For a long time I have used nothing but 4x VMC trebble hooks or 4x Lazer Sharp Eagle Claws on my topwater plugs. Reason being that the stock hooks on my topwater of choice (Spook Jr.) always straighten, and other brand hooks that I have tried impede the lures action.
It was the night before a tournament and every tackle shop I knew of was closed, all the big box stores in the area were out of my go to hooks, and the only hook of the right size left was Mustad’s new KVD Elite Tripple Grip Treble. Being left with no choice I decided to buy the hooks and try them out.
My first impression when inspecting the hook is that the shank was considerably shorter than most hooks I have used before. Another peculiar feature of the hook is that it has a wider gap with the hook pointing inward. The shank and wire of the hook appeared to be made out of a very strong wire. I tried flexing the hook with my finger but noticed very little, to no flex. The shorter shank does not allow for the same leverage to be applied which would allow for the hook to straighten in conventional trebles. I put the hooks on my spook and made a few casts in the lake behind my house, to my surprise the spook walked very well. I decided to leave the hook on and hopefully give it a real world test in the morning.
I caught a couple redfish in the mid 20’s and the hooks held up very well. One of the redfish in particular had all 3 trebles in his mouth and I was worried about bending the hook while pulling it out. It took a couple good yanks but the hook came out without loosing its shape.
After the tournament I decided to not rinse the hook off the get an idea of how well it resisted corrosion. It has been 3 fishing trips without rinsing and 8 redfish (5 being overslot) and the hooks have not lost structural integrity in any way. My Spook Jr. now has a crack on its face but by looking at the hooks alone, you wouldn’t think that they have been through so much abuse.
One of the things I have noticed is that I can get a small piece of floating grass on my spook without having it affect the action like it usually does the other trebles I usually use. I think that the extra weight that was cut out by shortening the shank length might be what allows it to keep walking correctly when it has snagged a couple small pieces of grass.
At 6.99 for 4 hooks, these hooks are not inexpensive. Regardless of the price, they have become my go to treble for topwaters since they have excellent sharpness, durability, and structural integrity. Definitely gets the Jose stamp of approval.