What Size Of Hook For Bass? 2025

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Last Updated on November 13, 2024 by Paul Clayton

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What Size of Hook for Bass?

Size matters when it comes to bass fishing, particularly regarding the size of the hook.

Key Takeaways

1. Hook Size Matters for Bass Fishing: The recommended hook size typically ranges from 2/0 to 5/0 for largemouth bass. Bigger hooks cater to bass size, especially for large fish.
2. Species-Specific Hook Sizes: Largemouth bass generally require larger hooks than smallmouth bass. Adjust the hook size based on the fish’s mouth and overall size.
3. Bait and Lure Compatibility: The size of the bait or lure should match the hook size. Large lures require larger hooks for effective presentation, especially with artificial baits that bass anglers commonly use.
4. Understanding Hook Scales:
  - Normal Scale: Sizes range from 1 (large) to 32 (small).
  - Aught Scale: Sizes like 3/0 or 5/0 are common for bass and increase as the number before “/0” grows, making it intuitive.
5. Hook Gauge and Strength: Although high-gauge (thicker) hooks aren’t essential for bass, they are an option if a stronger hook is needed.
6. Common Hook Styles for Bass:
  - Baitholder Hooks (2/0): Great for live bait, have barbs on the shank.
  - Aberdeen Hooks (2 to 4/0): Ideal for minnows, lighter gauge, less damaging to bait.
  - Circle Hooks (1/0 to 8/0): Best for catch-and-release due to lower mortality rates.
  - Octopus Hooks (1/0): Excellent for presenting natural lures or bait.
  - Treble Hooks (size 2-4): Effective but can damage fish, unsuitable for catch-and-release.

It would help if you thought big for those largemouth bass you dream of reeling in. The consensus among old hands and beginners alike is that the best hook type for bass fishing ranges from a size 2 to a size 1/0.

Any smaller bass might give your hook the cold shoulder. If it’s any bigger, it might just get a tad suspicious. So remember, when out on the water, think like a bass—go big or go home!

Today, we want to discuss the proper hook sizes for bass fishing. Size is arguably the most critical factor in fishing hooks, and picking the right size dramatically increases your chances of a catch.

Related content you may be interested in reviewing.

What Size Hook for Bass?

Since bass is quite a large fish, anglers prefer to use larger 3/0 to 5/0 hooks. However, as with any fish, bass hook sizes don’t follow any complex rules – you can choose fishing hook sizes based on your preferences and fishing technique.

While the choice of a fishing hook size is somewhat a matter of preference, there are a few things that you will need to keep in mind regardless of your fishing technique. Those things are the size & species of bass and the size of the bait/lure you use.

Bass size & species

Bigger fish require bigger hooks, and vice versa. Depending on the species you are angling for, you may need to size your hook up or down with bass.

Regarding species, you must alter your hook choice with smallmouth and largemouth bass. These bass species have smaller and larger mouths than others, respectively. When fishing for smallmouth or largemouth bass, you may need to go a size or two smaller or bigger than usual.

While the hook sizes may vary slightly from bass species to species, the same general rules apply to all of them. Namely, you don’t want to choose a too-small or too-big fishing hook.

A small hook may be unable to grab the lip of the fish, while a large hook may be unable to even fit in the fish’s mouth. With that said, with bass, it’s more difficult to go too big than too small since bass is a pretty big fish.

Bait/lure size

After the size of the bass comes the size of your bait or lure. The larger the lure, the larger your hook needs to be. The hook needs to be sized just right to expose the hook tip just enough to do its job. This is important for hook concealment and bait presentation.

If using live bait, you may want to avoid hooks that are too large since they may kill the bait too quickly. However, since live baits are rarely used with bass, this isn’t that big of an issue. Artificial lures work just as well as live baits.

Fishing Hook Sizes

It’s also essential to understand fish hook sizes. If you know how to read hook sizes, skip this section and move on to the hook styles commonly used with bass.

We’ve covered hook sizes enough times in our fishing hook size guides for other fish. If you haven’t read those, we’ll give you size guidelines below so you don’t have to go to another page.

Fishing hooks are sized by the normal scale and the aught scale. These are pretty different scales; you should understand both to choose the right hook size.

Normal scale

On the standard scale, hook sizes go from 1 to usually 32. What often confuses newbie anglers is that on the normal scale, the larger the size number, the smaller the hook is. This means the size 1 hook is the largest on the standard scale, while size 32 is the smallest.

You won’t have to deal with hooks sized by the standard scale with bass. In most cases, normal-scale fishing hooks are on the smaller side and aren’t sufficiently big for bass.

Aught scale

Aught scale hooks go larger than standard scale hooks. However, the sizing is very different in the aught scale.

On the aught scale, fishing hook sizes are denoted with a number followed by /0. For example, 3/0 is a size on the aught scale, pronounced “three-aught.”

Unlike the normal scale, the larger the number before /, the larger the hook is. Due to this, the aught scale is more intuitive, though using a different size notation does make things a little confusing.

On the aught scale, the smallest hook is 1/0, while the largest usually is 20/0. A size 1/0 hook will be slightly larger than a size 1 hook on the normal scale. This means that the aught scale is the continuation of the normal scale but counts the sizes the other way around.

Fishing Hook Gauges

Since bass is a pretty large fish, you may want to get a stronger hook, though this isn’t necessary.

The strength of a fishing hook is determined by its gauge, which is the thickness of the hook. Hook gauges are denoted with a number followed by X, e.g. 1X, 2X, etc.

The hook gauge shows the relative thickness of the hook – for example, a 2X hook is 2 times thicker than a 1X hook.

As mentioned above, you don’t need a high-gauge fishing hook for bass fishing. The large hooks typically used for bass fishing are usually strong enough. However, if you do find that your fishing hooks are too weak for your fishing needs, then know that you can go for a higher-gauge hook.

Fishing Hook Styles

It’s also important to consider the fishing hook styles used with bass. Because fishing hooks can differ significantly, you may need to size your hooks slightly up or down.

Let’s overview the hook styles commonly used with bass and their sizes.

Baitholder hooks

Baitholder hooks are used with live baits. The key feature of this hook style is the barbs on the shank that help keep live bait still.

Anglers usually use baitholder hooks sized around 2/0, depending on the size of the bass and the bait. For reference, you can use 2/0 baitholder hooks for shiners and 1/0 for minnows.

Aberdeen hooks

Aberdeen hooks have a long, straight shank and a wide gap between the shank and the point. Again, these hooks are handy for live bait, especially minnows.

Since Aberdeen hooks do not have barbs on the shank, they don’t keep live bait still as well. On the other hand, Aberdeen hooks are light-gauge, which helps them do less damage to the live bait. However, the lighter gauge also means Aberdeen hooks may be too weak for large bass.

Anglers usually use Aberdeen hooks sized from 2 to 4/0 for bass fishing.

Circle hooks

In contrast with regular J-hooks, circle hooks have a curved shape with the point looking perpendicularly at the shank.

Due to their dramatic curve, circle hooks do a better job than J-hooks at catching fish, which is the main reason for their growing popularity. Also, circle hooks catch the fish by the lips in the corner of the mouth. Besides, when used properly, circle hooks aren’t swallowed by fish, unlike J-hooks.

This decreases mortality rates among released fish compared to J-hooks. Due to the reduced mortality rate, circle hooks are very popular with catch-and-release techniques.

With circle hooks, picking a size that’s big enough to grab onto the bass’s lip is essential. It’s easier to undershoot than overshoot the size of circle hooks, so you can more or less confidently go for a larger size if in doubt.

For reference, anglers use circle hooks sized from 1/0 to 8/0 to catch bass. For the above reasons, we suggest that you look for larger sizes.

Octopus hooks

Octopus hooks resemble circle hooks but have a less dramatic curve and shorter shank. In addition, octopus hooks don’t have the decreased mortality rate of circle hooks.

Octopus hooks are used when a natural lure or bait presentation is essential. Due to this, octopus hooks tend to be smaller and thinner than other hook types.

For bass, you may use hook sizes around 1/0 – this size is particularly great for minnows.

Treble hooks

Treble hooks feature three hooks that share a single shank. Thanks to the three points, treble hooks can be very effective at catching fish, but they tend to be very damaging and should not be used for catch-and-release fishing.

Remember that treble hook sizes are usually indicated for each hook separately, not the entire hook. Thus, a size 5/0 treble hook will be much larger than a size 5/0 J-hook, for example.

Proper treble hook sizes for bass are around 2-4, maybe even smaller.

Final Words

In the illustrious world of bass fishing, size matters, especially regarding the size of the hook you use. The largemouth bass, the diva of the water world, won’t give you a second glance if your hook isn’t up to par.

The consensus in the angling community is that a size 2 to 5/0 hook will get you in the good graces of a largemouth bass. So next time you hit the water, ensure your hook type for bass fishing is correct and the size hook is on point.

Remember, in this game, size isn’t everything; it’s the only thing!

Picking the optimal hook size for the bass you are fishing for and the lure you use will probably require some trial and error. Thus, use this guide as just a reference in picking a hook size for bass.

Your experience will show which hook sizes will best suit your needs. So grab a couple of hooks and go out to see which ones work the best for you!

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