3 Hookers

[Rip-Plugger]

Ok now,this is my take on this subject,it has been beaten to death on another large site.

3 hook plugs are designed to have 3 hooks.for the life of me I cannot see an advantage to removing the center hook.
some "sharpies" have this crazy notion that ya must take off the middle hook!,,why in this green/blue world would anyone do that?
I would not take off 1 of my cars tires,I would not take off 1 of my arms,I would not take off 1 of my toes.
I would NEVER take off the center hook from m plug.
why you ask?

well,, thats because such actions give a plug what I call "dead space".
dead space is the area between hooks.
now,I know some will say that bass hit head first BUT,if prey presents itself at such a direction that it's not possible to hit it head first,the bass is going to hit it anyway it can!
some will say choppers will hit tail first but the same goes for them.
how many plugs in my arsenal have been hit between the hooks or on top of the head?
from my inspections it is a good #.
some of my store bought plugs are full of teeth marks between the front/tail hooks.
my take on it is that any gamefish will take a bait however it can get it THEN change it's position to swallow!
I have viewed this many times,seeing a chopper grab a bunker head first and chop it in half,I have seen many times a bass slam a bunker in the mddle and shake it into a daze.
I have seen bass slap the crap out of a bunker and not persue it,just slap it so it goes away.

fall of 07 was geat,both species slamming plugs like it was free,had many hits,solid hits but no hook.
when I checked the plug,teeth marks were between the hooks in it's dead space.

many that know me well wonder why I have made many plugs for myself that are only 6 inches but have 3 trebles,the reason is because I want to lessen the dead space on my own pluggage.
when my 3 hookers get slammed,chances are that the fish comes in.
anyone can dispute this all they want but,the truth is that a plug thats large or even kinda large needs to have 3 hooks regardless.
have ya ever got a solid hit and miss?,,,thats because the fish hit the plug where there is no hook.

years ago,there was the big daddy googoo eyes plug[my fav plug in the world].
about 10 inches of wood wit 3 4/0 trebles.
some gys took off the front hook[no bass around hee then].some took off the center hook.
those guys missed so many fish they thought something was wrong.there was,they removed the hook!

3 hooks have served me VERY well this year and last,no chance I'll REMOVE the center hook at all!!

so,use your head guys,put that center hook back on and leave it on,you'll see why after a short while!

R-P

[dogfish]

RP you made your points, and stated your case well. I wouldn't want to have you against me in a court of law. ;) I agree. there is a dead space when you remove a treble. Do you also fish these 3 trebles in blitz situations, or only at night where you're more likely to get a cow?

Some guys remove one treble to make it easier to release the fish if you don't want it. I fish for meat, and feed my family with what I catch, so it doesn't matter to me much. I do feel bad if I stick a little rat with the 3 trebles, and one of them ends up in his eye before I toss him back. How do you deal with that? Do you have different plugs you fish at certain times? For blitzes, I throw single hook throwaway plugs that I find on the beach or salvage from other people.

[Monty]

I lost to many fish this year.
I put the third hook back on, learned my lesson.:learn:
Also put barbed hooks back on, result was more fish landed.

[Rip-Plugger]

RP you made your points, and stated your case well. I wouldn't want to have you against me in a court of law. ;) I agree. there is a dead space when you remove a treble. Do you also fish these 3 trebles in blitz situations, or only at night where you're more likely to get a cow?

Some guys remove one treble to make it easier to release the fish if you don't want it. I fish for meat, and feed my family with what I catch, so it doesn't matter to me much. I do feel bad if I stick a little rat with the 3 trebles, and one of them ends up in his eye before I toss him back. How do you deal with that? Do you have different plugs you fish at certain times? For blitzes, I throw single hook throwaway plugs that I find on the beach or salvage from other people.

Hi Dogfish,

well,I feel as bad as anyone else about a fish getting it's eye out or damaged.
in reality if a rat hits and gets hooked up,there is a chance it may get hurt and theres a chance it won't.
I don't wish to hurt them but as you know things do happen,if I com on a blitz,I throw out a pencil or reg. popper with the barbs partially crushed.

I'm mostly a night guy,I throw large wood[up to 10 inches] at night when the fish are at their peak.when it's normal fishing times I usually throw 6 inch swimmers.
here in Ct. it's 2 fish@ 28 inches,I don't take anything under 32.
June is the month here so during that time I am targeting larger fish also october and november,the rest of the time it's smaller plugs and rubber/bucktails.

R-P

[plugcrazy]

ha ha I opened this expecting to see pics of 3 hookers. :embarassed: I see your point, dude, but when the small bass are in thick, I take at least the middle hook out. When you're catching large, that's a different story. Different strokes for different folks.

[Rip-Plugger]

ha ha I opened this expecting to see pics of 3 hookers. :embarassed: I see your point, dude, but when the small bass are in thick, I take at least the middle hook out. When you're catching large, that's a different story. Different strokes for different folks.


Hahaaaa,yeah,if it really was 3 hookers,they'd all be sweaty,tired and asleep!

actually,when rats are thick,I use a 2 hooker in 5-6 inch or rubber.
I don't throw large wood if theres rat around heavy.
in such a case 3 hooks on a 6 is not my deal.

R-P