Many manufacturers have offerred simple versions that consisted of a very simple keeper attached to the hook eye. The keeper was a good addition because it made re-baiting much faster and allowed the bait to sit more flush with the hook, but many times the bait would get pulled off from the bite or while fighting the fish. The other issue is that the hook never stayed straight up, the whole rig would spin, and the presentation would suffer.
Mustad has spent years of research and has truly perfected this type of hook with their Power Lock Plus Weighted EWG Hook. A wire spiral with a central spike is attached to the hook. The tip of the bait is spun onto the spiral while the center pin keeps it in position.
One of the most amazing features of this new hook is the sliding weight on the shaft. In past hooks weights have been fixed on the shaft, which decreases your ability to give your baits a custom presentation. Having this sliding weight is important because with all the different styles and shapes of soft plastics you need to change your rig to suit the bait and that’s exactly what this hook allows you to do.
Jeff Pierce (frequent show guest) and the innovative team from Mustad have created a new spiral gripper with a central pin that holds the bait on. The previous model was not effective enough for many of the new plastic bait styles. The new gripper was able to hold the baits on with up to 4 pounds of pressure which is simply incredible.
The new design of this hook allows you to rig it in a lot of interesting and effective ways which can be seen on the Mustad web site here.
Special note from Capt AndyLoCascio – “This is going to totally change the way we fish plastic baits and all the Berkley Power Baits (which are not actually plastic). We will now be able to make the perfect presentation with the best bait for the situation!”
Kyle Ondrey