D Hold Weighted
We’re going to look at another piece of terminal tackle that was debuted at ICAST and is now showing up on shelves. The Damiki D Hold Hook Weighted. We already reviewed the un-weighted version of this hook and found that it simply couldn’t replace our gold standard but we figured why not give this one a shot?
This product makes use of the same keeper system as its cousin but uses an interestingly shaped weight molded onto the hook shank. We obtained this product specifically for use with swimbaits but there are secondary uses for something like this.
So off to the lake to see how they would perform. We tried a variety of baits with this hook including the Double Diamond and Netbait BK. In both cases, the D Hold keeper did indeed keep the bait on the hook and did this quite well. Unfortunately, we had the same issues with this one as we did with the un-weighted version.
Before we go into that, know that the D Hold is sharper than the average bear and is strong. You can use this hook on heavy mono or braid without worrying that you’re going to bend it by putting the wood to a good strike. It penetrates well and the barb does its job. We didn’t have a single fish shake this hook after being stuck. However, those nagging little design irritants kept cropping up.
While rigging your bait straight is a no-brainer on the Damiki, the other issues surface when you penetrate the bait with the hook point. The first of these is that the keeper makes contact with the hook shank. This throws the bait slightly out of plumb. I may be splitting hairs here but it is at least a minor annoyance in my opinion as it makes the baits that we were using run just a little bit off.
Again, like its un-weighted stable mate, the angle of the hook is such that it makes tex-posing virtually impossible. I like to make sure that when I’m fishing a swimbait, there is no exposed point of the hook. Fishing baits like the BK, you have to have the confidence to throw them into and drag them through stick-ups, lily pad stems, submerged tree branches and other forms of cover that will catch bare hook points. The Damiki does not inspire that sense of security.
We also used this hook by not penetrating the back of some of the baits that we experimented with. If you enjoy fishing weighted senko style baits for example, this isn’t a bad alternative. By not going all the way through the bait, you eliminate both the issue of the keeper making contact with the hook and the angle of the hook sticking up and out of the back. This proved to be an effective way to use this hook but still wasn’t exceptional. Again, the Damiki didn’t have enough going for it to replace what we already carry in our tackle boxes.
| Damiki D Hold Weighted Hooks | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |   |
| Not enough here to replace what you have | |
See ya’ on the water …