DECOY - AS-03P PIKE PROPACK HOOK MADE IN JAPAN

Decoy AS-03P Pike ProPack Hook — Made In Japan

"Pike" is the name of a hook shape in Decoy's range, not a species. The AS-03 Pike is Katsuichi's light jigging assist hook — a bare single hook, sold loose, that anglers tie into their own assist rigs. The AS-03P ProPack is the same hook in a bulk carton for people who build assist hooks in batches rather than buying them ready-made. The maker's own summary of the design: specifically for light jigging with light tackle, shore or offshore; a thin wire with a wide gape that still holds shape thanks to CF processing at the stress points; and tin plating with Aqua Block treatment for corrosion resistance. It is sold here in #1 and #1/0.

Because these are loose hooks and not finished rigs, the ProPack is for anglers who already tie assists — hollow braid or Kevlar cord, a solid ring, a shrink tube over the knot. If you want a hook that arrives ready to clip on, a made-up rig such as the DJ-90 Light Assist or DJ-93 Light Game Twin is the simpler purchase. If you build twenty rigs before a season and want them all identical, this is the cheaper route by a wide margin.

Key Features

• Bare single hook of the Pike pattern, for building assist rigs
• Bulk ProPack format — 60 hooks in #1, 56 hooks in #1/0
• Thin wire with a wide gape for fast penetration on light tackle
• CF processing to hold strength despite the fine wire
• Tin plating with Aqua Block treatment against saltwater corrosion
• Suited to both shore light jigging and offshore light jigging
• Made in Japan by Katsuichi

How To Rig It

• Building a single assist — Pass hollow braid or assist cord through the eye, whip the tag down the shank, and finish with shrink tube over the knot. Keep the finished length at roughly one third to one half of the jig body, ring to hook bend, so the hook can reach a fish hitting the rear without wrapping the leader on the drop.
• Building a twin — Tie two hooks onto one cord at deliberately unequal lengths so the points cannot fold onto each other during the flutter. Equal-length twins are the usual cause of a rig locking up on itself.
• Front or rear — Front mount for vertical and speed jigging, where fish take the jig on the rise. A rear assist is worth adding when fish are nipping at the tail, but expect more contact with bottom.
• Hardware — Hang the finished assist on a solid ring, then connect that to the jig with a split ring, so the cord never bears on a split ring seam.

Target Species By Region

• Southeast Asia — Light jigging over reef and shipping channels for queenfish (talang), small trevally, tenggiri (Spanish mackerel) and grouper (kerapu), and shore jigging off breakwaters.
• North America — Bonito, false albacore, Spanish mackerel and school stripers on light jigs; rockfish and small lingcod on the Pacific coast.
• Japan & East Asia — The home fishery: light shore jigging and light offshore jigging for wakashi and inada (young buri), soda-gatsuo, saba and kasago.
• Australia, Middle East & Europe — Australian salmon, tailor and small kingfish off the rocks; small queenfish and barracuda in the Gulf; mackerel, bass and pollack on European shore marks.

Specifications

Model AS-03P Pike ProPack. Made in Japan by Katsuichi (Decoy).

Recommended Pairing

• Metal jigs of roughly 20–80 g on light jigging tackle, PE 0.8–2 braid to a 20–40 lb fluorocarbon leader
• Assist cord in the 100–200 lb class, a solid ring, and shrink tube for the knot
• Short wire trace where tenggiri and barracuda are about
• Step up to the DJ-81 Powerful Assist range once jig weight passes the light jigging class