Hook Sizing: The Great Mystery

4/0, 6/0, #4, #6, 4x, 2x, what do all these hook labels actually mean? Well unfortunately it’s not as simple or universal as we would like it to be. When it comes to hook sizing (nothing to do with strength) there is a scale. The bigger the number with # sign in front of it the smaller the hook is, #1,#2,#3,#4 etc, descending in hook size. As the hook gets bigger and you get all the way up to #1 the scale suddenly changes. The next bigger size after a #1 is a 1/0. From there on out the scale reverses, and the bigger the number is with a /0 in front of it the bigger the hook is, 1/0,2/0,3/0,4/0 etc. increasing in hook size.

Simple enough, but here is where the problem is, these hook sizes are NOT universal between brands and sometimes even within a brand. While a 10/0 Gamakatsu Live Bait HD for example will always be bigger than a 9/0 Gamakatsu Live Bait HD, a 10/0 Gamakatsu Live Bait HD may be a different size than a 10/0 Quick Rig Charlie Brown for example.

While this is super frustrating and can make choosing hooks a pain it is the unfortunate reality of the situation at the moment. So what about hook strength? Well that’s where it gets even more confusing. You may have seen labels like 4x, while this does mean 4x stronger, this means nothing compared to other brands. For example a Gamakatsu hook labeled 4x just means it is 4 times stronger than the regular version of that Gamakatsu hook, therefore a 4x Gamakatsu and a 4x Quick Rig may not the same strength. Super confusing and unintuitive, but what this means is you cannot rely on labels on a hooks package to determine whether or not a hook is suitable for a certain kind of fishing or fish. So next time you go to buy a hook, ignore the strength labeling and do some research on whether or not that specific hook is suitable for your application, or better yet ask someone who has experience with the hook! While the hook labeling in the industry is out of whack and pretty confusing, I hope this helped you be less confused. Most importantly, if you are still somewhat confused, don’t be too self conscious about it………I think all of us are still a little confused about this topic, because it just doesn’t make sense.

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