All Types of Hooks Explained
General Purpose Hooks
The general purpose category hopefully comes off as self-descriptive. The hooks in this category can be used for a variety of things such as bait fishing, tied into a fly or lure, rigging soft plastics, etc. Granted, each hook design has its strengths and weaknesses but in a pinch, you could swap out any of these hooks and still catch fish. Anglers should feel empowered to experiment with all these hook styles to find a hook that suits them best.
O'Shaughnessy Hooks
- O'Shaughnessy bend
- forged wire
- standard length shank
- generally regarded as a strong hook
Kirby Hooks
- Kirby bend (slightly more angular than regular round bend)
- Kirbed point (offset to the left from the shank)
- standard length shank
- Invented in the 1600's by Charles Kirby
Carlisle Hooks
- slightly angluar round bend
- offset point (can be kirbed or reversed)
- long shank
- standard wire
Baitholder Hooks
- Technically not a hook type but rather a feature of a hook
- Used to give a better hold to baits to prevent them sliding down shank of hook.
- Usually 2 barbs / slices on the hook shank opposite side of the point.
- Note that some hooks are sold under the name baitholder, in this case typically a basic J hook with baitholders on it.
Octopus Hooks
- Anglers often describe these as a hybrid between a J hook and a circle hook
- Used to describe a lot of different hooks, but typically has these features in common:
- Up eye
- Short shank
- Big rounded bend
- Curved point
- Note that some people erroneously believe that octopus is simply a synonym for up eye, this is not the case.
- Octopus circle hooks are hookset by reeling in line, ordinary octopus is hookset by raising rod tip like a normal J hook.
Siwash Hooks
- Typically used to replace or instead of a treble hook on a lure
- Common characteristics:
- Open eye / open ring
- Slightly larger eye
- Straight shank
- Round bend
- Straight point
Limerick Hooks
- Comes in fresh, sea, and fly fishing versions
- The bend is common denominator
- Limerick bend
- Named after Limerick, Ireland, where they gained fame for manufacture
Sneck Hooks
- Rare hook type in modern day
- Sneck bend, note the almost square appearance
- Named after the word sneck, meaning a latch or catch
- Origins credited to fly fishermen in Scotland
Specialty Hooks
The specialty category indicates these hooks are designed and sold for a particular purpose. It does not mean you can't repurpose them, but you should give pause before purchasing with a different use case in mind. Given how particular these hooks can be, they might not work at all when fished as not intended.
Inline Single Hooks
- Purpose made single hooks to replace trebles on lures
- The in line adjective comes from the orientation of the eye
- This hook can be placed on a split ring on a lure with the correct orientation
- Less points means easier dehooking and less damage to fish
Salmon Egg Hooks
- Purpose-made hook for baiting a salmon egg
- Due to its spherical shape, a salmon egg is awkward to hook on a normal hook
- Commonly have baitholding slice and generously offset point
- Can also be used for other small chunky baits of comparable size
Kahle Hooks
- Eagle Claw first came out with this name and design.
- Sometimes also called a wide gap or a shiner hook by other manufacturers.
- Large gap designed to accommodate live or cut bait that would fit awkwardly on standard gap hooks
- Kahle bend
Drop Shot Hooks
- Can vary by manufacturer but meant to be used in place of a general purpose hook in a drop shot rig
- Primarily sold and marketed for black bass fishing (in the USA)
- Note that you do not need a special hook to fish a drop shot rig, this is merely a nice to have
Wacky Worm Hooks
- Can vary by manufacturer but meant to be used in place of a general purpose hook in a wacky rig
- Primarily sold and marketed for black bass fishing
- Note that you do not need a special hook to fish a wacky rig, this is merely a nice to have