Treble hooks - replace or not?

[Old Scaley]

After seeing @benno573‘s thread about a lockdown stocktake, I thought I would drag out the many and varied lures that I have bought over the years for specific trips or just picked up in the bargain bin. Some are just cheapies and some were quite expensive. Some have had some use and some have been patiently waiting their turn.

Anyway, a lot of them now have surface rust (at least) on the hooks. Most are trebles but I have used singles on a number of them. Pretty sure this won’t be the last lockdown we have so I am thinking that my next lockdown project could be to renovate my lures. The question is do I replace all the rusty hooks, or do I just give the points a touch up with a stone if they are not too bad. Or a combination strategy of replacement on the better lures which I know I will use sometime and a sharpen for the rest? I have previously tried soaking a few cheapies in vinegar and water to dissolve the rust but that didn’t really work too well. 

What do you champions do? And does anyone have any suggestions for brands that are available in bulk packs that are an acceptable quality at a reasonable price? I don’t want to replace 100 trebles at $2 each. 

Thanks all. 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi Steve

I do believe it is worth replacing trebles on lures that have rusted hooks. To do so, you'll need split ring pliers, which can be a bit of a hassle. If your lure has slightly larger split rings, you'll be fine, but if it has small ones (for example, the size found on your average 'bream' hardbody type lure), you may need to get one with a really small hook at the top to open them up. From memory they were about 40 bucks, so pretty dear.

If your lure only has a tiny bit of rust then a quick sharpen should suffice, but if they are a bit more rusted then I'd definitely replace the lures. I'll also be interested to see what cheap trebles people use - the reason I still have a tray of lures with hooks that need replacing is because I'm not forking out money for the Owner ones. 

Cheers Hamish

[kmcrosby78]

Would appear you have the same problem as me @Old Scaley, although you have a bit more time at your disposal ...... so ...... being the top bloke I am, I am more than willing to pay for the replacement hooks for my lures and am willing to give them to you so you don't get bored in locked-down retirement ........ 

[Ed.]

3 hours ago, Old Scaley said:

What do you champions do? And does anyone have any suggestions for brands that are available in bulk packs that are an acceptable quality at a reasonable price? I don’t want to replace 100 trebles at $2 each. 

Thanks all. 

I generally buy all my hooks now on E-Bay, depending what size you want, as well as what strength (ie; 1x-4x), whether you want them bronze, duratin coated or nickle plated, the price can be very to quite reasonable compared to the box mover stores, I also bought some hooks, reels and line from Aliexpress in the past but that is a mistake I won't be repeating. People think that E-Bay is hard to deal with when there is a problem, but from past multiple problems with Aliexpress sellers, they make E-Bay an absolute pleasure to deal with in comparison.

[kmcrosby78]

OK, to be slightly more helpful ......... I just had a quick look and the VMC Barra 3X (3 x strength) trebles seem a decent buy, and BCF seems as cheap as anywhere with options of boxes of 10 or 25. 

https://www.bcf.com.au/p/vmc-barra-treble-hooks/M119605.html?dwvar_M119605_size=6&dwvar_M119605_packpieces=25 Pack&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIianE-oWm8gIVVSUrCh1_wgr1EAQYAiABEgLY4fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[benno573]

4 hours ago, Old Scaley said:

After seeing @benno573‘s thread about a lockdown stocktake, I thought I would drag out the many and varied lures that I have bought over the years for specific trips or just picked up in the bargain bin. Some are just cheapies and some were quite expensive. Some have had some use and some have been patiently waiting their turn.

Anyway, a lot of them now have surface rust (at least) on the hooks. Most are trebles but I have used singles on a number of them. Pretty sure this won’t be the last lockdown we have so I am thinking that my next lockdown project could be to renovate my lures. The question is do I replace all the rusty hooks, or do I just give the points a touch up with a stone if they are not too bad. Or a combination strategy of replacement on the better lures which I know I will use sometime and a sharpen for the rest? I have previously tried soaking a few cheapies in vinegar and water to dissolve the rust but that didn’t really work too well. 

What do you champions do? And does anyone have any suggestions for brands that are available in bulk packs that are an acceptable quality at a reasonable price? I don’t want to replace 100 trebles at $2 each. 

Thanks all. 

I would suggest a structural integrity test. They can be a bit rusty but still strong and sharp and they’ll work fine. Just as long as the fish has had their tetanus injection all will be ok. This could also be because I am a bit of a Scrooge with the hard earned.

That being said, i have a similar problem with some older hard bodies. I did buy some bulk treble hooks off the inter webs and replaced a whole heap but they rusted very quickly once they hit salt.

 

if you have the time and budget, I would suggest replacing the hooks on lures you think you may use. I actually pilfered some other lures that didn’t work out as planned (and cost like <$5 from a bargain bin) to refurb some of my better or more effective lures. 

 

And i am soooo happy I finally inspired someone somewhere to do something.

[samsteele115]

I still use rusty hooks if they are sharp, but not when their original strength rating is relied upon. For example I will swap a rusty 3/0 single hook from a stickbait I targeted tuna with, to a slug that I will target tailor with. As long as it's sharp, I don't need it to be overly strong for that application. 

Small trebles though would probably be worth replacing. Definitely lost a fish or two from a small rusty treble