Ok I confess, I bought some red hooks a while back. I haven't been using them (they were on some spoons and I don't spoon very often) but I took a close look at them tonight. I noticed that they were not as sharp as a regular gammie hook. I checked two different sizes and it was the same on both. It think what's happening is that the red paint over the hooks gets on the tips of the hooks and coats them in a way that makes them less sharp. Anyone else noticed this? I definitely won't use these hooks now because I'd have to sharpen them all first, which is majorly annoying on a #6 treble. This is less of a rant than it is a heads up.

One thing I've never understood, alot of people swear by red hooks. They say that they definately get more bites on red hooks. Now I'm starting to hear quite a bit about this Cajun Red line. Red is the first color to fade under water, so they claim that this red line becomes invisible in a few feet of water. Doesn't that kind of contradict the effectiveness of the red hooks? If the color fades out how can it really have any effect?

hey quit asking these kind of smart questions, you're messing up the marketing hype! LOL. I think you have a great point personally...

if red dispears quicker then the red hooks would be good b/c it wouldnt look like theres any hooks on your bait. oh ya i use red hooks all the time on d-shot but i thinks its just a confidence thing for me.

So bass kid, ince I'm too lazy to look it up, here is a question... When people say that red is the first color to disappear, does that mean that it turns to black or to what color? I've thought about the reasons why red snapper are red, and I wonder if their red color turns effectively black at a depth where there is very little light penetration ... so it makes the red snapper blend in well with an otherwise dark world?

To me the ideal hook color is still clear :)

Hey Rob I watched in dis beleif in Oregon when my buddy was catching smallies on cranks. He would switch the red hook from front to back and the smallies would be hooked on the red hook. Tried it down here and didn't make a difference. I don't beleive in them at all but I did witness it make a difference. Just my two cents...

Ah, its all hype.

Welcome to marketing.

Next up, neon glow hooks, maybe with a bit of rainbow effect.

They will run out of marketing ployes sooner or later.

Red does not disappear instead the red color will "wash out" to a muted brown/grey. This is why fish like red snapper and such have the red color because at the depths they live at their color suits their environment. The depth at which red will begin to wash out depends largely on the clarity of the water and available light.

Every couple of seasons I keep switching between running a red hook up versus all black or bronze hooks. One idea that I thought about periodically is that the red on our lures/hooks or the red on a baitfish is going to react similarly under the same conditions so the fish might already be recognizing the color as red.

I think red hooks have their uses. Sure BassPro and others have hyped out "the red theory". But I use them at times in shallow water if I want to see my bait, like when I'm sight fishing with a drop shot rig. When I drop that rig on the bed, I can see that hook flash as I shake it from over 20 feet away. It often works to get at least some bed fish to hit because it's just a bit more visible to both them and me. But like you said, red disappears in deep water. But it is hype to that red will turn black at shallow depths too. It takes about 30 feet of water column for red to begin changing. So, I guess there is 2 sides to the whole red hook thing?

I definitely think that the whole red hooks thing has been blown out of proportion, but I had an experience just like magmaster's. Me and a buddy were cranking on Melones one morning and we were both getting bit. The thing is, he was catching fish with the red hooks on his bait and I was just getting bit, not sticking anything, with the normal black nickel Gammies. I really do think those hooks were making the fish commmit better for w/e reason. Haven't had that happen down here in SoCal though.

I use them on dropshot too. Someone told me that they got more bites on the red hooks, so I tried them and got sucked into the whole hype, and now it's just a confidence thing for me.

i am not a genious(infact i think i spelld that wrong), but i bought the red hookd way back when i needed some d shot hooks and they were cheaper so i bought them and when i used them i out fished my friend, now if it was b/c we workd out worms diff or the hooks are better, but i jist use them as a confidence thing. i dont think it will make it any worse so might as well try it.

bass kid, I didn't mean to sound negative in my post. I'm just encouraging you and everyone to think about this stuff. I'm thinking about it myself and at this point, I don't have a real definitive opinion on red hooks, I just know that the ones I have are duller than the normal hooks.

Another thing that came to mind in this discussion is this: It's generally agreed that blue is the last color to "disappear" under water. People point to this fact as a reason why blue and purple are good colors, I've seen it mentioned many times. So what should we do next, use blue lures to make the lure stand out but use them with red hooks to make the hooks "disappear" at deeper depths? It's a funny paradox when you think about it.

My overall thought on lure color selection is to match what the bass really eat. If bass are eating shad, my shad colored lure will look like the shad regardless if the shad are on the surface or if they are in 60 feet. Bass don't need any help finding lures typically, I think they're quite aware of what is around them.

My overall thought on hooks is that I want to make the hooks as inconspicuous as possible. I have never once seen a fish swimming around bleeding, so I'm not really sold on red hooks. Maybe the color of blood does trigger bass, but if that was the case, why don't we use blood red colored lures? I hear red is popular in texas, but it sure isn't popular out here. If I ever find the time, I'll experiment more with it, but for now I'll stick to using lures that look like real bass food and hooks that are as inconspicuous as possible :)

Yep Rob your right I bought some cheap ones off ebay and a few of them had drips dried on them. As far as I am concered red hooks area scam, I just like my hooks stick sharp!

Rob, I do agree on the whole match the hatch thing too. I like to use smaller lures and line to get the closest baitfish match possible. And I use regular hooks most of the time. Like I said, the red hooks work well for me during the spawn or when the fish are shallow and agressive. But most the time, it's nice sharp Gammies you'l find on most of my lures:)

On the whole bleeding fish thing, your pretty much correct. The only fish I've ever seen bleeding underwater are trout that some numbskull trouter leaves mortally wounded after attempting catch and release:+ Then again, if that's the case, I guess everyone would have red stingers on their swimbaits...:+ :+

oh i wasnt afended i just saying i like them, mine are sharp enough and i like them. They havent made anything worse so i say wut the heck ill keep throwing them, also with in 2 fish or so mine turn silver and i like them like that(they will be like half red)

Red hooks can be more effective at TIMES....they aren't a silver bullet.First,it is true that red is the first color too fade too a gray,then black (with depth).Thats why they tend too be more effective on top water baits,or cranks that run 1-3 ft.Anything deeper than that,they are changing color on you.
Red hooks on deep divers,jigs and worm hooks are absolutley worthless unless your fishing extremely shallow.
The thought on red hooks is that it represents gill flash,not blood like some think.
Just my 2 cents..Nathan
www.Bettencourtbaits.com

so in muddy water it turns to grey even faster?

I just received some new models of my favorite buzzbait, Vision's Honeybuzz Stinger Bee and for the first time, they've started using red hooks. Might make sense as to representing "gill flash" as the buzzer races across the top of the water:

http://landbigfish.com/images/store/swatches/VSN-StingerBees.jpg

The new model has that added treble hook.

(Sorry about that huge image.....I thought I'd just get the first image.)

Dan

only thing I've noticed about the red d/s hooks I've used (I think Gamis, haven't bought any in a long time) is that they turn bright gold really fast, just a few fish and most of the red is gone. I use them if they're the ones I have access to in a certain size, but give me the black hooks and I'm happy- One of my buddies is sold on them, he loves them on his cranks and they work great for him. Just a marketing/confidence thing I think.