We discussed spring cleaning for the fisherman and I gotta’ tell you, I did mine and found some things in the terminal tackle box that desperately needed to be replaced, starting with swimbait hooks.
So I took a look at what was out there and decided to try the new Mustad Power Lock Plus Spring Keeper hooks. I have tried other hooks like this in the past and never been happy with their performance so I don’t know what possessed me to try another one. I did and here is my review of the new Mustad.
Movable Weights
What caught my attention when looking for another swimbait hook was the fact that the Power Lock Plus has a weight that is movable along the hook shank. The way this works is that inside the weight there is some silicon that can be warmed up simply by turning the weight and then, it can be moved.
By moving the weight, you can change the way your swimbait runs in the water. Move it closer to the eye of the hook and the bait will run at a nose down angle. Move it back and the bait will run horizontally. I know that you can get something like this with the Sebile soft weight system but, having reviewed the Magic Swimmer Soft Pro which comes stock with this system, I am aware of its limitations and wanted to see if the Mustad, with its lead weight, would be a better alternative.
I picked up a pack of the 4/0 and the 5/0. Both sizes of hooks come with the same weight, 1/8 oz. They also have the spring keeper with the centering pin. Again, I have tried some of these type keepers in the past and never been more than luke warm with them. One of the first things that I noticed is the fact that at first glance, it would seem that the spring keeper would interfere with a hookset since its in direct line with the hook point when you have a soft plastic rigged. I also figured that if that turned out to be the case, I would take some small wire cutters to it and do a little on the water surgery to remedy that potential problem.
On The Water Testing
So I got to the lake, opened a pack of the 4/0, screwed a plastic swimbait on and let it fly. The first thing that you notice is the fact that this spring keeper with the centering pin makes putting a bait on the hook EASY! This thing is an absolute no-brainer for rigging soft plastics. Just poke the centering pin in the nose, or butt, of the bait, screw it in, thread the hook through the plastic and start fishing.
I was using the Netbait BK swimbait with the 4/0 hook and the Berkley Havoc Lane’s Fatty Craw with the 5/0 hook. In both cases, rigging was a snap and the baits worked just the way they were supposed to in the water. They did not roll, twist, flop or do anything else that would tend to ruin the action. I converted almost every strike without doing the surgery on the keeper that I was prepared to do and found that because of the length of the screw lock mechanism, my soft plastics took less damage than with my old standby swimbait hook. What do you know, a little added bonus. And for the record, these hooks are very sharp right out of the package.
I intentionally left the weight where it was in the package for a while and then moved the weight down the shank to test how that would work. It did what it is advertised to do, the way it is advertised to work. You really do just have to grab the weight and twist it about a dozen times to make it slide fairly easily up and down the hook. Once you put it in a particular position, it doesn’t move until YOU move it. Even running this thing into some structure didn’t affect its position on the hook.
All in all, I am very satisfied with the new Mustad Power Lock Plus Spring Keeper hooks. If I have a beef with them at all, it’s just that they are only available with one size weight. That being 1/8 oz. I would like to see more choices like 3/16 and 1/4 oz. Who knows, maybe Mustad is just waiting to see how these sell and if they do well, then they will add more sizes. I know that if they do, I’ll be picking some up as soon as they come out.
See ya’ on the water …