Fishing and Gear Technology

Unit 9. Fishing hooks

9.2 Different parts of hooks

Fish hook:

Hooks are of different types, shapes and sizes. The hooks are made of steel and wrought iron. Wrought iron is commonly used. It is shaped, tempered and plated with tin. Fish hook is fastened to a line for the capture of fishes. The principal part of a hook are eye, shank, bend, barb and point.
Eye: Purpose of eye is to attach the hook to the line. There are various types of eyes to facilitate easy attachment.
Shank: It is the second part of the hook. Eye is followed by the shank. Shanks are given different shapes and length, depending upon the fish caught.
Bend: Bend is next to the shank. There are various types of bends. The shapes and size of the bends will vary depending upon the fish to be caught.
Barb: The function of the barb is to prevent the escape of fish after hooking. There are hooks without barbs. Barbless hooks are used for catching tuna by pole and line.
Point: The point of the hook is given different shapes. Point is the part which pierce into the mouth of the fish. The fish caught may try to escape after hooking. During struggling the single hook maybe straightened, helping the escape of fish. If double hooks used the hooking is at two different portion of the fish hence the chance of escape is less.
Numbering of hooks: Norwegian method is followed for numbering of hooks. The size of the hook becomes smaller as the number increases. In addition, the length of the hook, the diameter of the shank, the radius of the bends etc. are also important.