Keep fish pinned with rotating SpinTech treble hooks from Basstar

Total Score: 8.25 - INNOVATION AWARD!

Introduction: Basstar introduces a new take on treble hooks with the rotating SpinTech hooks which are designed to eliminate the problem of hooks locking up and allowing fish to shake free in the heat of the battle. Making use of a clever new design these two piece hooks give anglers the ability to add freely rotating treble points to just about any hard bait.

SpinTech hooks bring the rotating hook feature found on Basstar's lures to just about any hardbait

Impressions: A rotating treble hook, it might be somewhat hard to visualize but the concept is a good one. Typical treble hooks are attached to split rings and while they can turn either direction they do not offer free rotation so they can lock up in multiple positions. When locked up traditional hooks can cause leverage against the fish’s mouth and come unpinned if the fish were to pull or shake in certain directions.

SpinTech hooks in retail packaging, notice how each hook is individually separated

A rotating hook on the other hand should in theory rotate whichever direction a fish turns eliminating the ability of fish to lock up the hooks to create this leverage. Basstar, the company best known for their topwater Proprunner baits, has introduced a new rotating hook series branded “SpinTech.” These SpinTech hooks are constructed with a pin that serves as an axle through the center of the treble hook. The hook points can then rotate freely on this axis in either direction allowing the hook to reposition during the heat of the battle with any fish. Sounds good, let’s see if it works…

A close look at the design of the hook, notice the rotating shank portion which is armed with trebles over the pin

Real World Tests: We have been fishing the SpinTech hooks for a season and a half now, targeting everything from Black Bass to Stripers. Our test regimens for these hooks was simple, put them on some our favorite baits and see if they alter the action of the lure at all, improve landing ratios and are able to hold up to a complete season of fishing. Originally we had planned to really put the design to the test against Peacock Bass in the Amazon but unfortunately our trip was moved out until November so that ultimate stress test was taken off the agenda, rather than wait to complete that final test we felt it was time to complete the review with the data we had accumulated over the course of the year.

Loaded on a Norman DLN and ready for battle

Gear up and go fishing: Before heading out to go fishing I picked some of my favorite and most reliable fish catching lures. These included the Normal DLN, a variety of ripbaits and even a few hard and soft bodied swimbaits. A lot of my favorite swimbaits like the 22^nd Century Triple Trout and Mike Bucca Bullshad already had their own rotating hook internal designs so there was no need for the SpinTech hooks. Where they really made sense were on a lot of the plastic swimbaits that made use of traditional loop/split ring implementations for underbelly stinger hooks.

The hooks need to be thicker than traditional hooks to make room for the center pin

When replacing hooks I noticed that the SpinTech hooks were just a tad harder to put on split rings than traditional trebles. The eye of the hooks would rotate when pressed against the split rings and I found I had to grasp directly below the eye on the pin portion of the hook to properly wedge the eye onto the split rings. It took a little longer to change out these hooks versus traditional ones, but as long as you have a smaller set of needle nose pliers or the Texas Split Ring pliers changing them is still pretty easy.

The hooks do not cause baits to run differently, just fish as you normally would

Next Section: Geared up, Let the tests begin!