# Always Replace The Stock Rings & Split Rings On New Plugs!



## Scuba Chris (Jun 17, 2017)

Always Replace The Stock Hooks & Split Rings On New Plugs!

This summer the company RIVER2SEA introduced this new lure the Whopper Plopper. It was meant for fresh water application but i think there's a market for salt water use as well. On my first outing i hit a 4-5lb Trevally Jack. The Trevally bent out 2 of the 3 treble hooks in the middle & got away at my foot. If i took the time to replace the stock hooks & split rings i would've landed that fish.

My general rule of thumb is to replace all stock hooks of any lure, but got this the day before i used it at 6am the next day so i went with it. My mistake. I do this for ALL my lures. The 130 size rattles due to internal BB's. The tail spins like a propeller on both sizes creating vibration, noise & throws water like a wounded fish. The wire is heavy duty & so far resisted salt water corrosion. The 130 is heavy enough to be casted using braid. The 90 unit is light & requires a weighted assist set-up like a lead egg or a Hammer Bomb (for this type of usage use the Flashbomb for night use, Regular for deeper depths & Unleaded for shallow areas). 

Items Needed For Replacing Stock Items-
Split ring pliers.
Needle nose pliers.
Assorted split rings of high breaking strength.
High quality treble hooks like BKK. 
Single trailer hook (best are Gamagatsu, Mustad & VMC).

Graph For Treble To Single Hook Conversion
Treble Size Converted Single Size
#6 #2
#4 #1
#2 #2/0
#1 #3/0
#1/0 #4/0
#2/0 #5/0

Why Use Single Trailer Hooks?
Less damage done to fish.
Accidents to the angler are less severe compared to trebles.

Other Tips-
Higher quality lures have good split rings, cheaper ones don't. 
Always use larger sized rings if in doubt on the size. Easier to work with.
Get into the habit of replacing all hooks on new plugs. 
If you want your surface lure pop heads-up, put the heaviest hook on the back end.
If you want your sub-surface lure to dive head first-put the heaviest hook near to the lure's head.
When using single hooks place the hook's gap (area between the shank & barb) upwards for shallow water usage (less chance of snagging the bottom). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTHYc-rEU9k


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

Awesome post! I change hooks & split rings on many new lures too. I've found that many lures don't have the correct size split rings anyway. They go with what looks best, not what is a correct size & they're often deformed. 

I have a saltwater 190 size Whopper Plopper, and it came with heavy split rings & Owner trebles. Not sure how it would handle Trevally, but it's not a lure I'll be changing the hooks on unless I switch to the inline singles. 

One other thing that I like to do is add an oval ring to the line tie on the front of lures. Some lures don't do well with a split ring there, so I leave them alone, but otherwise I switch to or add the oval ring. I use a magnesium alloy oval ring made by Worth Manufacturing that they call X2 rings. They make various sizes, and they're both lighter weight & stronger than similar sized round or oval stainless rings. I've been using them for a lot of years now & have never had one fail. They also don't deform like stainless rings.


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