Are You Tired of Losing Fish on Treble Hooks?

In the words of pro angler Terry "Big Show" Scroggins, "The only thing worse than not catching fish is hooking and losing fish.

"There are few lows that compare to watching a nice bass break the surface of the water and seeing your lure fly out of its mouth. While this can happen with any type of lure, it's notorious with treble-hooked lures like crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, topwaters and spoons."

A pro bass angler for 20 years, Scroggins is known for his prowess in modifying or tinkering with tackle and equipment. One such modification he has come up with to remedy the problem of lost fish with treble hooks is replacing the lure's split ring with braided line.

This modification starts with Sroggins removing the back treble hook and split ring on a crankbait, topwater or spoon with a pair of pliers. He then cuts a 10-to-15-inch piece of 40- or 50-pound braided line that he'll tie the treble hook to. Ninety percent of the time, he uses a Palomar knot to attach the hook to the braid, but "Big Show" says any knot you have confidence in will work.

Then you run your braided line through the empty hook hanger, back through the eye of the treble hook, and finally once more through the hook hanger. This leaves you with three strands of braid running between the lure and treble hook. Pull your tag end to where the treble hook is tight to the bait, essentially matching what it looked like before you removed the split ring.

Using the tag end of his braided line, Scroggins loops a simple half-hitch knot around his three strands of braid, connecting the hook to the lure, then cinches it down tight to the hook hanger. He then repeats this process with a second half hitch.

Lastly, Scroggins ties an overhand knot on the tag end of the braided line, but before tightening it, he puts a toothpick (or spare straight-shank hook) inside the overhand knot and uses it to slide the knot all the way down to the two half hitches. All that's left to do is cut off the extra line on the tag end, and you're ready to start fishing.

Scroggins assures this process isn't as complicated as it might sound. "You'll have everything you need inside your boat or tacklebox, and this literally takes a minute or less," he said. "A toothpick is handy to help slide the overhand knot down tight to the half hitches. That overhand knot won't pull through your two half hitches no matter how hard you pull. It all comes together to be just as strong as a split ring with way more motion."

It's worth noting that Scroggins only ever uses this tackle tweak on the back hook of treble-hooked hard baits. The back hook is where a bass can get the leverage advantage over you as you fight them to the boat. If they are getting the bait by the front hook, losing them typically is not as big of a concern. This is a back-hook-only modification for "Big Show."

The main benefit is this modification allows the treble hook to rotate freely from the body of the lure, which means a fish will have less leverage as they try their best to shake the hook and leave you shaking your head. A split ring keeping a hook in a relatively fixed position is a good thing most of the time, but in situations where you're fighting a poorly hooked fish to the boat, this becomes an issue.

Scroggins first started toying with this modification on lipless crankbaits, which create the biggest problem with landing ratio.

"I'm no scientist," he said, "but in my mind, it all comes down to leverage and rotation. This braided-line trick helps fix the issue that arises when fish get to jumping around and shaking their head."

While "Big Show" generally relies on factory split rings, he quickly makes the modification if he's losing a lot of fish. The only time he makes this change before getting on the water is with smallmouth bass, which are well-known for their acrobatics and are infamous for throwing treble-hooked baits.

"No matter what species you're fishing for," said Scroggins, "if you are losing a lot of fish on treble-hooked lures, it's worth giving my modification a try. You'd probably be surprised to learn just how many pro bass fishermen regularly use this tackle tweak."

There is one other alternative you also can try using with crankbaits and topwater plugs. It's the BasStar Spintech treble hook (left), which has a built-in ball-bearing swivel where it connects to the lure. This allows the treble to spin freely, thus eliminating the fish's ability to use it as a prying point to gain leverage. A 4-pack from Tackle Warehouse usually retails for $6.99.