Tony sent me a few heads to try out and this will be my first one to give a shot. I had told him my favorite hook of all is the Gamakatsu so he is trying them out. I used the Gamakatsu bass fishing almost exclusively and without doubt my favorite. I use to be a dealer for them so I know first hand they are too expensive to use in tying for selling. However anyone fed up with Sickle hooks and wanting another one to try I would say give them a shot because they are at least as sharp as a Matuzo sickle and the quality is not in question. Anyway here is the 1/16 Oz Pony in Chart/Black/Chart which as of late one of the colors I have been using.

Oh an Tony, yes the shank seems longer by a good bit compared to a Sickle since the straight part of the sickle is not all the way to the final bend like these are. Even considering that I believe they may be a little longer than some regular bend hooks, but not enough to make a difference. Also on a positive note about this is guys that are scared of short strikes should fine this maybe better since the hook will be a little farther back on the bait.

That's some nice work.

interesting, I too am a big gama fan.. Very nice Skip>

Thanks guys! All I know is the Gama's are sharp as all get out and handling them without getting stuck is hard to do and I do love a sharp hook!

I used Gamakatsu hooks for all my bass fishing before I converted. The only exception I had was I used a VMC swivel drop shot hook.
Eagle claw is now making a strong sickle hook, Lil' Nasty I think.
I'm still sold on the sickle hooks, bronze or black nickel only. I don't use thin wire gold or red ones.
I kinda wish Gama would make a sickle hook.

That's just me and my preferences.........Not worth much - LOL

NICE WORK SKIP

Very nice. That big chenille looks good on that jig.

Thanks guys! tboxfish I also like the Sickle and think you loose less fish with it and it sticks them in the roof of the mouth most of the time. I didn't like what I saw from the Lil' Nasty hooks. Tony sent me some of them and I did my fingernail test and they fail when compared to the Matuzo. I am sure the Lil' Nasty will probably not have the issues the Matuzo has had, but I will stick to the Matuzo for now. Of course just my opinion and from what I have seen so far.

Skip

I'll stick to the Matzou most of the time, but I have a weakness for trying anything I haven't used before, so I ordered some of the Gamakatsu jig hooks. They are hard to find in small sizes and #2 was the smallest I could find. I'm kinda glad I didn't find any #4s....I'd be buying more! I've given them a field test and I had a lot of fish with the hook buried in the hard top of the the fish's mouth. Really good hooks, but at around 28 cents apiece they're too pricey to use all of the time. After a Google search, Barlows had the lowest price I could find.

Nice Skip!

Too darn pretty to fish with! That should go in a decorative box to set on the mantle. Sorry, I can't think of what those boxes are called, but you know what I mean. Great job, buddy!

Thanks guys! Gamakatsu has been my favorite hook for a long time now, but when compared to a Matuzo Sickle hook the price of the Sickle wins every time for crappie fishing. I know that when I first started tying and before the more costly chenille a completed jigs material cost was about the same as a Gamakatsu hook would be so if you start with that then the cost almost double for materials to make a jig, well really less (but you get the idea) because I didn't take the hook cost of the Sickle into account. Still all in all it would have made the cost of a jig a lot more even before labor is considered. However we should by now realize the labor in selling these is way below minimum wage, LOL!

Yes Tony that is the problem with the Gama's is price, but I suppose they have a pretty tough QC department and the hooks are always perfect! I love the size of the wire (for me Owner is too heavy/thick) and the sharpness combined make it penetrate the hard part of any fish mouth! I have also never seen them in the smaller sizes which is a shame, but then again they are so high cost. I couldn't believe how much they were to a dealer until I was one, LOL! I was doing it just to have something to mess with and then lived 100 miles South of me here and every time I came up I would call on the local shops to stock them and of course Fin & Feather which is were I use to stay up here. It was fun, but even back in the 1990's the first buy was $2000 to become a dealer.

Skip