One of the things that we always do this time of year is go through our tackle box to see what, in terms of terminal tackle, needs to be replaced or if there are some new goodies out there that will fill a need that we have that we would like to try. Hooks are always a part of this process as they do get lost, dulled or some other calamity befalls them during the season.
The new Mustad Grip-Pin Swim Hook
The Mustad Grip-Pin Swim hook is one that we picked up at ICAST to fill more than one need. Of course using it for smaller swimbaits would be keeping with the manufacturers intent but are there any other applications for this new hook?
If you look at the pictures, the way that Mustad positioned the bait-keeper on the shank with the bend starting right at the keeper allows the angler to position our soft plastic any number of ways.
When you’re using a creature bait or some form of craw imitation, you can thread as much or as little as you want up your line to cover and protect your knot. Whether your using a weight with your bait or rigging weightless, you still want to hide that knot with your plastic.
The eye of the Grip-Pin Swim hook is easy to work your bait over so that your rig is nice and straight. This keeps it from doing goofy stuff in the water and makes for a better overall presentation.
Different techniques you can use with the Grip-Pin
In the interest of trying to punish this hook, we’ve been using it for things that it really wasn’t designed to do. One example is flippin. We’re kinda fond of taking some smaller plastics and putting them in little openings in matted grass or up against stick-ups.
The Grip-Pin Swim hasn’t shown that it was over matched by doing this. We haven’t had any fish large enough to bend or break the hook even though it isn’t particularly heavy wire. We’ve caught some decent bass using this technique with this hook and it’s performed very well.
Another technique that we’ve used this hook for is stick baits. Rigging is easy with the Grip-Pin hook on every senko style bait that we’ve tried. The hook doesn’t inhibit the natural action of these baits like some others do.
You might be wondering if there is enough gap in the hook for solid sets. For all but the bulkiest soft plastics, this is a non-issue. There is more than enough gap without it being overkill on the Mustad.
Every soft plastic does not call for an EWG or super duper extreme extra monstrous wider than wide gap hook. For that matter, EWG’S can actually have a negative effect on the performance of some soft plastics as well as a lower hook-up ratio in some circumstances. The Grip-Pin Swim doesn’t exhibit these tendencies. It is wide enough for most applications while being narrow enough to not inhibit or get in the way of less bulky baits.
One of our Favorites
One of our favorite ways to catch bass is soft plastic jerk baits. This hook is really exceptional for this. The 4/0 is our choice for the 5 inch baits while the 3/0 gets the start with the smaller 4 inch versions. The keeper has given us an extra fish or 2 per bait on average while maintaining the weedlessness of this technique. A win-win in our book.
The Mustad Grip-Pin Swim hook is good and sharp out of the package. It utilizes their chemically sharpened 4.3 Microsharp Point Technology. We’ve haven’t experienced any premature wear or point rolling on the hooks that we obtained.
Another feature of this hook is that the eye is closed. While we didn’t even notice this prior to actually tying one on, it is a welcome benefit that adds to the appeal of the hook.
Yes we have used it for swimbaits too. It will handle a good deal of the current baits on the market although, as we have mentioned, it is not an EWG.
There are those baits that this hook simply does not have enough gap to accommodate. You can cut deeper into the plastic so that the hook has less material to go through but it isn’t our first alternative.
The Mustad scores well as far as not picking up weeds on the keeper. The design is such that when rigged properly,the baits sits snug against it as if it were resting on a shelf. There isn’t any extraneous material hanging out to pick up vegetation as you’re fishing which is something that is lacking on some other keepers.
If you need to replace some hooks this season, give the Grip-Pin Swim a look. It is much more versatile than the name suggests.
| Mustad Grip-Pin Swim Hook | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |    |
| a versatile well designed hook | |
See ya’ on the water …