HAYABUSA - WIDE GAP HEAVY DUTY WORM HOOK EB959 MADE IN JAPAN

Hayabusa EB959 Wide Gap Heavy Duty Worm Hook — Made In Japan

The EB959 is the thick-wire member of Hayabusa's wide gap offset family, sold in Japan and the United States as the WRM959 Wide Gap Offset Heavy Duty. Hayabusa build it on forged, thick-gauge wire and describe it as a multi-purpose, highly durable hook for soft plastic power fishing. The wide gap gives a bulky craw or creature bait room to collapse on the strike so the point clears the plastic instead of burying in it, and an S-shaped platform behind the eye bites into the bait head and stops it sliding down the shank. The finish is Hayabusa's NRB coating: a non-reflective black fluorine layer that kills glare and helps the point slide in. Stocked here from #3/0 to #7/0, the power-fishing half of the range.

Key Features

• Thick-gauge forged wire — the heavy-cover version of the wide gap offset pattern
• Wide gap that lets bulky craw, creature and thick worm bodies compress on the hookset
• S-platform shank head that grips the bait nose and resists sliding and tearing
• NRB non-reflective black fluorine coating for low glare and smoother penetration
• Offset shank for weedless Texas and Carolina rigging
• Five sizes, #3/0 to #7/0; pack count falls as the hook grows

How To Rig It

• Texas rig, weedless — Standard offset method: point in through the nose, out the underside, rotate, and re-enter so the point sits just under the skin. Add a bullet sinker above, pegged when you are punching mats.
• Match the bait to the gap, not the length — This pattern earns its keep with wide-bodied craws and creatures. On a slim worm the same gap is wasted; drop to the standard-gauge EB956 instead.
• Set hard on heavy line — Thick wire needs force behind it. Reel down until the line is tight, then sweep with a loaded rod. On light spinning tackle the point will not reach the bend.

Target Species By Region

• Southeast Asia — Giant snakehead (toman) and haruan over lily pads and matted weed in Malaysian and Indonesian reservoirs, peacock bass and hampala barb (sebarau) around flooded timber, barramundi (siakap) on weedless creature baits in mangrove drains.
• North America — Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass on Texas-rigged craws and creatures in grass, laydowns and flooded brush; also pike and redfish over heavy grass.
• Japan & East Asia — Black bass power fishing in reservoirs and river systems, the fishery this pattern was designed around, plus heavy-cover work for large rockfish on soft plastics.
• Australia, Middle East & Europe — Barramundi, saratoga and Australian bass in snags and weed; pike and zander on weedless creature baits in European lakes and canals.

Specifications

EB959 or EB956? The two share the wide gap, the offset shank, the S-platform head and the NRB coating — the difference is wire. The EB959 is the thick, forged heavy duty gauge and starts at #3/0; the EB956 is standard gauge and runs from #1/0. Where the sizes overlap the heavier wire takes more room in the packet: #3/0 is 5 pieces here against 6, #4/0 is 4 against 5, #6/0 is 3 against 4. Take the EB959 into thick cover on heavy line, the EB956 for general soft plastic work.

Recommended Pairing

• #3/0–#4/0: 3–5 inch craws and creatures, 14–20 lb fluorocarbon on a medium-heavy baitcaster
• #5/0–#7/0: 5–8 inch creatures, big worms and weedless swimbaits, PE 3–5 braid or 25–40 lb fluorocarbon on a heavy rod
• 1/4–1/2 oz bullet sinker in open cover; 3/4 oz and up, pegged, for punching weed mats
• Add a short wire or heavy fluorocarbon trace where snakehead, pike or toothy species are present