A while back Todd mentioned that I should try out some of the "sickle" style hooks while fishing for salmon in the salt. I saw how well they worked on a river coho trip with him last fall and was curious about their use on a downrigger. I used them exclusively this the first two days out of NB and found a couple of things:

They hold fish extremely well. I can only think of one release off my rigger where the fish was gone. That is a very high hook up rate. If I had to guess, I'd say at least one in four usually are gone, maybe higher.. I may have lost one salmon where the hook slipped in both days fishing. Again, my normal rate would be significantly higher. I used the sickle siwash on my spoons, and the octo's on the hootchies. Caught most fish on the hootchies. For the sake of "testing" my friend was only using regular gami octos. He lost way more fish both off the release and during the fight. This is in no way conclusive as he is somewhat a little rough around the edges to put it nicely.

The only downside I can see for saltwater applications are, first off, they are very difficult to unbutton. I found the standard dowel type hook releaser difficult to use with these hooks. You cant get the right leverage very easy because of the "hard corners" on the sickle section of the hook. Secondly, the flat section between the corners often pins flush to the fish's jaw making it tough to get hold of with pliers. I found myself using my fingers mainly. The octos were tougher to unhook than the siwash. With the siwash the spoon gave me something to hold while trying to unhook them.

So in summary, so far, great fish holding properties, almost too good for selective fisheries.

I am going to continue to use them and see if I can trouble shoot the dehooker issue. One thing I may try is to use a single siwash off a barrel swivel on my hootchies when coho are thick. I think the siwash will give me a better surface for the pliers to grab over the octos. I'm also wondering if a dehooker that has slight corners lke the sickle hook instead of the standard rounded ones would work better with these hooks. If nothing else, it gives me a reason to fish and tinker with gear!

Thanks for the report, elkrun...there are a handful of other guys using them out there this summer, and I hope to hear more success stories like that while using barbless hooks on downriggers...a notoriously easy way to miss strikes.

Fish on...

Todd

I just got mine today and can't wait to get them on my spinners. They look awesome! Thanks Todd!

~steelymann~

Have fun closing them.....

Yep, they take the BIG PLIERS to close em.. thats for sure. I cant see one of these breaking.

What size hooks were you running?

Just curious as to what the "ideal" sickle* hook would be when using a hootchier/dodger combo?

Normally, I run a 4/0 octopus hook.

Also, what about rusting?

Nice tech report.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Was thinking of trying them on some spoons off the rigger myself.

So far I've broke two while closing them when putting them onto spoons (be careful). Both of the hooks that broke were the 1/0. I think I was trying to close the eye further than I needed to.

There's the chink in the armor, they rust and fast. I ran 4/0, and 5/0 off plugs and fly's last year coated with a mixture off anise and w/d before going overboard, rinsed them well when I got home and they still rusted. When they come out in stainless I won't use anything else.

So how about it Todd.......any stainless on the horizon? Curious more than anything.

Rust is a good thing in a selective barbless hook marine fishery.

First off, if you break a fish off, the hook will eventually rust away in the salt.

Second, the rust is a good thing as it creates additional surface texture that resists having a barbless hook slide out. That means more fish to the boat.

And thirdly, it's good job security for T-Rip and rvrfshr.... dadgummit, somebody's gonna have to buy replacement hooks at some point.

Elk - rather than risk breaking the hook why not use a small slip ring to hold it on?

Had no problem closing them. But then again they were size 1's and I do had rather large forearms from watching all the fish porn here!

Popped the eyes on a couple of 3/0 Siwash. Kind of brittle but quickly figured out I didn't need use that much pressure. Nice that the barb tends to break off when crimping it down. Will be trying the hooks in Canada next week.

I love the Mustad 9517XXX for rigging hootchies and bucktails. If Todd can get some bigger hooks (6/0 and 7/0) they would be just the ticket for rigging hootchies, plugs, and larger spoons.

Ya hear that, Ripley? I mean, do ya hear that?

Come again, bushbear.

I used 3/0 octo's for the hootchies. 3/0 for coyotes, and 2/0 for coho killers. The siwash are very heavy gauge wire and while I would have preferred 3/0 on the killers, I was worried the heavy hooks might dampen the action. Like I said, I had no complaints on the hook up ratio, it was through the roof. As for the rusting, I dont know yet. Todd mentioned something about a coating that would help, but they are not stainless so they will rust. I was asked to test for holding ability, especially those moments right after release. They did that very well. A stainless hook would be the way to go down the road if they choose to make them for saltwater applications. I'll know and post more as the summer goes on and I can play around with them.

SJ- I'm not sure I know what you're asking... But we were talking about crimping down siwash hooks. They come open eyed out of the package and you have to close the eye with pliers before you do anything with them. I rig all my spoons with a split ring and a barrell swivel, then close the siwash on the swivel. It keeps the fish from gaining leverage when they twist and either bending the hook, or ripping it out. I think the salmon university site has a diagram on making that modification.

I hear ya on the big sizes, and on the stainless possibilities...I probably don't see going stainless on the horizon, but can see not only bigger hooks, but bigger hooks in a few novel configurations...FnP has already sat down with me and helped me diagram out some possibilities.

For anyone who hasn't participated in it before, having modifications made to existing hook designs is about as easy as doing quantum physics on your fingers...it takes forever, costs a ton of money, and is generally a pain in the ass...but we've done it before, and I suspect we'll do it again...keep an eye out for factory barbless sickle hooks next

Thanks for the reports and tests, guys...I appreciate it.

Fish on...

Todd

i have never lost a fish while using sickle hooks. by far my favorite hook for spoons, spinners, and trolling/casting cut plugs herring for salmon.

Me neither.

Of course a bigger sample size than 4 fish (1 fall chinook, 3 coho) might make my case a bit more convincing.

I think SJ meant running the siwash's open eye thru a split ring first, rather than through the swivel. That way, you do not need to close the eye nearly as much, as compared to when running the open eye through a swivel first.

Then, attach the swivel to that split ring. And then you'll probably need to attach another split ring to the other end of the swivel.

So you have this rig: hook-SR-swivel-SR

Closed mine in a small vise going nice and easy,slowly closing the gap. It was very easy to do and I didn't break any of the 2 dozen or so I did.

FnP

OK.

Todd, we'd really like to try some larger sizes in the Siwash lke 6/0 and 7/0. I'll be rigging some hootchies/bucktails with the 3/0 for experimentation in Esperanza Inlet next week.

im at 10 or so fish. 1 30lb king and the rest were silvers and a couple humpies.

but hey those humpies with them soft mouths stayed on just fine

Don't forget my thin wire 2/0 & 3/0's (like the current 1/0 guage wire)

I figure if I pester you long enough maybe it'll actually happen in a couple years!

Hey Elkrun......remember me?

Of course! Was thinking about that trip the other day when I drove through that area! Thinking I need to redeem myself for my first trip of the season gear issues! Drop me a PM if you want to do some fishing in the salt up my way some time, been doing really well.

I just may take you up on that! Haven't done any saltwater salmon fishing in awhile. If the schedule permits I'll shoot you a PM.

Totally understand now dude ... makes sense and I think I will try a few.

The set-up works well on salmon jigs ilke the PW Dart and similar styles, too. I like a single siwash for my hootchies and bucktails, too. Much easier to release fish off one hook. Set it up so the tail of the hootchie/bucktail just reaches the bend of the hook and run a shorter (16" to 18") leader behind your flasher/dodger so the lure is moving more. The fish has to decide if it is going to hit or not. My hook-up ratio went up quite a ways.

This will be my fourth year using the sickle hooks in the salt. Got tired of losing Kings on the barbless hooks with that flasher swinging around to leverage the hook out. I use the big 6/0 octopus hooks in a hootchie and have been purchasing them from Cabelas mail order. Rarely do I lose fish on those sickle hooks in the salt or on Joes spoons and spinners. I wash my gear off with Joy and freshwater after each trip and have not had a problem with rust. Great hooks.

Terrapin

Update:

Stay tuned for an increase in our hook lineup...thanks to a lot of the guys on this board who have been using them in the salt, as well as a bunch of other guys who aren't on PP, it looks like we'll be ramping up our selection of Sickle hooks.

We're going to get the Sickle Siwash hooks made in a few larger sizes...probably up to 7/0. At least one of the sizes, probably the 5/0, will come in a new "marine guard" finish, which is a rustless finish, one that I think you guys will really like.

We'll also start carrying the octopus hooks in sizes up to 5/0, and though right now we don't sell Sickle Octopus hooks except as part of our worm packages, we'll probably start selling them just on their own soon.

We're also working on having the barbless alternatives made barbless in the manufacturing especially for all the selective/barbless fisheries that we have around here in the PNW.

Thanks again for all the reports and support, guys...besides assuring us that we're on the right track when our ideas work out, it also helps us to improve old designs and develop new ideas as we hear more experiences with our tackle.

http://www.rvrfshr.com

Fish on...

Todd

Todd

That is good news....I'll be ready to try them out.

You go'na have 'em in red?

Doubt it...but you never know what the future may hold.

Fish on...

Todd

The sickle octopus would be killer for bobber fishing with fresh dead herring off the beach.

Customer Service= rvrfshr. You guys really listen to the wishes of the fishers.

JG...will I see you out on the island this weekend? If so, I'll have some for you to try out.

Fish on...

Todd

Not sure Todd--- Got a shot in my knee yesterday, will see if it works.

Just swing by the liquor store and pick up a bottle of painkiller...I think it's spelled P-A-T-R-O-N...



Fish on...

Todd

J.G. what did they put in your knee? Cortisone or RTV? Have you fished off the island yet this year? Looks like Addicted has found a few fish around.

Cortisone Steve--- This is in the knee not operated on. The Doc looked at the MRI and said the medial minicus was mascerated and there was also some arthritis. So I bagged getting the right knee scoped and opted for the injection as the I don't believe the payback on the left knee scoping was worth it as I still have pain from arthritis. I haven't fished the beach yet as I can't walk the beach like I want and standing for hours on end is out of the question.

I don't drink while I fish Todd. Plus it not spelled P A T R O N its
V I C O D I N

I hear you on th knee problems. Left one is starting to bother me now. i guess it is time for a shot in that one too.
Back to the thread.. Todd are you going to be getting those hooks into 3 Rivers anytime soon?

steve, they should not only be there already, as they've been one of our accounts for quite a while, but we should have a new delivery to make for them here real soon.

Fish on...

Todd

Todd-

Remember that talk we had on the way down to the Kalama

I'm curious what kind of "marine finish" you are planning on using. What does it consist of? Is it a alloy coating on the hook or ??

The coating is 100% space lint, it's hydroponically en-woven R.F.

Hmmm...I'll go with "??"..

Fish on...

Todd

Don't you mean, "Remember that talk you had with me on the way down to the Kalama."

Space Lint..... perfect, no short supply there...harvestation from thy visceral noggin must be a P.I.T.A. Hydroponica assist required.

After three years, I think Ryley is finally getting with the program!

The coating is made from "nano-particles". The latest and greatest are all made with naon-something.