GAMAKATSU - SOI RING EYE TIN HOOK MADE IN JAPAN

Gamakatsu Soi Ring Eye Tin Hook (Made In Japan)

Soi (ソイ) is the Japanese term for rockfish and the grouper-type bottom feeders that live inside rock and reef, so a soi hook is a heavy bottom-fishing pattern: thick wire, a wide round bend with room for a big natural bait, and the strength to stop a fish heading for a hole. This version pairs that shape with a ring eye and a tin finish. The offset profile helps the hook turn inside the mouth; the forged flat-sided body resists opening under load. Tin plating is the practical part — a corrosion-resistant coating that slows rust on a wet hook in the box or a rig left made up overnight, with a bright silver surface that reflects light in deeper water.

Key Features

• Ring (closed) eye instead of a flatted eye: higher strength, no gap for the knot to slip into, and no pressed edge to shave heavy leader
• Wide round bend with space to present large natural baits
• Offset point to improve the hook’s turning action inside the mouth
• Forged flat body for extra strength under heavy pressure
• Tin (silver) plating for corrosion resistance in salt water, plus a reflective surface
• Seven sizes, #16 through #22, for boat, bottom and deep-water rigs

How To Rig It

• Dropper bottom rig — Two hooks on droppers above a bank sinker, dropped onto reef, rubble or wreck. Wind down onto the fish rather than striking upward.
• Running sinker with big bait — Egg sinker above a swivel, heavy leader to the ring eye. Squid head, whole prawn or a fillet strip all sit well in the wide bend.
• Live bait on the drop — Nose-hook a small live baitfish and free-spool it to the bottom beside structure. Keep drag firm from the first run.
• Deep water and current — Use enough lead to stay vertical, and check the point often; the tin finish keeps the wire clean but the point still dulls on rock.

Target Species By Region

• Southeast Asia — Grouper (kerapu), snapper (merah), emperor and coral trout on reef and wreck; barramundi (siakap) and threadfin on deep channel edges; jobfish offshore.
• North America — Lingcod, Pacific rockfish, red snapper, grouper and black sea bass on hard bottom.
• Japan & East Asia — The home fishery: kurosoi and other rockfish, kasago, ainame and hata on boat bottom rigs, plus madai on heavier bait rigs.
• Australia, Middle East & Europe — Snapper and mulloway on Australian reef; hamour and sheri in the Gulf; ling, conger and pollack on North Atlantic wrecks.

Specifications

Sizes follow the Japanese gō (号) system: the number rises as the hook gets larger, the reverse of Western numbering. #16 is the smallest, #22 the largest.

Recommended Pairing

• Heavy bottom or boat rod, PE 3–6 class, with an overhead or large spinning reel
• 50–100 lb mono or fluorocarbon leader knotted straight to the ring eye
• Sinkers sized to hold bottom; a short wire trace only where toothy species are present
• Rinse and dry after use — tin resists corrosion but does not replace basic care