are or your skill level. And I use Gamakatsu about 95% of the time.

I like Gamakatsu hooks for their sharpness. They seem a more britle then Owner hooks. So I use salt water heavy duty Gamakatsu's for large Pike and Muskie's. Can't beat the sharpness of the Gamakatsu's.

I'll tell you what I've noticed...some hooks stand up to today's soft plastics better. Anyone who has tossed a worm into their tacklebox with the hook still in it knows what I'm talking about. Hooks with a bronze finish(Eagle Claw) seem to be most affected by this. Hooks with a black nickel finish(Gamakatsu) seem almost unaffected. My advice...spend the extra $1...and save the headaches!
                                                                                                                                                                              

I have been using Eagle Claw hooks for 30 years.
I make around 300 to 400 jigs a year for friends and family.
I have never had one break, i have bent a few and just bend them back and keep fishing.
I don't miss many fish and they must be more than sharp enough as I fish ultralites most of the time.
I am a multi species guy and fish for everything.
I have used the more expensive hooks but (IMHO) they don't help me catch anymore fish than I do with Eagle Claws.
Salt in the soft plastics will take the finish off most hooks if left long enough.

YellowBear: are you using the gold colored Eagle Claw hooks? I also cast a lot of jigs and the only hooks readily available to me are the 675 style Eagle Claw. These have a gold colored finish and I haven't had a problem with plastics affecting them like they seem to do on the bronze coated hooks. All of my worm hooks are black nickel finish.