Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Discussions focused on the pursuit of saltwater species
Post Reply
oops
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 240
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:18 am

Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Post by oops » Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:46 pm

Have fished down there many times but rarely with artificials and never my own gear. Taking 1 set up and a small box of jigheads+plastics, chatterbaits and 78-115 size jerkbaits with me for my upcoming trip. Haven't caught many fish over 8lb down there but I always want to be prepared if I hook into a big one and I have very little confidence in the terminal tackle attached to my lures for stronger saltwater fish.

I think jackhammers use a decoy egg snap #2? Should I be upgrading to a #3 or 4? My jerkbaits have megabass katsuages on them that I love but I already worry about bending them out horsing in a 3lb bass so having fish ripping drag with one in their mouth concerns me. I don't know the first thing about split rings but I assume the ones on my jerkbaits are not meant to deal with mean saltwater fish.

Any advice is appreciatd. Even if it's that the terminal tackle on them is going to be just fine as is

Shadowcaster1969
Senior Angler
Senior Angler
Posts: 134
Joined: Sun May 09, 2021 2:50 am

Re: Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Post by Shadowcaster1969 » Fri Aug 12, 2022 3:31 am

I fish in the salt quite a bit with lures and jigs and I only use split rings now, Owner and Decoy. Snaps, even the premium price ones, had failed me one time too many.

You know why they call them Snaps? Because they keep Snapping on good fishes... :?

Jeffbro999
Pro Angler
Pro Angler
Posts: 1952
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:59 am
Location: Pensacola, FL

Re: Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Post by Jeffbro999 » Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:53 am

I paint/sell lures for saltwater use, specifically jerkbaits, topwater and glide baits. I buy stainless rings from Predator bass baits, and they hold up perfectly to big reds and jacks. No need to ever buy Owner Split rings unless you are fishing for jacks or GT specifically. Overkill, pricey and they rust worse than any I’ve used. I use KVD Mustads on all my baits. Bent hooks are gonna happen with big reds if you want your jerkbaits to work correctly. 4x hooks might not bend, but your bait is going to sink.

Chatterbait snaps will be ok. They might open, might… but they never come loose from the blade. Even the light snaps on the Break Blade never come completely loose.

My custom shallow 110 doing its thing on a 39” fish
Image

User avatar
doomtrprz71
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 401
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 4:35 am

Re: Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Post by doomtrprz71 » Sat Aug 13, 2022 1:56 pm

Personally I would worry about the chatter baits myself, I have lost a good red from the snap breaking at keaton beach and I figure LA reds should be meaner. If they are fresh out of the pack, then they're probably fine.

User avatar
Oktayne the Red
Senior Angler
Senior Angler
Posts: 55
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2020 6:16 pm

Re: Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Post by Oktayne the Red » Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:54 am

I gotta agree with Shadowcaster, stay away from snaps. If they are strong enough to hold fish, they are gonna be big enough to spook fish.

As far as split rings go, I'm probably in the minority. I've never had to think about changing them or beefing them up. I'd like to think I've caught a decent amount of fish and never had an issue. When corrosion called for a replacement, whatever they had at the tackle shop worked fine. Sometimes Owner, but usually something like Sampo or maybe Spro? The exception would be any plugs that came with bronze split rings, like old Rapalas and such. Those got changed out of the box for sure, for corrosion purposes.

If you're redfishing, you might want to have a couple good old gold Johnson's Silver Minnow spoons. It's still a go-to down in Central/SoFL.

dennis_rf
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 268
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 11:57 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Post by dennis_rf » Mon Aug 15, 2022 7:43 am

I use this kind for my big bait pike fishing. And I go by the mantra: if a treble hook will not spook fish, no snap up to that size will.

https://youtu.be/rJjr3Dopc2k

User avatar
doomtrprz71
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 401
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 4:35 am

Re: Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Post by doomtrprz71 » Mon Aug 15, 2022 11:54 am

A jackhammer without a snap is a swim jig and ain't catching a red

oops
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 240
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:18 am

Re: Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Post by oops » Sun Sep 18, 2022 5:54 pm

Thanks for all the tips guys. Ended up just using the gear with its default setup and had no issues. Been going down there for 12 years and this was the best trip I've ever had as far as size of fish. Was using my NRX+ 903c the whole time and it felt amazing. Biggest red was 16lbs and biggest drum was 22lbs. My first trip taking my own gear and really glad I did. Probably been about 20 years since I caught a fish over 15lb, so it was really cool to get quite a few and all on bass gear.

User avatar
doomtrprz71
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 401
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 4:35 am

Re: Snaps, split rings and hooks for south LA redfishing?

Post by doomtrprz71 » Wed Sep 21, 2022 7:16 pm

Good to hear, I hope to be headed that way next month.

Post Reply