I've been tying crappie jigs for about 3 months now and I'm a full blown addict! But i've noticed a lot of you guys tie using sickle hook jigs instead of regular hook jigs. Are there any benefits to using sickle or is it just personal preference? Thanks in advance for the input!

if you consider catching more crappie a benefit that would be one for me (I don't tie, I just catch)

I think it's a personal preference ....but I prefer sickles... Both to tie and for plastics....for the most part sickles are sharper....gold hooks wiil bend out better when getting unhung, but again, personal preference...just my .02 for what it's worth....

I'm not sure about all that. But, the wide gap of the sickle hook is supposed to give a better hook set.
I only tie regular Eagle Claw. I catch a few fish from time to time.

Thanks guys! I'm down for whatever works best. I have a lot to learn...

sickle hooks for me. I am a little bit picky.

I pour most of my heads. I've used regular hooks, Eagle Claw, VMC, Mustad, and Owner. With the exception of the Owner hooks, the sickle hooks come out of the package sharper and will stay sharp. Owner hooks are too expensive for me. If you pour your heads, you will probably have to do a little Dremel work on your mold to use sickles. No big thing. Matzuo, the folks who make the sickles have had problems in the past. Brittle hooks that would break too easily and really bad quality control. You would get way too many unusable hooks with an order. My experience lately has been good with them. Nothing wrong with regular hooks, they've caught more that their share of crappie, I just really like the sickles.

I think I get a better hookset with the sickle. Seems most of the time they get in the roof of the mouth, instead of the soft lip. I use the black sickles are my preference. They are sharper, stronger, but #4 or larger, you will normally break the hook instead of bend. When you pull it loose, check the hook. I missed 6 or 7 fish, then realized I didn't have a hook.

I use both...

Prefer sickle for the wider gap and there are really sharp.

Nothing against Eagle Claw, used to use them when I was a kid, but when I really started learning to catch crappie and hung out with some of the best it was sickle all the way. It also help if you fish where the crappie are...right Kenny?

Yes, fishing where the crappie are does help.

Simple set of pliers sets your own sickle gaps/offsets in nothing flat

I pour my own heads and use both. I tie for my friends and some prefer the regular hooks. For my personal use, I use sickles as they are a lot sharper and usually stick dem crappie in the roof of the mouth!

Sickle hooks mostly and it's simple for me. They are sharper, hook and hold fish better which means loose less fish with the hook in the roof of their mouth! Sickle hooks have their issues with QC, but there is not a sharper hook for the money out there. Both Owner and Gamakatsu are at least as sharp, but they also cost a lot more!

I find guys that try sickle hooks usually are then sold on them and I have used and tied them for over 10 years now.