Swimbaits require a hook with a bait keeper, a wide gap and an angled eye that helps the lure go through vegetation and over laydowns with ease. (Alex Suescun photo)
June 18, 2025
By Glenn Walker
No matter how many great soft-plastic baits are in your tackle box, they won’t catch many fish without the right hooks. Of course, hooks now are sharper right out of the box and most are stronger than those of the past. But the wide range of styles and sizes available can make it daunting to select the best one for a specific bait or fishing application.
The following guidelines should provide the basics to help you choose correctly and boost your chances of getting bites and achieving solid hooksets.
WORMS AND LIZARDS The worm hook paved the way for plastic worm fishing and is still used by anglers, primarily when Texas- and Carolina-rigging. A typical worm hook has a shank that’s offset near the eye to hold the lure in place. The shank is also longer so the hook’s point ends up farther down the bait. This is ideal for worms, lizards and soft-plastic stick baits, which have a lot of plastic for bass to nip on and would otherwise result in short strikes and missed opportunities.
Keeping a selection of worm hooks from 1/0 up to 6/0 will let you rig and fish a variety of soft-plastic worms and lizards effectively.
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FLUKES, CREATURES AND CRAWS Extra-wide-gap (EWG) hooks have become a staple in bass fishing, and they work particularly well when paired with soft-plastic jerkbaits, creatures and craw imitations. EWG hooks are designed to provide ample room for a bulky lure to shift during the hookset without hindering their ability to penetrate a fish’s mouth.
I’ll opt for this type of hook for creature baits, in lieu of more traditional flipping hooks, when I’m making longer pitches or casts to a target, such as a weed line or point.
These hooks come in standard and 2x or Magworm models, with the latter designed for fishing with braid or heavy fluorocarbon line. You’ll want to carry a selection of both, ranging in size from 1/0 all the way up to 6/0. When I’m making long casts or pitches, or if I’m fishing a bait on a Carolina rig, I’ll typically use the standard. But when I’m fishing in heavy vegetation, the Magworm gets the nod.
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TUBE BAITS The right hook for a tube lure must be able to pierce through both of the bait’s plastic walls before its point can finally jab a bass’ maw. The ideal design also places the hook point right in the sweet spot for both proper rigging and penetration.
Trokar Pro-V Bend Worm Hook (top-left); Trokar Pro-V Flippin' Hook 9 (top-right); Trokar Pro-V Finesse Hook (bottom-left); Trokar Pro-V Drop Shot (bottom-right). (Photos courtesy of Eagle Claw) Eagle Claw’s Lazer Sharp HP Tube is one of the hooks originally designed for fishing tubes, and this hook style has been adopted by many companies over the years. One of today’s best is the Trokar TK190 Tournament Tube Hook . It has a very wide gap that affords the bulky soft-plastic tube ample room to slide out of the way when you set the hook. It also incorporates a plastic barb up near the hook eye to keep the tube securely in place while you fish it.
When pitching a 4- or 5-inch tube, the most popular sizes, you’ll want to use a 4/0 hook. If you opt for a more subtle 3- or 4-inch finesse tube, I suggest scaling down to a 3/0.
FLIPPING RIGS Without a doubt, one of the most sought-after specialty hooks on the market is a flipping hook. These are stout, straight-shank hooks that will increase your hook-up percentage when targeting bass by flipping soft plastics into and around cover. Some of the more popular flipping hooks on the market include the Trokar TK130 and TK133 . The former has a traditional round bend, while the latter has a unique V-bend at the bottom that aids in keeping bass hooked up.
For beavers, Brush Hogs and other large, soft-plastic creature baits like the 4.75-inch Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog, I’ll use a 5/0 hook. If I fish a smaller creature bait or craw, I prefer a 4/0. When punching in heavy cover with a small soft plastic, like a Smallie Beaver, a 3/0 hook fits the bill.
Securing the bait on the hook is very important so it will remain in place and look natural as it falls through the cover or gets nibbled by bluegills or small bass. Good flipping hooks incorporate features to help accomplish that. For instance, Trokar’s flipping hook sports a plastic barb below the eye, and VMC Redline hooks boast a fluorocarbon keeper.
SWIMBAITS An important trait of a swimbait hook is a bait keeper, which in many cases is a wire corkscrew connected to the eye of the hook that lets you screw on the head of your soft-plastic swimbait or paddle tail. This makes it a cinch to rig the bait properly so it will run true and look more lifelike in the water.
Other key characteristics of a good swimbait hook include an angled hook eye so the bait will swim through vegetation or up and over laydowns, and sometimes a weight on the bend of the hook. Good examples of this hook style include Owner’s Weighted Twistlock and Beast Swimbait hooks and the Trokar Magnum Weighted Swimbait Hook . As with a couple of the aforementioned hook styles, these have plenty of room for the bulky soft plastic to push out of the way during the hookset.
The classic worm hook design with an offset shank remains a top choice for worms, lizards and stick baits. (Shutterstock photo) DROP-SHOTS As fishing pressure on most waterbodies increases, finesse fishing for bass is increasingly becoming a go-to tactic, and using a hook specifically designed for drop-shotting can be crucial to success. Hooks like Trokar’s Pro-V Drop Shot help keep a nose-hooked minnow imitation like a Tiny Fluke or Shad Shape Worm on a horizontal plane and enhance its appeal and action in the water. These hooks are also a good choice for a 4-inch, wacky-rigged Senko. Being that drop-shotting is a finesse application, you want that hook in the smallest size that still affords you the best chance to hook and keep a bass on all the way to the boat. For open-water drop-shotting, I like a No. 2 or No. 1 hook. If the size of my bait increases or I’m fishing around heavy cover and need to Texas-rig a finesse worm on my drop shot, I’ll go up to a 1/0 hook.
WACKY AND NEKO RIGS A new style of hook is fast becoming popular for wacky-rigged stick baits, Neko rigs and even drop-shots. With a longer shank and a moderately sized gap, these finesse hooks are smartly designed for such applications. I use a No. 2 Trokar TK137 Pro-V Finesse Hook most of the time when fishing a 5-inch Senko, but go up to a No. 1 or 1/0 if I’m fishing a bigger bait, like a magnum finesse worm. Some brands offer a version that features a weed guard and is great for skipping boat docks and fishing around cover. Trokar’s TK137W is a good example.
This article was featured in the June/July 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
