Assist Hooks- Who uses them?...

Who uses them why or why not? I was planning to change things up and use leadfish or this 'Chovy in salt water this year or maybe for Macs at Odell if I can get up there. I have had some success with leadfish before. I know some folks add assist hooks to these types of jigs. Also, it looks like from some pictures and the directions on the back of the pack of hooks that you add a ring above the eye one the jig. Is that what you all do? Thanks.

I run assist hooks for Macks... did quite a bit of playing around with them for jigging both at odell, crescent and pyramid lake. I think you hook up to land ratio is better with the assist hooks but your overall hook up ratio is a little better with trebles... Also, I think in regards to Macks the treble has a tendency to snag the body more often when they pin the jig on the bottom and miss... causing some foul hook ups in the body.

I love the Owner assits hooks the most after trying to tie my own with dacron etc... I think the kevlar puts the hooks in a better position during the fall than say a pline braid or a dacron tied assist hook.

I also had more luck running them from the back of the jig... but I believe from watching underwater footage that it is because of the slashing bite that macks tend to execute... I think when fishing high speed swimmers like salmon, tuna, wahoo, etc it helps to fight the fish from a direct link from the ring to the assist hook without going through the body of the jig.

If I'm running any type of minnow jig in salt water I run assist hooks period. Better than trebles or siwash. I tie my own. I used to use owner or gamis but putting them on everything it got spendy. Now I use 65lb power pro and a good quality heavy duty octopus hook.the point of the split ring, welded ring, the assist hook is to give the hook maximum swing so it finds a good spot in the mouth. When a rockfish sucks it in the hook is independent from the jig in a sence so it's always finding a home. I tie mine direct to the same eye that I tie my leader and skip the rings. snag up less than singles or trebled also.i have only lost 1 or 2 jigs in several years.

Here's a pic of a Do-It mold jig I pour at home.

I use assist hooks on my butter knife jigs.  They are deadly!  (on the fish)

But!!!!

Just use one per jig, as I have found that not very often will the fish be hooked by any more than that.  So, as you are trying to lip the fish, any open assist hooks will find your finger/hand and really dig in when you have thrashing fish attached to the same lure. 

The upside to having a fish connected to a lure via the assist hook, you can use the lure as a handle to lift said fish into your lap.

I have to agree there.  More often than not I've found that more than one hook ends up with me hooked in the end.  So glad I always run barbless (and that's why).

I use assist hooks on jigs for lings and tuna (most of the time just one assist hook).  Jigs for rockfish i have both kinds: assist hook on the top of the jig and sometimes a double hook or treble hooks on the bottom using a split ring.  Kokanee jigs I always direct tie to the top of the jig and go with a treble hook on the bottom with a split ring.

For bigger fish and when changing the jig body frequently, I like to tie the assist hook as shown in the photo with a solid ring (going to the mainline) and a split ring connector to the jig body. To change the jig body, you keep your mainline and assist hook tied together and simply use a split ring pliers to remove the old body and slip on a new body of a different color or style.   The fish that you hook on a rig tied this way is not using the jig body to leverage the hook out of it's mouth.

Thanks for the answers. I meant to ask about the one vs two hook idea so it looks like one hook is the way to go. Where do you buy solid rings? I live in hicksville and have not seen them where I shop.

I hope to get out and put this into practice asap.

I buy all my jig stuff from http://www.zeiners.com . It's a bass shop in Wichita Kansas. Great prices. Most everything that's in the Do-It mold catalog they carry including welded rings. Great customer service. Cabelas should have welded rings to.

Thanks for the answers. I meant to ask about the one vs two hook idea so it looks like one hook is the way to go. Where do you buy solid rings? I live in hicksville and have not seen them where I shop.

I hope to get out and put this into practice asap.

I made my my first ones myself, as I couldn't find any local either.  And online they are stupid expensive.
Then at ORC last year, Mike from Hoggs had a bunch in the trailer so I purchased enough from him to cover me for the next few years.

I heard you can buy them by the piece at Englund in Newport and I do make it over there regularly so I'll check it out next trip.

I use assist hooks on jigs for lings and tuna (most of the time just one assist hook).  Jigs for rockfish i have both kinds: assist hook on the top of the jig and sometimes a double hook or treble hooks on the bottom using a split ring.  Kokanee jigs I always direct tie to the top of the jig and go with a treble hook on the bottom with a split ring.

For bigger fish and when changing the jig body frequently, I like to tie the assist hook as shown in the photo with a solid ring (going to the mainline) and a split ring connector to the jig body. To change the jig body, you keep your mainline and assist hook tied together and simply use a split ring pliers to remove the old body and slip on a new body of a different color or style.   The fish that you hook on a rig tied this way is not using the jig body to leverage the hook out of it's mouth.

That looks like a good set-up. I'm going to try it. I've also tied my own, but I do like the front barb on the stinger.