Let’s talk a little physics. Saw the hook post and didn’t want to hijack it. Hook bending for (most) bass fishing. Most times when a hook bends that means you didn’t get good penetration. Meaning your hook point didn’t go through the fish down to the bend in the hook. So then if you upsize your hook wire diameter and continue to use the same setup your penetration is even worse so did you even solve your problem? Your hook sure as heck won’t penetrate to the bottom of the bend if a skinny one didn’t. Many reasons for why that doesn't happen. Overall your bass fishing setup is comprised of many different parts. Miss one of those key parts and you'll quite possibly lose fish. A few of the key biggest reason for bending hooks/landing fish…

1. Line choice.

Line choice is a very personal choice. The case for braid: low stretch = better penetration Over the years I was a huge proponent of fishing with mono. As time went on mono has become my 2nd choice of line to use. However, braid also has advantages and disadvantages, but as long as you know what they are you can adjust. I had to be sold on braid. Mono has stretch. Floro has some stretch too. Braid next to zero stretch. There are pros and cons for all 3 choices. A long distance cast with mono and a heavy bait you better be on your A game for good hook penetration. Mono is one of the biggest causes of bent hooks due to lack of penetration. A short story back in my spotted bass guiding days. We often jig a spoon deep from 80 to 100ft. When I first started spooning I used what I had 20lb mono and a 3/4 oz spoon. At 100ft you can barely feel bites (feels mushy) and when you did hook sets were well over your head. You had to reel set to take out the stretch then the actual rod didn’t load until it was still over your head. Many times I felt like I needed a 2nd hook set. That was an eye opener for me. When you use braid the strikes are like a lightning bolt. Keep in mind 80 ft is only 27 yards. For most that’s within a long cast with big swimbaits. So logic says a long cast with a swimbait equals low penetration. So Low penetration means when you get close to the boat with minimal drag that equals bent hooks. If you use thicker hooks even worst penetration and no bent hooks so did we gain anything here? Only way most bass bend hooks is bad penetration due to leverage of the hook sticking at or near the hook point. Most of you know I made mono work for many years. I had a system. If you understand the weaknesses of your system you can adjust. Best way to get good hooksets with mono use smaller diameter wire hooks and not 4x. Most important thing with using mono is 2 things.

1. Good form.

Having that rod almost pointed directly at the lure/fish at all times. That way you can use the full length of the rod to help take all that stretch out (one of many reasons why I like longer rods). If you’re caught out of form your chances go way down and quick. For those of you in kayaks it is super tough keeping good form. Constant kayak spinning due to wind and current makes it brutal with mono and even floro. For this reason I highly recommend braid for kayak guys.

1. Rod choice.

Pretty self-explanatory. There’s a reason why I designed the mb836 with a big rating gap of 2 to 8oz since most people use 2 to 5 oz baits. It’s got a strong back bone to handle those weight ranges. You get to the bubble gum of that rod fairly quick in those weight ranges. I prefer to have a rod overpowered than under powered for the sake of getting good penetration. Let’s be real for a second. A fish that is hooked good you can land with a tree trunk. It’s those skin hooked and non penetrated hooks that you have to worry about. So how do you combat that....

2. Free spooling.

I’ll be the first to admit that you have to practice this, learn it and adapt to it. Free spooling is the art of disengaging your reel and using your thumb for the drag when the fish surges. When you set your reel drag it’s one setting for all. I have always taken channel locks (sarcasm) to my drag and tighten it down and I 100% free spool for bass. If I see a fish is skin hooked or single hooked I free spool that fish in the lighter side of a normal drag. If I see the bait is totally engulfed or has both trebles in her, I can free spool a little heavier and crank her in. If I see a fish headed towards a thick laydown I lock my thumb down on the spool to try to steer that fish away from the laydown. It’s a constant engaging/disengaging of the spool of the reel. Sounds like a pain but it works exceptionally well with practice using a drag system. If the fish dives under the boat it takes X amount of pressure to release the drag. If a fish goes away from the boat it takes Y amount of pressure. I just struggle with having a mechanical device deciding when to release line and when not to. There are too many variables here for a single setting for all. Hence the reason I prefer free spooling. I get to decide the amount of drag I give out.

3. Hook sharpness.

I sharpen all my hooks. End of story. Doesn’t matter the brand. I can sharpen them better than most manufactures can. There’s a sharpener coming out soon that will make this stupid easy.

My experiences are firsthand not what someone tells me. When the fish show me weaknesses in my setup I will adjust and change to compensate. Let’s cross one thing off our confidence list here. Why do we have no issues using thicker or bigger hooks with confidence, but lose that confidence thinking fish can see braided line?? Something to think about. Not saying they can’t, but you know what I mean. I’ve been fishing swimbaits for 20 years now. I don’t claim to know everything. I am still very much a student of the game. The day I stop being open minded to new things, I stop learning and growing as an angler. You’ll never ever hear me say "not my style" on baits. That to me means you’re not open minded. You’re not willing to learn. You’re not willing to grow. There is always something to learn from every style of bait. I want to be good at every style of swimbait fishing. Being a one trick ponies can only get you so far. There are quite a few more variables to the equation. These are just a few. As you see your setup as a system, missing one component in that system can lead to bad results. It’s the sum of the parts that makes it work. Alot of these go to the point of me being a fisherman first and a bait maker second. There’s a big difference there. Having said that. If you’re happy with your system don’t change a thing if you’re getting good results. Just be open minded for improvements. That goes for everything in life. Just my take on the subject.