Got rust?
Or so you’d think. Admit it – If you looked through most tackleboxes, you will probably find a few crankbait or worm hooks with some rusting or corrosion on them…it happens. You’re out in the rain fishing, a little water gets into your Plano box. Maybe you put away a still wet lure. Hey, hooks are expensive and you think it’s just a little rust and it largely rubs off with a good towel. Looks like new again.
That’s what I thought until last year. Was out for a couple hours after work with a friend chasing walleye. We were using 1/8-oz. jigheads and crawlers. Some of the hooks on the jigs have a little rust, but no big deal. I’ve got cranks with the same and have never had a problem, even a worm hook or two that has spotty rust from all the salt in plastics now days. The learning lesson started when I got a big, solid “thump” on my jig and crawler. I set the hook, the rod doubles over and I think I’m hung on a stump…until it starts moving slowly. I keep the pressure on, then he really does run me around a stump. Still have some play in the line so I work with him and get him unhung. I now figure I have a large cat hooked at this point. I decide to put some pressure on him as he continues to try and go back down toward the woody debris I just freed him from. I’m not going to let him – I keep the pressure on. Two minutes into the battle the line pops and goes limp. Crap!
I reel in expecting to have lost my jig and snapped the line. To my surprise I haven’t. Instead the hook has snapped, breaking off halfway down the shank. Later that evening my friend gets hung on a stump, applies enough pressure trying to free it and his line pops. Reel in to find the same deal, another snapped hook. Now, is it just that we’re applying too much pressure to the hook and it can’t take it, or is it weakness from the corrosion on some of these jigheads? The breaks came right where the shank flexes to try and absorb all the pressure being applied at the bend. So I can’t say for sure, probably a combination of both factors, but it has my attention now more so than before. Just something to keep in mind the next time you tie on a bait with a little rust on the hook. You might be setting yourself up for disappointment.
11 Comments
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Avidbasser
May 21, 2012 at 7:44 am
I’d say it has more to do with the hook material or tempering. I’ve got some crappie jigs that will break a hook any time you get hung up, while other brands will bend and can be repeatedly bent back into shape many times without breaking. Granted, I’m sure rust can weaken a hook but I doubt it is the main factor in breakage.
Chad Keogh
May 21, 2012 at 9:35 am
I fished with a friend in a local bass tournament and he had the same thing happen, but I don’t think there was rust on his jig hook. I think it was just the metal of the hook was too brittle and weak. I won’t mention the brand he was using, but I had no problem with my brand in the exact same circumstances.
joe
May 21, 2012 at 8:11 pm
Ive learned this painful lesson myself. Nothing worse than opening a jig box with 100 dollars in jigs ruined. I need to invest in zerust.
alabamabass
May 22, 2012 at 8:09 pm
WD-40
5bites
May 23, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Im with Chad and avid. I pour my own jigs and have had a few mustads just break. I’m not knocking them and still use them. It’s just a fact. I think the over heat treat them. A little surface rust won’t do much harm unless you get hooked with it yourself. Then a er visit for a few shots will necessary lol.
Jim
May 31, 2012 at 7:56 pm
One thing to consider is the abrasiveness of rust in the eyelet. I seen good ones lost because of it. I turn my nose up at rusty hooks. In fact after ruining a bunch of hooks in the rain I started to use a day box. everything I am using for the day goes in there and that is the only stuff I need to dry when I get home.
Angler Gang
June 20, 2012 at 9:59 pm
I’m with you I turn my nose up at rusty hooks and great idea on the day box!
Bill Lowen
June 1, 2012 at 9:50 pm
Rusty hooks were the reason that Flambeau Outdoors poured themselves into creating a product to eliminate rust in tackle boxes. Flambeau’s patented Zerust will keep hooks rust-free for 5 years. http://www.flambeauoutdoors.com
Manjiquaker
June 3, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Zerust works great for repelling rust. I even keep some in certain compartments and my toolbox in my boat. But if you let water get into your boxes it isn’t as effective.
joe
June 2, 2012 at 7:29 pm
thanks for the tip. big fan of yours hope you win the classic
Bass Mafia
June 24, 2012 at 12:33 am
Check ou the Bass Mafia Bait Coffin….waterproof and indestructible