Hi Folks,
I keep hearing about Laser Trokar hooks being "best".
Any truth to that? I keep my hooks sharp and have never had a failed hookset that was the fault of the hook.
Josh
If you are fishing tourneys, then go for the good stuff. If not, its up to you. But I would always make sure I had the BEST tackle (line, hooks, lure, rods, reels) if I was fishing a tourneyOn 5/15/2015 at 10:18 PM, Josh Smith said:Hi Folks,
I keep hearing about Laser Trokar hooks being "best".
Any truth to that? I keep my hooks sharp and have never had a failed hookset that was the fault of the hook.
Josh
My suggestion would be to buy a pack and try them. They are definitely sharp! I don't use them day to day because I lose lots of hooks in the snaggy river I fish and they are just too expensive, but I used Trokars on a fishing vacation last summer and I'm going to use them again this year. The only thing I didn't like was I found it very difficult to resharpen them because of the different cutting angles on the point. Maybe I just need more practice though.
Owner hooks & Gamakatsu hooks are the best in the world.. Every owner I have ever used has been a solid design, most all Gammys are as well, ( most ) Trokar is hit or miss.. I've used them a little bit, they are not on my list of a solid selection. That is my opinion only..
I have tried them before and I do not care for them. They tear up plastic baits faster than any other types of hooks. Also I kept having a problem keeping the fish on the hook. I don't know if maybe it made a larger hole or what but when I switched back Gamakatsu hooks that went away.
Just my opinion though
I like Trokars but they are pricey. I usually load up whenever I see them on sale somewhere and when they run out, I go to Gammys. I do find a better hookset percentage, albeit slightly better than the others but in certain applications, like soft jerk baits i think they excel. They do really trash plastics though because they are so sharp and cut through the plastic rather than puncturing.
For a flipping hook they can't be beat IMO. For other types I like a needle point and not a cutting point.
I like them, but only for specific situations. They're crazy sharp, which I'm sure is effective for where I use them....soft plastics
I use them for flippin' and for drop shot as well. From experience, they seem to have the better hookup ratios than others for these 2 applications
I have used a lot of Trokar hooks but I also use hooks in every brand for different purposes. I will say this, I have use the Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Flipping hook and they are a rip off, the keeper slides down the hook shank, I was given 3 packs by Gamakatsu to replace my faulty ones and they lasted an extra hook set and slide down the hook too. The Trokar Flipping Hook is only a dollar more for the same amount of hooks and it is superior to the gammy. I also like the HD worm hook from Trokar, but for regular wire EWG worm hooks that I use for Senkos, they are all Gamakatsu, that hook is just perfect in every way. For Flukes I like the Owner Twist lock light, that hook is unreal and my point is that each one seems to have a hook for certain things that work for me, this is why it helps not to be a 1 brand person.
by far my favorite drop shot hooks
I have bought several different Trokar hooks and had problems with rolling the point of the hook on all of them. I won't ever buy them again. I stick with Gamakatsu and Owner.
My mom got me the $50 Trokar box loaded with hooks for Christmas '13. I like them a lot but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy them in general except maybe the flipping hook. I typically go for Mustad, if they're not available then gamakatsu or owner.
Best hook Ive used for fluoro use. Its basically needed for my long distance hooksets due to stretch of the line.
I use them a lot. Weightless Senkos and flukes — you don't need to set the hook hard. Just tighten quickly and keep reeling like drop shotting.
I don't use them for weighted plastics.
My sons' hooking and landing percentages went way up with Trokar.
Hate the swimbait and ewg hooks from Trokar. They punch too big a hole. Smell the flipping hook and you're in. I fish probably 95% of my senkos on the light wire straight shank worm and flipping hooks. They're worth every penny.
The only Trokar hooks I use are the tube hooks shown in Glenn's Texas rigged tube video.
Hootie
I'm a Gamakatsu guy.
I love them but you've got to be careful texposing or you can gore the heck out of your bait.
Otherwise they are KILLER hooks. T-rigging structure bugs on a mag worm trokar with a screw lock is a major go-to for me!
Trokars are definitely the sharpest, however, there are several downsides that I have found that lead me to prefer gamakatsu. 1.) price 2.) they tend to bend easier and lose their sharpness a little faster than gammys 3.) you get snagged up more often 4.) they tear up soft plastics 5.) this is good and bad but I often end up hooking bass much deeper in their throats with trokars because of how sharp they are, it just ends up hurting the bass more. Anyway it's all personal preference stuff, they are sharp, even though I prefer gamakatsu, I always keep a pack of trokars for spawning bass that just lightly pick up your bait. Enjoy!
These are the sharpest hooks IMO as some others have said also.
I haven't used them in quite a while because they produce a lot of damage.
If you combine braid with violent hook sets ( which I do) I don't recommend these.
I went through a ton of plastics , shredding the heck out of them, and also the bass's mouth, ripping, big holes.
If your a mono/floro guy with less aggressive hook sets I would recommend these.
The only Trokar hook I use is the weedless wacky, because I think it has the best weedguard. For everything else its Gammy and lately VMC. Trokars are too expensive. Actually got some free from their website and didn't notice a difference. They are sharp but so are other premium hooks. I'm really starting to like the VMC with the epoxy sealed eye. No chance for your line to slide down into the gap and get nicked. Priced right too.
I only use the TK 130 for punching and very heavy cover.
IMHO they are the Best hook for those presentation's.
All others get the Gammy or Owner
Mike
On 5/16/2015 at 6:36 PM, Missourifishin said:I'm a Gamakatsu guy.
I am too. One of the quantum leaps for my fishing was going to Gama from the el cheapo brands and Eagle Claw. The other was learning to trust braid on my spin combos. I've caught a lot of fish that I didn't get a good hookset on since then. But everybody has a pain threshold when it comes to fishing expenses. I can pay $3 for 6 quality hooks. I can't pay $8 for 2 hooks.
i use them for baits i have trouble catching them on with other hooks...mainly fat ika's...i went from catching 2 out of 5 fish to catching 4 out of 5 with the trokar...but there too pricey for me to use on all baits...also there so sharp that removing the hook sometimes really tears up the bass.
The Trokars are very nice. Extremely sharp! I personally prefer Gammies for fresh water and Mustad for salt. Owner makes some very nice stuff as well. I like their needle point, the cutting point not so much. The Trokars are similar to the cutting point as in they "cut" in to instead if "puncture" into like the round point hooks.
Interesting discussion. Back in the 60's, when off-set worm hooks first came out, the points were rather dull. Use to have to sharpen them before using them. Never had a problem setting the hook on many a bass back then and even through the years.
Now a days, most hooks come already pretty sharp. Certainly sharper than the old ones we use to use. And Gamakatsu's are not all that expensive, so you can actually change hooks instead of trying to re-sharpen them. I just don't see any proof that there is an adequate ROI (Return On Investment, for you non business types) on the new Trokars. So, I'll stick with the Gammy's for now.