Why Gammie v. Owner. It's kind of hard to quantify. I guess just the experience of trying both quite a bit and finding that gammie works better for me?

Maybe it's the slightly larger barb on the gammie hook. Maybe it's the weight of the hook and how it rides on the bait. Hooks very much affect lure action. Maybe it's the length from the tip of the hook to the barb.

I'm kinda speculating on those things. When you can't answer why, sometimes you just accept things :) I focus mainly on the end result which is getting bit and landing the bass. The 2/0 gammie bronze hook is a great hook for that.

Maybe someone will make a better hook at some point. I sure hope so.

You asked about the joints. I pay more attention to the buoyancy of the lure than the joints. These days I'm fishing slammer on the surface most of the time. So floating baits made from lighter hunks of wood are good in my book.

If I have time later I'll take a pic of my baits so you can see the joints. For sure my 2 super money all time favorite baits do have an irregular joint. A lot of them do.

My all white 9 inch bait which I would rate as money, but not super duper money has a joint that is just a little off. Not too irregular. It likes to run just a little subsurface and gets bit well on a faster wind.

Each Slammer will have some personality to it. As the years go by I think your brain gets in tune with the right retrieve for each lure. The cadence and diving depth and such. When you have a true money bait and you've tuned in to the right speed for it, that's when fishing just gets to be so much fun :)