The when and why behind cut hooks and split rings.
When I first started to really pour my gray matter into surfcasting, I distinctly remember thinking of any plug with cut hooks as archaic. In my naivety, I assumed that split rings were an improvement, the typical direction of innovation and progress would suggest that I was correct. Hence, I also assumed that a cut treble hook would be weaker than a split ring…I’m just going to have to own that one, because that assumption was categorically false!
In most cases (I say ‘most’ because some hooks can’t be cut), a cut or ‘open eye’ treble crimped onto a plug is going to be a more reliable connection than a split ring. This, of course, leaves aside the absurd, attach a 4/0 treble to your plug with a massive split ring intended for giant trevally and you’re probably going to win the tractor pull. But there’s just so little metal to bend in the eye of a hook and the leverage required to do that would bend out the business end of the hook long before it could even budge the eye. The same cannot be said for a split ring.
But, not all split rings are created equal. I’ve had failures with Rosco, Rasco and Wolverine, but I have not had a failure with Spro, Owner or BKK. One particularly sad day, I hooked an absolute beast on a Guppy pencil popper; that fish took BOTH hooks off the plug and that was the last time I used Wolverine splits! And it still stands as the one and only time I’ve hooked a fish and reeled in a plug with no hooks or split rings left! I held the plug in my hand, wide-eyed and just yelled out an exasperated “WHAT!?!”
So how does one decide, when to use one over the other? The answer is not really a simple one and it can vary depending on the plug and the situation. For starters, cut hooks also have a downside, if crimped onto a stationary hook hanger (or the tail of any plug) they only allow a very-limited range of rotational motion, which dramatically increases the forces of leverage exerted on the hook, the fish’s jaw and the plug itself. So my first rule of thumb is that I never use a cut hook on anything other than a swivel. Every tail hook across the board, every stationary hook hanger from Hydro Minnows to Docs, has a split ring.
Old school plugs, almost always, wear a cut hook on their belly swivel. And this even applies to Super Strike plugs, I remove the split ring, cut the hook and re-attach it, universally, across all styles. I do this because there are fouling issues, especially with their needles and darters, and – particularly with the darter – they work better with cut hooks…I can’t see the reason in the water, but my results don’t lie.
When setting up a plug I have not used, I’ll first hang the belly hook with a split ring, and then I will try to ‘foul’ the hook over the back of the plug, up on the nose and with the rear hook, if it passes those tests, then I will move on to looking at the plug. This might sound ridiculous, but if the hook doesn’t look right, like if it hangs too low, I’m likely to cut the hook for a sleeker, more natural, look. Then I’ll move on to test-swimming, as long as I like what I see, I’ll stick with the split ring, I actually prefer splits because they make it easier to change hooks.
The last consideration is the split rings themselves. I never skimp on splits (anymore). For 95% of my plugs, I use size 6 (150 pound) Spro Power Split Rings. If I need a smaller split ring I won’t go lower than their size 5. If I’m putting hooks on big plugs with hook hangers, I will go up to size 7 (185 pound) Spros or the same size Owner or BKK. I use the bigger splits for two reasons; first, they offer more rotational freedom, and secondly they’re even tougher. I use the bigger rings on the Doc, 9-inch Magic Swimmers, Stick Shadds and other large-profile plugs that feature a stationary hook hanger and attract attention from big fish.
They say the devil is in the details… and I’ve learned, the hard way, that this is especially true in surfcasting.
