Hook

There are many, many hooks out there.  If the fishing hook selection at Walmart is intimidating, a dedicated bait and tackle store like Bass Pro can be overwhelming.  I'm no expert on hooks, but I can tell you what I use.

First of all, it's Eagle Claw.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not affiliated with them in any way.  I use them because my father did.  He was twice the fisherman I'll ever be.

Eagle Claw offers the option of a plain shank or a baitholder hook.  Either will catch fish.  I prefer the baitholder hook, though.  Take a look below.

Notice the two small barbs on the back.  When you thread a worm on the hook, those two little pieces of metal do a marvelous job of holding it in place.  The more difficulty a fish has in removing the bait, the longer it must play around with your hook.  Your chances of catching the fish improve astronomically.

The other key consideration for the right hook is size.  Hooks range from huge to tiny.  You maximize your chance when you go with a size in the middle that will catch big fish and small fish.  That would be a size four.

Put it all together and what do you have?  Take a look.

One last thing about hooks.  Often times when a hook is reeled in, it will pick up debris.  That debris will partially or sometimes completely cover the bait.  

There are a lot of fish that won't strike what they can't see.  Debris on your hook can partially or sometimes totally obscure your bait.  Depending on the type of debris, it can also mask some of that bait odor that you're trying to put in the fish's nostrils.  Here's an example.

Each time you reel in, take a second to remove debris like this moss.  It can be the difference between catching a fish ... or not.