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Souls Brabus Hooks?

8K views 38 replies 17 participants last post by  DenisB 
#1 ·
Got my Souls Brabus 186 sinking lure yesterday, courtesy of JigNPop.com.

Wow, what a nice looking lure. Seems extremely well built, but the finish is out of this world.

OK, I'll need to put some hooks on her. What do you guys recommend? I have some TN-76's in 3/0, but are these too big?

How about a treble in the middle and a single 11/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Live bait hook on the back?

John
 
#4 ·
Consider the "Nomad" style of rigging seen in these videos:

Rigging Stickbaits for casting and trolling

It allows a hook with a larger gap than comparable weight trebles plus less damage to the lure from hooks not in the fish. I tried rigging a Brabus with 2 size 9/0 SJ-41 hooks on the body but haven't been able to make it out to test the action. They recommend a single Owner Jobu in 9/0 for the tail of stick baits and 2 sizes bigger in a live bait hook seems about right. I might consider attaching the single rear hook with assist cord for more "twist leverage" resistance to further share my thoughts.

As above these are larger gaps than even 4/0 Owner St-66 trebles and would be especially good for a catch and release situation. If I was dead, dead set on killing a fish I would rig 4/0 ST-66 trebles in the hope I "wired" the fish's mouth shut with the hooks potentially shortening the fight. They are heavy however and do diminish the lure action some so you may have to go to 3/0 to get bit but if you can get away with it the extra gap and resulting bite of the 4/0 will provide some serious holding power.

The Nomad style is principally for GT fishing or any other application where they plan on releasing every fish as the singles damage the fish much, much less than trebles or, if you absolutely must have the larger gap for heavy weight monstas'.

ps Best advice I can give is rig them up with the largest you think applicable and cast them to check the action to see if it meets your needs. Bigger is better for more "bite" into the fish = less pulled hooks but too big deadens the darting and wobbling of all stick baits. One reason I got a few Brabus was to pull 4/0 ST-66 trebles at least part of the time as compared to Shibukis which simply cannot handle hooks that large and retain much action.
 
#5 ·
I had looked at the Nomad rigging techniques and thought releasing a fish would be much easier. Also the hook ups with wide gap short shank hooks should be more solid. Only problem is I have only found the SJ41's in Au. Just can't bring my self to pay as much shipping as item price. Know of any where to get SJ 41 hook in USA?
 
#6 ·
I had looked at the Nomad rigging techniques and thought releasing a fish would be much easier. Also the hook ups with wide gap short shank hooks should be more solid. Only problem is I have only found the SJ41's in Au. Just can't bring my self to pay as much shipping as item price. Know of any where to get SJ 41 hook in USA?

Any heavy duty live bait hook like the Owner Gorilla or Offshore should work just as well and have been proven to land Cow sized fish.

Kil Song may have some SJ-41s. I got the few I have from APS earlier in the year.
 
#9 ·
I also like having a single rear hook on all my lures, I feel the hook up ratio is greater that way. Since I really like the shout Kudako 7/0 jigging assist hooks, I took a blowtorch and heated up where the shank meets the eye, then with a couple of pliers turn the eye sideways. Now I have a perfectly super strong rear hook that I can trust and without having to use an extra split ring. I hope that made sense.
 
#11 ·
I also like having a single rear hook on all my lures, I feel the hook up ratio is greater that way. Since I really like the shout Kudako 7/0 jigging assist hooks, I took a blowtorch and heated up where the shank meets the eye, then with a couple of pliers turn the eye sideways. Now I have a perfectly super strong rear hook that I can trust and without having to use an extra split ring. I hope that made sense.


An extra split ring means one more thing that can fail...I will have to try that with the Kudako..thank you!
 
#15 ·
I could go with a larger 7691s, but I can also look at the Decoys as I like the shorter shank. Anybody know who has them?

The 7691s is a very very strong sharp hook though. I use it on all my offshore lures and spreader bars.

I got those Single Decoy Trailing Hooks from PLAT They're not in stock right now for the larger sizes. The will have them in a couple weeks.
 
#18 ·
I also like having a single rear hook on all my lures, I feel the hook up ratio is greater that way. Since I really like the shout Kudako 7/0 jigging assist hooks, I took a blowtorch and heated up where the shank meets the eye, then with a couple of pliers turn the eye sideways. Now I have a perfectly super strong rear hook that I can trust and without having to use an extra split ring. I hope that made sense.


:) :) I have done similar things with all sorts of hooks, even modifying the shank of really thick tuna longline hooks for trolling rigs.

A quiet word of caution as a metallurgist in a previous life & from experience in testing modified hooks.

The steel used in hooks is an alloyed & heat treated steel to generate high strength .
If twisting the shank you need to twist over maximum length, BUT , you should not heat the bend in the gape to red hot, nor the eye .
Heating the shank reduces the strength gained from the original heat treatment in the hook manufacture.
This is not generally a problem in the strength requirement of the shank.
It is a problem in the bends where shear forces are high on a big fish.
Heat causes grain growth in the steel matrix and larger grains act as a stress concentrator .
Sure the bends will get hot when heating the shank itself, but its important not to let the steel in those bends get hotter than a very dull red at worst.

Hope that word to the wise helps.
 
#21 ·
So from a metal standpoint, would it be ok (better/worse) to put a hook in a vice and twist the eye without heat?

Just as bad sine your stressing the metal. Proper way would be to heat it, turn it then re heat treat the hook. Not everyone can do that so its best to use a Decoy type hook or use a assist cord to attach the hook

d-a
 
#22 ·
Just as bad sine your stressing the metal. Proper way would be to heat it, turn it then re heat treat the hook. Not everyone can do that so its best to use a Decoy type hook or use a assist cord to attach the hook

d-a

X 2

It would be worse to simply try to twist the shank cold, as per the query.
The metal structure in the hook is designed to minimise bending after forming & heat treating to increase its strength.
Cold forming by twisting 90 Deg will introduce very high stress to the structure of the shank & breakage during the twisting is highly likely anyway.

If I was keen to use a hook of the original type I would take the following approach:-
- 2 split rings to orient the hook would do the job, but introduce increased potential for the two splitrings to latch together & one of them work its way undone.( In this aspect I agree with Gmans approach to risk management)
- I would use an owner solid flat ring ( strong but skinny ) and twist the eye of the hook open for insertion of the solid ring..........and then twist the eye back closed again.
Then the hook alignment is correct and the setup is:-
hook /solid ring/split ring/lure lug
and you dont have two splitrings together( with the attendant risks)

When twisting a hook eye for insertion of a swivel or solid ring it is very important to use as much of the spring in the steel to create the gap for insertion and not permanently deform the eye to get room for insertion.
The trick is to place the hook shank in a vice and use a shifting spanner ( closed down on the tag end of the eye to twist & hold the eye open during insertion of the swivel/splitring...............the deformation of the eye is minimised and the eye springs back almost closed again, after ring insertion , with minimal adjustment required to re-align the tag end of the eye closed.

I have been putting 400-480 lb swivels in hook eyes for commercial dropline operations in this way very successfully for a couple of decades.

I agree with ' d-a ' that using the correct OEM hook is the best way, but we all have times when we need to adapt something else for a particular job.
Playing with metal is just like tying knots, the right technique is very important..............otherwise your hook might be just as reliable as a bad knot.

Anyone playing with modifying hooks is well advised to test both the original and their creation to overload ( Gape deformation ) to confirm that their creation has not significantly affected the strength of the OEM product.
Hooks are not just any old piece of metal, they are sophisticated alloys of , heat treated, and tempered steel to produce the highstrength and toughness appropriate for the duty we expect them to perform.

The other way to deal with the issue of ringed hook eyes is to silver solder a ring in the eye of the hook. This requires the appropriate equipment, solder & flux, and more technique to learn.
with the appropriate technique both approaches are very strong.

There are two tests to perform for hook strength:-
1.
Suspend from the eye & hang weight from the gape of the hook till permanent deformation of the gape occurs ( ie the hook starts to open & stay open when the weight is removed.
2.
The second test is more important.
a) a piece of strong 5/16 steel rod about 6" long is bent at right angles for 3/4 " at one end and a small hole drilled in the middle of the inside leg of the tag end ( ie the hole is 3/8" from the long leg of the rod, in line with the long leg of the rod & right thru the rod at about 3/32" or 1/8" diameter....... so it doesn't damage the hook point).......the other end is bent into a hook for weight attachment.
b) the point of the hook is placed in the small hole above & weight attached till the gape permanently deforms ( as above).

This second test simulates a hookup where the hook point is lodged in bone , where the stresses on the bend in the gape of the hook are much greater.

Safety Note:
You are not testing the hook to breakage, merely the point at which it starts to permanently deform.
Poor technique or bad construction can cause a hook to break rapidly, so strong clothing, long sleeves & safety glasses are a MUST.

Once you have satisfied yourself that your construction & technique are good and what the weight to deform the hook is.
testing of each construction using method 2(b) at 80% is highly recommended.

If it fails at that...............you did not want it on your lure .
 
#25 ·
So from a metal standpoint, would it be ok (better/worse) to put a hook in a vice and twist the eye without heat?

neither option is really a good idea. will either work? yes. but how well or for how long will be in question.

if you heat it, like it was said earlier,you pretty much change everything (yield strength, hardness, ductility, and fatigue strength of the steel). so there is no way to know what the properties of the steel are after you heat it. it will most likely end up losing its ductility and be susceptible to brittle failure.

bending the hook cold will yield the metal of the hook. this will potentially reduce the fatigue life of the hook which will limit the number of load cycles the hook can endure before failure.

if you HAD to do one i would bend it cold.
 
#26 ·
Kil, I guess its because not all of us have a well stocked tackle shop nearby and what we exactly need for the job is not always available in stock anyway.

I understand. I am just a lazy fisherman. :) I saw someone brought a torch on a long range boat and make solid rings on the boat. :eek:
 
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