I only use the gold plated Mustad offset hooks. Break one off or even if it's hooked deep in the mouth it will rust out quickly.

 

same as i fred:thumbsup:
For the past 133 years we have made hook perfection our mission. We have the world’s largest hook manufacturing facility and we are present in 160 countries, but all of our hooks are still made from Norwegian steel.
Just as the Yanomami depended on us to catch more fish a hundred years
ago, so does 6-time world champion and the world’s number 1 ranked
angler Kevin VanDam today. Perhaps that’s why Mustad hooks are the
best selling hooks on the planet.

 

I use stainless on the reefs with braid. If you get snagged they will straighten out and all that you will lose is the hook.

 

I posted in the other thread. I generally use gamakatsu octopus hooks in 3/0 or 4/0 sizes for fluke rigs. But I still have a bunch of stainless english style hooks that are good for rigs that you want to last a while. I try not to deadstick the stainless hook rods so to avoid gut hooking.

 

Depends on the rig, for a top and bottom rig, an 18" leader on top and a 36 0n the bottom....both gold plated english style hooks, when they get dull we change them out......funny ancedote about rusty hooks......the largest flounder we have ever boated was on 4th of july weeeknd in the back water at mid day with tons of boat traffic.....the most inexperianced angler on board....my cousine Peter from england god rest his soul did every thing wrong, slack in the line....reeling against the drag....you name it he did it and that 36" flounder still met the net with a rusty old gold plated hook. We have a pcture of that flounder floating around somewhere with a michelobe can stuffed in its mouth....with room to spare...12 feet of water and a simple squid and minnie on a rusty top and bottom rig.....go figure.

I like to experiment and try a variety of things for most of our trips.....but when the boys are stuffing the box with the same old rigs we have been using for over 20 years......eventually I cave and put a few of my own in the box........honestly its more about the bait and a simple rig as well as location......but you could be on the fish and drifting an ugly bait that does not flutter just right and not get the bites your looking for. We do well, average 4-5 keeper flounder and a few right on the mark that we let swim in fear of shrinkage....we work hard for them.....especially fishing a straight inboard in the back waters of sea isle....it all comes down to location, presentation and boat contoll.......after that its just a matter of making those bites count. Lets face it....by the time all those nice artificial reefs heat up the season is just about over.....so we had to change tactics and i feel we have adapted well.

 

I use to use nothing but stainless hooks but for the last few years I Have been using them less & less if you have to cut one off they do not rot out the way regular hooks do and with all the shorts we catch I want to give them the best chance to survive

 

I aim to gut hook, if I fail a stainless ice pick to the eyes or gills is always a good second option, I always let the shorts go but sometimes I have a red looking thing stuck to my hook..............jk of course

 

With the current fluke regulations of 18" stainless should never be used
With a 18" size limit we are throwing back more fish than are being kept and unless using English wide gap hooks we all will have 1-2 deep hook fluke every trip. so what do you do,either rip hook out and fish dies or cut hook and let fish go with hook. IF stainless ,fish dies , if not stainless excellent chance the hook rust away in less than a week and fish lives for another day

 

I realize it's a different story than regular steel hooks, but when underwater isn't stainless no longer protected by the oxide layer because it is not able to form, so it will therefore rust, even though possibly more slowly? I was under the impression the stainless needed to be in the presence of more freely available oxygen, like in the air, for the oxide layer to develop.

 

I realize it's a different story than regular steel hooks, but when underwater isn't stainless no longer protected by the oxide layer because it is not able to form, so it will therefore rust, even though possibly more slowly? I was under the impression the stainless needed to be in the presence of more freely available oxygen, like in the air, for the oxide layer to develop.

not true, if that were the case they would not use SS on anything mounted on a boat under the water line. transducers, thru hull fitthigs water intakes

 

I do still use stainless.. but only on the teaser hook with a bucktail. I tie my teasers on them.. which i just started this year. Other than that.. its mustad gold plated for me. I've never had a gut hooked fish on a teaser however I dont deadstick anything with stainless either.

 

Not trying to be a smart a$$ but did anyone ever put a hook in salt water and see how long it takes to rust out. What does a short time mean ,two days, two weeks? In the back I use a Bass Assin lead head jigs 1/4 or 3/8 oz. which have about a 5/0 hook tipped with gulp. 99% of the flounders are hooked in the corner of the mouth just like a circle hook.

 

Not trying to be a smart a$$ but did anyone ever put a hook in salt water and see how long it takes to rust out. What does a short time mean ,two days, two weeks?

I was thinking the same but wasn't going to say anything until you did. As a diver I see and and sometimes get snagged in quite a few OLD rigs with marine growth on them. The hooks although rusty are still there and still quite strong. These rigs are at least a full season old and some maybe a year. What most here don't realize is that oxidation occurs at a much slower rate under water than in the air. The "rust away" is more of a makes you feel good than actuality. Just how good is something rusting away inside a living animal?l It would seem to me a non corrosive alloy to be less harmful. When doctors do implants don't they use stainless and titanium?

 

"I was thinking the same but wasn't going to say anything until you did. What most here don't realize is that oxidation occurs at a much slower rate under water than in the air."
Unless the digestive juices cause rapid break down of the metal. Maybe the Vets and Dr's. on this board can answer the question. How about it Dr. Harv.

 

I have a 55 gallon native saltwater tank... I will throw in a few hooks and test... will report back

 

Water temp and depth which relates to the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. The deeper colder wrecks tend to oxidize a bit slower. Of course we're talking fluke and wreck fish in generally shallower inshore warmer conditions. As mentioned I'm sure bodily enzymes would speed the process. Has a study ever been done regarding gut hooked fish?

From a divers standpoint I suppose steel is better since they do eventually rust away, but stainless being softer are much easier to bend and straighten out. I guess if I am going to be stabbed by a hook I'd prefer clean stainless over rusty black steel.

I imagine your tank has an aerator in which the seawater may contain more dissolved oxygen than in the "normal" environment, but still will be interesting to see how long a hook lasts.