For most Australian fishermen the most important thing about a fish hook is its ability to catch fish, and this is of course also the most important thing for Mustad when designing and developing a hook pattern.

In order to make a high-quality fish hook for a specific type of fishing, there are many parametres that have to be decided upon: should the the point be straight or bent in — the throat be deep or shallow — the shank be long or short — the eye be straight, bent up or bent down — the wire be thin or heavy … such elements decide the particular properties of an individual hook pattern and how suitable it is for a specific type of fishing.

We cannot go into all the details here, but by reading these pages you will better understand the information that you can find in our product catalogue.

Unmatched Fish Hook Strength

Our unique three-stage computer controlled tempering process transforms the hook into a fine grained, ultrastrong microstructure. This increases strength up to 30 per cent compared to conventional tempering methods. However, it’s not only strength that is important in this process; we need to be in control of brittleness and flexibility as well. Our superior technology allows us such control of the final outcome.

Fishing Hook Surface Treatment

Mustad hooks feature a wide range of colours and finishes, from black nickel and gold to bronze. The special coatings have been developed to suit the various types of fishing. E.g. Duratin is used for longlining hooks and lacquer for freshwater. We also manufacture stainless-steel hooks in a limited selection. Our challenge within this field is to increase the rust resistance of our products even more.

Fishing Hook Rust Resistance

Experienced fishermen will select their hooks to match the bait or to suit their method of fishing and local conditions. Some hooks are made for specific purposes and are thus available only in one finish, while other patterns come in a variety of coatings. Different coatings have different features and properties. This entails that the rust resistance of the hooks may vary. Mustad runs tests showing how the various coatings compare in this respect. These tests are carried out in accordance with the ASTM B-117 norm, set up by the American Society for Testing and Materials. Tests run in our salt spray chamber show that hooks coated with stainless steel will have 3% surface rust, Duratin 8%, and Double Nickel 30% surface rust after a given number of hours. The results may vary somewhat, depending first of all on the thickness of the coating, but also on fishing conditions, water temperature, type of bait and pH value.

Are two hooks better than one?  In many cases, yes.  When the hooks are rigged and spaced so that they work independently, they can give an improved hookup rate compared to a big single hook.

That’s the principle behind Mustad’s Big Red Snapper Rig, a special two-hook rig designed for big baits.  Two Mustad chemically sharpened Ultra Point Big Red hooks are snelled on a trace a set distance apart.  This makes rigging easy for large strip baits, whole squid, octopus legs and other big baits for snapper, mulloway and other large target fish.

Many anglers find this a neater and better way to rig large natural baits than a big single hook.  And neat baits get more bites and better hookups.  The Mustad Big Red Snapper Rig uses fixed (not sliding) hooks of uniform size.  This type of rig has proved popular in the southern states for snapper and mulloway anglers.  But it has application just about everywhere, so anglers in other areas will certainly be interested.

The Mustad Big Red Snapper Rig comes packaged in a distinctive yellow header card pack in the Mustad Ultra Point style, with three rigs per pack. Illustrated baiting instructions are provided. Hook sizes range from 3/0 to 8/0.
Specifications:
Hook size     Trace length (metres)         Breaking strain         Swivel size
3/0                          1.5                                          30lb                       2
4/0                          1.5                                         40lb                       1
5/0                          1.5                                         50lb                       1
6/0                          1.5                                         50lb                       1/0
7/0                         1.5                                         60lb                       1/0
8  /0                          1.5                                         70lb                       1/0

Mustad Hooks – Visit the Mustad Site

ULTRA LINE. 100% Fluorcarbon
Extraordinary knot and linear breaking resistance. In water it adopts same colour as surroundings. Practically invisible.

THOR is a co-polymeric polyamide monofilament fishing line engineered to have very high knot and linear breaking resistance.  The clear colour gives it a dycroic (camou) effect, which means that the line adopts the same colour as the surroundings and becomes practically invisible in the water.  Excellent tippet material for any kind of fishing, both in freshwater and saltwater.