The EWG (Extra Wide Gap) style hook has been popular in the bass fishing community for years. They can be used with nearly any soft plastic and come in every size imaginable. Seth Feider explains that EWG hooks have always been his favorite for flipping and skipping because he sees a higher hook up percentage than with a straight shank hook. The benefits to an EWG hook are that they are great for flipping texas rigged baits like craws, beavers, tubes, or worms and they tend to create a smaller puncture hole. This leads to bass being hooked better and even plastics lasting longer than with a straight shank hook. The only problem these hooks create is that when texas rigged, your knot can easily slip to the side of the line tie. This causes the pegged weight to shift sideways, resulting in an unnatural descent of the bait.
Recently, VMC has come out with the Ringed Wide Gap Hook. A simple twist to an already popular product. For years Seth has been adding his own split rings to EWG hooks which commonly mishandled knots and even broke. The Ringed Wide Gap solves this problem with a welded shut stainless steel ring. The addition of the ring allows a much freer motion of the bait, without sacrificing hook up percentages.
