Hello all my buzz bait/spinner bait fisherman.

If you are tying on that buzzbait or spinner bait for this fall bite, make sure you are considering adding a trailer hook of some kind to your setup. It could be a straight shank worm hook, treble hook, or whatever kind of hook you feel will help get that fish stuck on your presentation.

Now you can go to most fishing sections and see a wall of hooks to choose from. You will even find specific little packs that are labelled "Trailer Hooks". They come with 3-6 hooks and some little keepers. I have seen the average retail price range from $2.49-$7.99 Now I am not saying these packages are bad or wont work for you, but I would like to offer an alternative:

I picked up a pack of Mustad O'Shaughnessy 5/0 hooks 6pc for $1.49 and then used some electrical shrink tube that I already had in my tackle box...Now for those that are wondering why I have shrink tube in my tackle box, it can be used for a lot of other applications. For ex: I have put it around senko worms and put my wacky hook through it to act like an o-ring keeper. I have taken a piece and put it around the eye of a hook that was been tied to protect the knot...there are just a lot of different ways to use this stuff in tackle.

Anyway, I took my 5/0 mustad hook and put it on the hook of the bait I am using. Then take a piece of shrink tube and fold it in half and then pierce it onto the hook of the bait. This now acts like a keeper and I must say that it REALLY stays on there well. I have had some issues with surgical tubing stretching or wearing out and then falling off.




Now I am not applying heat to the shrink tube to shrink it, I am leaving it as is and it works perfectly. You could apply heat to shrink it and it would still work just fine.

The other awesome thing about shrink tube is that it comes in different colours and can be purchased fairly inexpensively and you will have more than enough to use on your buzzbaits/spinner baits and other tackle needs. I picked up a pack of black shrink tube with 12" of tube at Walmart for like $2 almost 2 years ago and still have plenty.

I hope this helps out anyone looking for unique ways or more affordable ways to modify/customize your presentations and get fish in the boat/on the bank.

Excellent post. Thanks for sharing.
-Shrink tube is also a great way to attach a rattle to the hook shank.
-I like the tubing over the eye of the trailer so it does not flop around as much. It seems to not get hung on limbs if it cannot swing from left to right and follow in a straight line.

Thanks for the info. Good tip.
What size buzz bait it that?

I appreciate that, I like being able to share what I learn because so many had done so with myself when I started fishing....although there is always something new to learn.

As for the shrink tube over the eye, I would say to do that if there is heavy cover or brush around...if there isn't, I like it to swing freely. This is really a personal preference, but I have heard other anglers talk about how it could be harder for the bass to throw the bait if the hook is loose so they wouldn't get leverage...whether that is true or not, just an interesting observation.

Thank you, it is actually a 9/16oz buzz bait, I have the link below:
http://www.santonelures.com/store/store_product_detail.cfm?Product_ID=83&Category_ID=1
It is actually designed specifically for use with braid.

Now you may ask why I took off the skirt, it is in preparation for the Berkley tournament this weekend and I can use the buzz bait, but not the skirt that came on it...but after the tournament, I can tie on a new skirt.