high-vis tape
For many years, crews have used a combination of heat shrink and tape to cover the connections of cable and mono hook sets. The heat shrink with glue helps protect the crimps and keeps the sharp cable tag end safely covered at the hook. Tape is used at the connection between the cable and mono to keep the hook set straight and free from doubling back on itself. Many factory-made hook sets use clear or black heat shrink, which works but does not help as a visual aid when trying to see where a fish is hooked. I like to wrap my hook sets with red, yellow or a red/yellow combination of tape colors, so I can see where the hook set is positioned when the fish is down deep on the leader or jumping behind the boat.
Being able to see where and how well the fish is hooked is relevant to how much drag pressure an angler may choose to put on a fish, and how much pressure the wire man exerts on the leader before pulling the hook. Many times, I’ve spotted the brightly colored heat shrink/tape as it revealed a foul hooked fish or a fish hooked solidly in the jaw but wrapped up in the leader and fighting like a fouled one. Also, if the lure happens to take a bad hop, sometimes the hook will hang up on the leader in front of the lure head; a brightly colored hook set will alert you to this problem. I always designate a specific color of heat shrink/tape to a specific size hook set. This keeps the lure and hook set combinations organized and consistent when re-rigging lures in the middle of a hot bite. Finally, brightly colored heat shrink/tape can add a bit more color or contrast to any lure.
Capt. Jason “Tiny” Walcott
West Palm Beach, Florida
