MINNETONKA, MN – Anglers know that you have to go where the fish are and be prepared to catch them wherever that is. With more pressure on fisheries, bass have become more and more wary and it requires light line, finesse baits and the perfect light wire hooks to get bites.
“Cold fronts, high pressure, clear water…anything that has those fish in a funk, a finesse approach, such as a drop shot or neko rig, excels at catching bass when they don’t want to bite anything else,” said Rapala pro Seth Feider, who counts deepwater smallmouth bass fishing as one of his favorite styles of fishing.
Designed specifically for tournament bass anglers, the VMC RedLine Series is comprised of eight hooks ultra-engineered hooks built for optimum power, strength and hook-up speed. With velvety-smooth P.T.F.E. coating, RedLine hooks penetrate 50% faster than ordinary hooks. Combined with the company’s unique, compressed needle point design that produces an ultra-sharp point, fish practically hook themselves.
New RedLine Series Weedless Wacky Neko HookAnd once they’re on, they stay on. VMC RedLine Series hooks are made with Vanadium® Steel, making them 25% stronger than ordinary fishing hooks. This extra-light, extra-strength material is the same material used to make Formula One race cars. It’s so light and subtle, fish don’t even realize they’ve been caught until it’s too late.
“RedLine hooks are smooth, sharp and strong,” said Seth Feider, a Bassmaster Elite pro. “First and foremost, they are super sticky sharp that makes for easy penetration and they offer the right shapes for all facets of rigging to ensure the highest bite to land ratio. Having a hook you can depend upon is absolutely the most critical part of the whole equation — my livelihood as a pro angler depends on landing every bass that bites.”
Ready to Finesse Big Bites
Rapala pro anglers such as Jacob Wheeler, Ott DeFoe and Seth Feider rely on finesse fishing techniques – such as dropshotting or using a neko rig — to put more bass in their boats during high-pressure tournaments.
Working in collaboration with these pros, VMC engineers created tournament-grade hooks within the RedLine Series designed specifically for finesse fishing, including the RedLine Dropshot Hook, the Wacky Neko Hook, the Weedless Wacky Neko Hook, the Finesse Neko Hook and the Finesse Treble Hook.
Rapala pro Seth Feider lands a big one with a RedLine Weedless Wacky Neko hook.
The keys to developing hooks for these finesse fishing applications is a needle point that hooks bass before they even realize they’re hooked, combined with maximizing the size of the barb without compromising the integrity of the hook. Those key features paired with a resin closed eye and silky-smooth PTFE coating, the bar has been raised in the finesse fishing world.
“There are many factors that make a hook great,” said Jacob Wheeler, reigning Bass Pro Tour AOY. “Of course, the first thing you think of is sharpness. But, in my opinion, the most important factors are its design and the bite of the hook in correlation to the line tie. You also have to think about larger barbs keep fish pinned and the strength of the hook is very important, too. This is the reason why I feel the RedLine Series has set itself apart. It has all of these in one hook and that is really hard to find!”
About VMC
With more than two centuries of experience, the innovative craftsmanship of VMC® design shows in every product. Award-winning hooks for every style of fishing, many with first-to-market features, plus rigs, jigs and terminal tackle second to none. VMC is one of several legendary fishing lure brands that belong to the RapalaVMC family. Learn more, visit Rapala.com.
