Have you used them and do you like them?
I like them especially now that I got free ones and they aren't ten dollars anymore.
On 9/19/2012 at 8:11 AM, zachb34 said:I like them especially now that I got free ones and they aren't ten dollars anymore.
Free??? How'd you get 'em free if you don't mind me asking?
The hooks are very sharp and strong,but im not gonna pay 8.00 for them.As far as getting them free,you could go to trokars website. Take a very easy quiz-they will send you a pack. I did it ,but about every 3 weeks,i get another pack???? I now have 7 packs . Im just gonna keep checkin the mail i guess
what he said lol
I have some on the way that were freebies. Other than that, I don't feel there is a need to pay more for them than Gamakatsus which have worked well for me for years. Hype.
I got some of them free in their giveway. They are great hooks and very sharp. I usually use Mustad, but I lately I have bought a few of the Trokar pin hooks for tubes since they are covered in plastic. I also bought some of the flippin hooks since they are covered in plastic. 7 dollars for 5 hooks is kinda high, but if you want specific hooks like they stock (flippin and pin) they are top notch.
If I was going with a standard EWG hook, Something cheaper would suffice,
Im not sure it is all hype. Ive only used them for a few weeks now and havent missed a hit yet. They also go deep on hookset easier it seems this with ML to M rods. I used gammy mostly too in the past and can really tell a difference so far. Just prior to getting Trokar I tried Owner and those are said to be very good but for some reason with the same set-up & lure I was missing hits too much to continue use thats why I tried out Trokar. I have noticed that after I snag a rock good the point rolls thats about the only negative so far. The gammy dont seem to roll just get dull after caught on rock. I havent used them enough to say Ill buy again but if future remains like present I sure will. I dont go through many hooks so the price difference doesnt concern me much, just results.
They may be sharper than my Gamakatsu hooks, I really dont know. But my Gamakatsu hooks have never failed me. I will not pay that much for a pack of hooks, IMO its ridiculous. They spent so much money on their flashy clown commercials I guess they have to make their money back somehow. A rod that turns into a light saber? Seriously? Its a d**n fishing hook.
if the choice is trokar flippin vs gammy flippin hook, then its Trokar without question...otherwise i use gammy's or owners etc...
but i do notice the trokars tips roll easier and/or more frequent than others...
i really like the trokars and am slowly replacing all my other hooks as needed. I esepcially like their weighted swim bait hooks and theit unweghted swimbait hooks for frogs.
Well, here's my take:
I like the hooks quite a bit, but I really don't find them superior to the other brands I fish.
These include Gamakatsu, Owner, Katsuage, Mustad and VMC.
I like them but prefer owner. I feel like with owner hooks, i dont have to set the hook as hard but thats just me.
Thanks for the feedback all. I was considering getting a 100 pack of gammy hooks and just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out. Seems like the consensus is TroKars are good but only worth it if it counts, and for my purposes it probably doesn't. A Gamakatsu 100 pack is about equal to 20 TroKar hooks, so I think I'll be fine without going all the way.
"Have you used them and do you like them?"
Yes I have and no I don't.
I've tryed them several times. Personaly, and in a most humble opinion, I don't care for them. Yes they are sharp,very sharp in fact when new. My issue with them is the shape or the geometry of the hook point. In soft plastics the trokar hook cuts a triangle hole in the soft plastic much like a sharp broadhead does in a deer. Unlike a gammy point that pokes a hole in a soft plastic, the trokar cut in the bait grows and the life of the bait (again in my opinion) is significantly reduced because they won't stay in position on the hook.
the one thing with the broadhead/diamond cutting point deal MichBassMan is that i find it does cut/slices out of pad stems better than a typical rounded point...
My Gammy's hold their points better. I hooked a stump the ther day and upon retrieveing my bait, the point was rounded... my Gammy's will bend up on occasion, but it is not easy. I am talking about the flipping hooks, for the record...
i have not tried a trokar, and i have not ever found any hook to be sharp enough out of the package. i use a high quality mill file on any new hook before i use it, and that includes gammie's, mustad, owner, or whatever. i can take any new hook out of the package tie to a piece of line and let anyone pull it through a cardboard box, and then i will sharpen that same hook with my file, and let the same person repeat the same procedure penetrating the cardboard, and i have not found anyone that thought the hook was anywhere near as sharp out of the package. the consensus is always that the hook took about half the effort after i had sharpened the hook. just sayin'. i know most people will not take the time to sharpen a hook, but as for me, i am going to put everything i can into my favor to catch that bass of a lifetime.
bo
I also got the free Trokar hooks and have purchased a few after that to try out. Personally I can not tell any difference between them and the Owners hooks. Infact I think the owners are really sharper as I do not have to set the Owner hooks as hard.
I replace all my treble hooks with the Owner ST-36 and ST-56 trebles especially on my big swimbaits which do not already have the Owner hooks on them.
I tried the Trokar hooks based on the quiz/free offer that many others on this web site did as well. Is there a difference? I generally use Gamakatsu hooks and I really couldn't tell a difference -- or at least not enough of a difference to warrant the price disparity.
On 9/22/2012 at 5:55 AM, alpha jig said:... i have not ever found any hook to be sharp enough out of the package.
That's a ridiculous statement.
you may fish with your hooks as you want them. i will fish with mine sharper than they come out of the package. how amny bass over 5 pounds do you catch in a year?On 9/24/2012 at 8:52 AM, roadwarrior said:That's a ridiculous statement.
The size of fish one man catches vs another has nothing to do with hook sharpness, unless of course your using a completely dull and rusted crappie hook. Location and presentation determines size. Ask Alton Jones or KVD or any Pro Angler if they sharpen their hooks prior to fishing a tourney. I bet my house and car payments their answer is no. They seem to do just fine, right?On 9/24/2012 at 1:03 PM, alpha jig said:you may fish with your hooks as you want them. i will fish with mine sharper than they come out of the package. how amny bass over 5 pounds do you catch in a year?
On 9/24/2012 at 1:03 PM, alpha jig said:you may fish with your hooks as you want them. i will fish with mine sharper than they come out of the package. how amny bass over 5 pounds do you catch in a year?
This matters how? And who are you?
On 9/24/2012 at 1:03 PM, alpha jig said:you may fish with your hooks as you want them. i will fish with mine sharper than they come out of the package. how amny bass over 5 pounds do you catch in a year?
Probably more than a majority of the members on this site I'd be willing to bet, but then again I wouldn't challenge anyone with 2 pig smallies in their avatar either . You are probably more thorough than anyone else on here if you sharpen every hook you buy. That sounds too much like work to me and would really take some of the fun out of it for me, but I'm a bit lazy about some of the fine details I guess.
As for the original post I've used them but didn't notice a big enough difference to be worth the huge difference in price.
On 9/24/2012 at 1:03 PM, alpha jig said:you may fish with your hooks as you want them. i will fish with mine sharper than they come out of the package. how amny bass over 5 pounds do you catch in a year?
I am on record as one who regularly checks and sharpens hooks. I have sharpened hooks right out of the pack, and this is the reason I always use a quality hook. It should be a very rare thing in my opinion. With that said, the only way to "sharpen" a factory sharpened quality hook is to change the point geometry so as to reduce force needed for penetration. Removing metal to reduce force has to be balanced with strength needed to prevent hook damage. Manufacturers spend much time and money engineering and testing hooks to meet the needs of fishermen. A hook that is not sharp out of the pack is defective IMO. If it happens very often I will move on to another brand. I think this is the point RW is making; taking issue with his delivery is one thing, challenging his fishing resume is another, although I think he can hold his own...
On topic, I have not used Trokar hooks. They are a little too pricey for my hook budget. Whether they are worth their cost is a personal choice, and just because I (or you) don't use them doesn't mean they are not a good value for someone else.
my point is that having your hook as sharp as possible factors into catching big bass. i catch over 100 bass over 5 lbs. every year. i fish table rock lake mostly, but do make an occasional trip to other area lakes. i am 59 years old, and have fished since i was big enough to hold onto a cane pole. i really have no problem with anyone that likes to use hooks right out of the package. my comments were to help those that want to improve their catch rates and perhaps get that bass of a lifetime. big bass have a very tough mouth, and when going through tough bone structure hooks straight out of the package just will not do it for me.On 9/24/2012 at 1:35 PM, rockchalk06 said:This matters how? And who are you?
bo
The Tokar hook is made by Eagle Claw and they are trying to regain a market position lost to the Japanese hooks that introduced new metals and sharing technology. Tokar has basically tried to offer a hook that incorporates features known to be popular and hope these features appeal to anglers.
The shrink sleeve is copied from Roboworm Rebard, the triangular knife edge from Owner and eliminate the needle point that tends to flatten. The cost is higher due to sharpening after heat treatment and plating, which dulls the very tip and sharp edges. Tokar is sharping the hook for you, then packaging it.
Tokar is a sharp hook out of the package. How long it stays sharp depends on what the hook point contacts during each cast, no hook is indestructible!
The question is; do you want to pay for one hook sharping or learn to sharpen your own hooks? If you don't learn how to keep your hooks extremely sharp, then you either throw dulled hooked away or fish with a dulled hook. Fishing with a dulled hook point leads to missed strikes because the hook didn't stick into mouth tissue and transfer the fishes movement to let you know a strike has occurred.
I am a fan of sharpening every hook I fish with and check and resharpen them as needed. The triangular knife edge sharping is standard practice for my marlin hooks because the knife edges cut into the bill and hard mouth. I am not a fan of knife edges for bass hooks and prefer just the tip to be extremely sticky sharp because bass have softer mouth tissue and only the inside ridge of the lips and surface of the crunchers in the roof the basses mouth are tough to penetrate with the tip of the hook and slicing through isn't needed.
I also use a fine tool makers file to sharpen hooks. I don't spend a lot of time resharping worm hooks, unless I am running low on them, but I do sharpen jig hooks due to the cost of making up jigs, like hair jigs!
In regards to a pro bass angler; who would risk missing a money fish due to a dulled hook, they re tie and replace their hooks constantly, it's a matter getting a check or not...the cost of fishing.
Tokars; I tried the free samples, very sharp out of the package and dulls just like any other hook during use.
I don't like the knife edges and caution anyone using them to take care the hook edges do not contact your line when storing the hooks on your rods on the deck or in the locker, the sharp edges will cut and nick the line.
Tom
PS; appoloogize for the long reply, too much time setting around on my backside.
Great advice as usual WRB. Really appreciate the depth. I've been reading Iovino's book per your suggestion and its great. Thanks again!
I like eagle claw hooks and I like the price, eagle claw needed a high end product and Trokar is it and not worth the costs to me. This year I changed to gammies to give them a try and have missed more fish on a gammy then I have on a sharpened eagle claw, with that said I sharpen “most” of my hooks and do so very similar to a Trokar edge. I buy cheaper hooks and make them sharper, I do like gammies and will sharpen them as well but an eagle claw can be just as good and better than a gammie in my book.
I posted a question of hook sharpening not that long ago and it seemed split, with that be said take a hook out of the package and put it under a magnifying glass look what makes them sharp. Some hooks have a triangle edge which I think is the best along with less material to make that edge. Some hooks just tapper off to a point like gammies, all hooks OEMs have a way to create a point. I loose more fish with a cone shaped point than I do with a triangle edge so I typically make the triangle edge.
I just fished with a guide in FL who swore by Trokars. We frog fished all morning using Trokar Flippin' hooks in a Zoom frog. I had more hookups than ever before on frogs, and will be getting some of those next trip to BPS. I Loved them. Maybe not a conventional use of the flipping hook, but I'm sold after trying them that way. They seemed to penetrate deeper and allowed for better hookups. I was impressed.