Best Overall
Mustad Big Gun Open Eye Siwash
Key details
- Size
- 2/0
- Point
- UltraPoint needle
- Hook Type
- Open-eye siwash
- Pack Size
- 25 hooks
The eye is the first thing to look at, because a siwash hook hangs by it. Mustad's is a soft ring you close with pliers, which means the hook clamps straight onto a spoon's hanger or the arm of a spinnerbait — no split ring, no extra hardware, no rattle where the hardware meets the lure. That is why this is our top pick: it does the job on the lures that most need a single hook, and it does it without asking you to add anything. The 2/0 measures 15 mm across the gap, and the wide, kirbed bend with a long shank puts the point well clear of the body.
The point is Mustad's UltraPoint, chemically sharpened on an Opti-Angle needle profile, and out of the pack it bites a thumbnail with very little pressure. The wire is fine and nor-tempered, which is the right call for a spoon or a light spinner: there's less metal swinging off the back, so the lure keeps the wobble it had with the treble on. It is not the hook for dragging a big fish out of rocks — that's heavier-wire territory — but on open water and a moderate drag it behaves exactly as we want.
One thing worth knowing before you commit: closing that eye is permanent. Line the hook's eye up with the lure's hanger, squeeze until the two halves meet, and it's on for good — changing it later means cutting it off. That's the nature of the design rather than a flaw, but it does mean deciding on your size before the pliers come out. At 2/0 this is a big-lure hook, and a two-inch crankbait gets something out of proportion to it.
Pros
- Open eye clamps on, no split ring needed
- Chemically sharpened needle point straight from the pack
- Fine wire keeps a spoon's action lively
Cons
- One size per pack, 25 hooks
- Highest per-hook cost in this group
If your lure has a hanger and you want one hook that clamps on and stays, buy this one — the open eye does what a closed-eye hook can't without a split ring.