Power techniques require power tackle when bass fishing around heavy cover. We love to flip, pitch and punch plastics and jigs around heavy cover when fishing for bass. It requires a stout rod, heavy line and a strong and sharp hook. For years, good hooks were just not available. Guys were borrowing hooks from saltwater applications and trying to modify them to work for bass in heavy cover. But now we have a great crop of hooks designed for these specific applications.
The Lazer Trokar 6/0 Flippin Hook (TK130-6/0) combines one of the best keepers we have seen with a stout shank that eliminates flex and a super sharp triple-sided point that easily penetrates a bass’s mouth. We use a 3/8-ounce or heavier ECO-Pro Tungsten Weight, fluorocarbon or braided line and 7-foot, 6-inch heavy power rod with this hook.
The barb is very small but keeps bass hooked up even in dense cover. The line tie is beefy and the position of the keeper works well for Zoom Brush Hogs, big tubes and other flipping baits. We have also fished it on big worms on deep water structure with equal success. Its forte, however, is close quarters combat.
The keeper sits down a bit from the line tie and the secondary barb on the inside bend of the hook keeps the bait from balling up, which results in more mileage out of our baits with this hook. The hook penetrates the plastic effortlessly but doesn’t tear at the head on the hookset.
Another advantage is the line tie is offset just a small amount to give a direct line of pull on the hookset but yet a big enough bite to blast through the plastic and into the boney part of the fish’s mouth. Case in point, our tests have seen most fish hooked in the top of the mouth. There is no flex with the bruiser hook.
Much has been said about the surgically sharpened point on this hook. The precision point penetrates without cutting. The hook sticks them with much less pressure. Where is this is most noticeable is when fishing around grass. You don’t always get a direct line of pull when fishing in heavy cover because the cover obstructs the line. So your force is dampened. With the knife edge or Trokar edge in this case, the hook pierces easily with less effort. For the tournament angler that is a major advantage.
There are four hooks in a package of the 6/0 size, at $9.99 per pack. After our results in testing with them, we think they are worth the investment. At the end of the day, they have allowed us to cash a bunch of checks in tournaments and that’s really where the proof is for us.
They come in sizes from 3/0 to 7/0. To check out these bass fishing hooks and purchase them, visit the online bass fishing retailer, Tacklewarehouse.com.
