Snagly
Welcome to jig fishing. I too experienced the weak hook problem until I shopped around and like the others mentioned, Beau Mac has strong hooks on their 1/8oz size and bigger jigs. Lately I have ordered from rainbowjigs@aol.com and have been very pleased with their jigs. The hooks are very strong. I have landed a few fresh nates in the mid teens with no problem.

I fish smaller rivers and instead of dink floats, I use the smaller cork bobbers. I thread the line through the bobber and tie directly to the jig. That way I don't have to worry about balancing the float. Also I only have one knot which helps when using lighter line for summer Steelhead.

I almost always use a spinning reel when jig fishing. When it come to free spooling, I mend the line just enough to keep a minimum amount of slack. I've been freespooling a jig 50 yards downriver, had a take down and successfully hooked and landed a fish. A reel with a fast retrieve helps. I'm currently using a Shimano Symetre.
Mark