What hook size should you use in weed?

Elliott Gray

I always use big hooks, 6 or 4, especially when there’s weed about, but even if there isn’t, I’ll still opt for a large hook. There really is no harm in doing so and I genuinely don’t think it costs you many bites, certainly not from bigger fish anyway. Plus, I very rarely drop fish when using big hooks, which is important when I could be waiting weeks if not months for a bite.

I prefer to use really big hooks

Jon McAllister

Yep, you’re totally right, Elliott. In fact, it will get more fish on the bank. I don’t even believe for one minute that increasing your hook size will even lower the bite-rate. I use 4’s all year round these days. Even on tricky waters, big hooks are something a lot of carp aren’t used to ejecting. I believe the size of the hook is all-important in a carp’s ability to ‘get rid’. Big fish, big mouths, big hook! You’ve only got to look at how small some nuisance fish are that you hook on a size 8 to realise how big you can go with your hook size when targeting carp. A 10lb carp can pick up a size 4, so anything bigger can easily do the same. But going back to the initial pointer, big hooks in weed will definitely reduce hook pulls and raise your fish on the bank-to-bites tally.

One taken from a weedy area using a size 4

Elliott Gray

Again – totally agree. Bigger the better, maybe not a size 2, though.

Jon McAllister

Yep, a size 2 doesn’t quite suit my rig with its 14mm bait attached but my mate uses a size 2 all year, other than in the depths of winter and he caught with the 2’s whilst everyone else struggled like mad to even get a bite. He, on the other hand emptied the place but he was also using three jumbo tigers on the Hair – food for thought!

Kev Hewitt

I agree with bigger hooks. Even when using 10mm pop-ups or single grain of plastic corn I use a size 6 hook which may seem disproportionate to the size of bait but the buoyancy of the bait takes the weight factor out of the hook.