What hook sizes should I use when fishing? The average size of the fishes mouth needs to be taken into consideration to ensure you’re setting the hook of the right size. The larger the mouth the larger the hook, and the smaller the mouth the smaller the hook.
When fishing, I like to choose hook sizes that are no larger than 1/3 and no smaller than 1/6 of the fishes open mouth. I measure from the shank to the point. This way the hook is small enough to easily fit in the fishes mouth and it’s still large enough hook it well.
This is the way I choose hook sizes for fishing and it works well for me. Just in case you are looking for the actual recommended sizes, I have posted some below for a few of the more popular game fish species. Here are the hook sizes fishing:
Bass: 2 – 4/0 (+ or -) hook sizes
Panfish: 12 – 8 (+ or -) hook sizes
Trout: 14 – 8 (+ or -) hook sizes
Crappie: 6 – 2 (+ or -) hook sizes
Walleye: 4 – 2/0 (+ or -) hook sizes
Pike: 2/0 – 6/0 (+ or -) hook sizes
Musky: 4/0 – 8/0 (+ or -) hook sizes
Remember, the recommended fishing hook sizes are just guidelines and not something you should follow “religiously”. Like I said before, The most important thing is that the hook fits in the fish’s mouth and is not too small. Of course, there are a lot of other variables when choosing a hook size, but my “1/6 – 1/3 of the mouth size” formula never let me down.
Once you’ve determined the right size, check our guide for strongest and sharpest hooks and our safety rules for fishing hooks.
