I’m a proponent of finding tackle that fits the way you fish and stick with it. One of my long-standing choices for a flipping hook is the Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Flipping Hook. I’ve caught a lot of fish on this hook over the course of several years and it’s one I recommend a lot to anglers for a few of its unique properties. Here a few things about this hook that you might want to consider to see if it fits your style of fishing.
It’s a fish sticker
I cannot get over how well the Hack Attack Flipping hook sticks fish for me. I’m not a whip setter when it comes to the hookset. I have a long solid pull when I set the hook as I try to keep a fish loaded on the rod continuously from the time I start to set until the time I boat flip or land them.
I use to whip crack and you can get behind a fish quick like that and unload your rod which leads to a lot of fish getting off. I’ve actually slowed my hookset just a hare and tried to pull the fish continuously throughout my motion. I think this hook marries well to that type of hookset.
Easy to snell
I’m a snell knot guy when it comes to flipping plastics. I have always had a lot of success snelling a straight shank hook. I do it when I’m flipping grass or flipping flooded bushes and even around objects like docks.
The Hack Attack Flipping Hook comes with a solid molded keeper on it with a space between it and the eye of the hook to leave you room to snell a knot if you wish. I have no problem tying the simple uni snell and I like how it all snugs up under the protection of that keeper.
Good bite
The hook has a nice wide bite but it’s not so much that it’s snaggy on a compact plastic like a Strike King Rage Bug or Rodent. I use the 4/0 size a lot and the 5/0 a good bit of the time as well. Even the 4/0 I feel has a good gap between the shank and the hook point to give you a lot of area to catch the fish.
The other good bite on this hook is the unique saltwater point. This is actually designed from a saltwater hook so that there is literally no possibility of flex from point to shank even on the heaviest braid. But the point is long and conical so that solid pressure will continue to drive the hook into even the bony hard parts of a bass’s mouth.
Holds up a long time
The keeper is solid on the Strike King Hack Attack Flipping Hook and will not move or twist on the hook like some other flipping hooks I’ve fished with in the past. It holds the plastic extremely well and the make up of this hook coupled with the unique point, make this a hook that will last through a ton of fish catches and gnarly cover. I’ve used the same hook over weeks of flipping.
If you’re prudent about keeping point buried in the meaty part of the plastic, you will never have an issue with snagging. I think guys will try to push a plastic took long where it’s so torn up the hook starts poking out easier and that’s when they get into snagging issues. I just retire a plastic if I think it compromises my snagless presentation.
Comes through plastic easy
The other thing about the Hack Attack Flipping Hook is how well it goes through the plastic and into the fish on a hookset. I’ve reeled into fish and hooked them and I’ve cracked them over logs and dock crossbeams and managed to keep the fish pinned and hooked solid. Even when you have obstacles between you and the fish, this hook seems to stick them no matter what plastic I’m using.
Doesn’t over power the bait
I’ve flipped everything from big bulk Brush Hogs to little thing plastics on the Hack Attack Flipping Hook. The hook is a perfect fit for big and small plastics alike. I think it’s a heck of a hook for fishing around cover and about the only adjustments I make is I will go down to the 4/0 on smaller thinner plastics and up to the bigger 6/0 on bulkier plastics.
You can find the Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Flipping Hook at Tacklewarehouse.com and other retailers for around $7.49 a 4 pack. So roughly a $1.80 a hook. But like I said, one hook can last you a long time and remain sharp through numerous fish and a forest of flooded cover.
Hackney’s hook of choice
Greg Hackney turned me onto his hook several years ago and it’s been a favorite ever since. He reminded me how good it was a couple weeks back in Louisiana, and I had to reload on a bunch more hooks for this year’s flipping.
He designed the hook because he wanted the no nonsense hook that would not flex no matter how much pressure he put on a fish in heavy cover. I have to agree, it’s a hook I think would hook a tuna as well as any big bass.
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