5 ways to rig the octopus hook—the one hook that catches almost everything

#5  STINGER RIGS

When the fish are biting short, adding a stinger or trailer hook to your lure can increase hook-ups, and octopus hooks are ideal for the job. To make your own stinger hook, simply tie an octopus hook to a short length of line using a snell knot. You can use monofilament, fluorocarbon or braided line, depending on the situation—the beauty of tying your own stinger rigs is that you can make them any length, and with any size hook, to match any scenario.

If you’re using a lure with a built-in stinger-hook loop, tie directly to that. Otherwise, attach the stinger to the split ring holding whatever hook is farthest back on your lure. Simply tie a small loop on the stinger line and thread it onto the split ring, or slip the open loop knot through the split ring, then run the hook back through the loop and tighten the slack.

BONUS TIP: POINTED DIFFERENCES

At first glance, octopus (above left) and circle hooks (above right) appear similar, but there are important differences. Octopus hooks always have an upturned eye, for example, while circle hooks can have either an upturned or straight eye. But more importantly, an octopus hook has a standard round bend, so its point is parallel to the hook shank. Circle hooks bend much more dramatically, so that the hook point faces inward toward the shank of the hook. As a result, a circle hook will set itself into the corner of a fish’s mouth when the fish swims away with the bait. Octopus hooks, on the other hand, need to be set by the angler.

Saskatchewan’s Mike Hungle has an extensive arsenal of fish-catching tricks.