Use double strength hooks or stronger

Hooking big sharks will teach you what works and what does'nt pretty fast.When we're young we have a 9/0 and we think WOW!!!this thing is huge ,that's until we're stripped of line in less then 5 minutes ,,,then we're saying I need a bigger reel.The biggest of sharks will make you understand how powerful they are because they will test your equipment and destroy you in some way.It could be frayed line that will snap ,or not enough line (half full reel0,or you can be underpowered like using a 6/0 or 9/0 will only take you so far .If you want to challenge the biggest sharks you better be using gear that is matched correctly.Hooks are very important and should be double strength or stronger when targetting sharks of 300 lbs or more.Sure if you're targetting blacktips and small lemons or bulls then go ahead and use the single strenghth hooks no problem but if you think there is even a slight chance of hooking serious sharks where you are fishing then spend the extra money and buy double strength or you might be disappointed when Kong Kong grabs your bait and leaves you with straight hooks.Match your hooks to the size bait you will be using .In other words if you are using a 40 lb ray for bait use bigger hooks then ifyou are using a 5 lb bait .For our style of shark fishing we use 11/0 to 18/0 Mustads most of the time although there are some Mutu japanese hooks that are very thick that I personally buy when I find them at an affordable price. Target your hooks at closeouts or marine flea markets and you will find the deals that we do every year during the spring time.Shark fishing can be very expensive so learn to buy right and fish right.When you set out your bait you know if you've gone the extra distance or not to prepare yourself for the record fish.Prepare now or cry later.Good luck

The hook model that got bent on this instance was a "Mustad 7731 D ring eye demon" in a 13/0 .Just goes to show that we should always use double strength or triple strength hooks.The hook that bent was the secondary hook .In most istances the hook will not bend when hooked inside the soft part of a shark's but if the hook is inverted and the angle wrong a big shark can do that and more so my suggestion is buy double strength and up.I won't even discuss circle hooks I personally don't use them because I feel that the bite they take is not wide enough to withstand a long battle (1 to 4 hrs)with a record sized fish.I know using hooks that cost $5 and up seems expensive and it is but only the very best gear will stand up to the monster sharks.A big shark will find the weak link in your gear and if that's the hook it will straighten.Sometimes I slip and use a cheaper hook as a secondary and that's what happened in this instance.

DOUBLE STRENGTH vs SINGLE STRENGTH HOOKS

Mustad single strength 12/0 7731D (r) and a Mustad 12/0 single strength tuna hook (L)less likely to bend

Mustad single strength 12/0 7731D(r) vs double strength 13/0 Mustad tuna hook (L)much less likely to bend

Mustad single strength 12/0 7731D (r) and a triple strength Mustad 14/0 tuna hook (L)will not bend

Mustad single strength 12/0 7731D (r) and a double strength straight Mustad 14/0 (L)much less likely to bend also

Mustad single strength 12/0 7731D (r)and a Japanes style double strength hook(L)less likely to bend-notice the shank width

As a side note Rene de Dios was a cheapskate in his everyday life he would buy boxes of hot dogs and that would be his dinner most of the time while raising his daughter Erica as a single father but one thing Rene never skimped on was his shark fishing equipment and that included hooks.While guys that taught him to shark fish like JD Hammer were using what we call penny hooks (inexpensive Mustads -dollar each)Rene did the research from the big game Charter boat captains where we often went to get shark bait and they advised him to use double strength hooks ;he took the advise seriously.His results in shark fishing speak for themselves,,,,,,,he became better then his teachers don't take it from me ask JD yourselves and you will get an honest answer.