Last summer I began experimenting with changing out treble hooks from some of my plugs, particularly Zara Spooks. Without getting into details about why, let me say I am making no judgments, I'm just sharing my experiences. Please feel free to provide constructive criticism.
Here is what I did. The following pic shows a Zara Spook with 2 singles and the original 3 trebles. I used Bass Pro 3/0 spinnerbait trailer hooks.
One thing I don't like is the size of the hooks. You can see they hang lower than the trebles, but given the single hook I'm not entirely sure that is all bad. It provides a little more space for the fish to get at the gap of the hook. However, I find it tough to find hooks with the eye big enough for the split rings. The larger the eye - the longer the hook. As a result, I didn't bother adding a middle hook. I only used a rear and front hook.
Another problem is the position of the hook. As you can see in the above picture, the stock Zara comes with one split ring for each hook. With one split ring, the hook would be positioned sideways. I'm figuring (though I didn't test it) that this will screw up the action of the bait. So, I added a second split ring to get the rear hook facing back and the front facing up.
So, about the hooks. As you can see in the picture below, not all hooks are created equal. Notice how the size 3/0 Mustad is the same size as the 2/0 Bass Pro hook.
Also, the eye of the hooks differ. The eye on the Bass Pro 2/0 is larger than the eye on the Mustad 3/0. The picture below also shows the heavier duty split rings by Offshore Angler - not sure of the size, it was the heavier of the 2 they had at Bass Pro. Note - that split ring doesn't fit in the 2/0 eye, it only works for the 3/0 and 4/0 Bass Pro hooks.
But if you look at the 4/0 versus the 2/0, you can see the eye is even bigger. Remember, the eye size is important because that is what allows the hook to swing freely.
I tried this out this summer on the Zara Spook and had good success. Here are the main points (however, note that I only fished with them like 3 times, but 2 of the three we had great days):
1) Hook-ups did not seem to decrease a whole lot with the singles versus the trebles.
2) Releasing the fish was easier.
3) The main problem I had was with the front hook swinging up and hooking over the line. When this happened the bait didn't have the appropriate action (remember, Spooks have that "walk the dog" retrieve).
4) Besides the problem stated in #3, the Zara had the appropriate action.
In addition, I've been switching my trebles out from metal jigging spoons. While I'd like to have them dressed, this was what I have time to do. From left to right, I added a 3/0 a 2/0 and a 4/0 red hook using the split rings on them when bought. I've had decent success with hookups, though admittedly less than with the treble hooks. However, I've not done a lot of "testing" because I've been using a jigging spook from Specialized Baits that comes with a single hook (that by the way is sized perfectly -
http://www.specializedbaits.com/ - scroll down to the "Li'l Bunker").
So, there you have it. It's really late so I'm sure I forgot details (I gave up on watching the Eagles get their a$$ handed to them). Feel free to provide your own ideas to improve. Hopefully I'll get some time this summer to try out some more ideas. I'm thinking I may go to a single rear hook on the Zara. I'm also gonna try it on some swimming plugs and see how it works.
Cheers,
Bob
Changing out treble hooks on a Zara Spook
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