Short shank hooks

What are the pros and cons of using short or long shank aberdeens?

The guy I get casting lesson from told me he uses short shanks and offsets the point to increase hook ups but I don't understand why the length of the shank would help this.

Donagh

i have been told similar by a successful english fisherman. i will get back to you on this....in a hurry!

Short shanks are better for crab\mackerel baits and longer shanks for worm baits.

Short shanks are better for crab\mackerel baits and longer shanks for worm baits.

That's pretty much my thinking as well, for presentation purposes if nothing else.

The long shank seems to hold and give more support to a worm bait, whereas a short shanked hook with a strip of mackerel hanging from it looks less suspicious than a big, long, clumsey lookig thing.

There are probably more technical and scientific explainations, but damned if I know them! :P

I understand the short shanks being better for macky and crab but I'd only see the advantage in the longer shank if your using small worm baits. I usually tread a few decent sized worms up the snood so the longer shank seems to have no real advantage.

Donagh

Short shank wide gape for mullet.

the theory is...! a fish can fully swallow a larger size shortshank hook as opposed to a smaller sized aberdeen. also worth a mention is that on aberdeen style hooks the shank could prevent hook-ups similar to the way in which wire traces can hinder setting a hook. a change to a mono. can help the hook go in- it's more limp than wire. a short shank and mono. could work on the same principle but i don't really know for sure? some anglers use light snoods even in heavy coloured seas for flatties. this is not because it will necessarily get them more bites, but they hook more fish. this they claim is due to the lighter, limper line helping the hook to find a hold in the fish.

Just a thought but surely long shanks give a better chance of unhooking a fish that has nearly swallowed the hook

Thats where the surgical pliers come in.
With being able to hide the short shank in a decent bit of crab, it gives better presentation. As Shamrock said " it looks less suspicious than a big, long, clumsey looking thing".
I know I would prefer to worry about getting a hook out, than not having a fish to take it out of at all!

Thanks for the information all. Shank length doesn't give much of an advantage in unhooking fish better use a larger hook to stop gut hooking.

Veals only sell the long shank kamazans aberdeens. Where can I buy the short shank version (or something similiar) in bulk cheap?

Donagh

I've always avoided short shank hooks. Especially when using crab, fish or mussel baits. The reason for this is simple. When you bait elastic a soft bait onto the shank of a long hook tightly it leaves the hook gape exposed to the fishes mouth. Soft baits tend to gloop around the bend of short hooks and thus mask the point. I do not see the point of them myself. Obviously the great tackle inventor in the sky knows something i don't but this system works for me. :? One thing I have learned over the years is that fish have no problem taking big hooks. Indeed, my most used hook when boat fishing is a 7/0 cox and rawl meat hook. This takes ling, Ray, Dogfish, Huss, Tope, Cod, and many fish you would not expect to take a hook as big as this. Doggies in particular have no problem taking them. When Tope Fishing I use 10/0 to try and cut down on Dogs and they STILL take the damn things. Sea fish are not as bothered about hook size as course fish. The more hook point showing the better in my book! :P

Too right Luke

When float fishing mackerel strips for pollack - I use a 4/0 which has got me lots of strange looks from others in the past, and even stranger looks when it takes fish!

Getting a large hook out of a fish is a lot simpler also.