THE ANGLAR - O'SHAUGHNESSY 4143SS STAINLESS STEEL HOOK

The Anglar O’Shaughnessy 4143SS Stainless Steel Hook

The O’Shaughnessy is the classic heavy saltwater bait pattern: a long shank, a deep round bend and a straight point set in line with the eye, all drawn from thick round wire. The long shank does two jobs — it carries a long natural bait such as a whole fish strip, a squid tube or a half crab, and it keeps a toothy fish’s jaws away from your leader knot. It also gives you something to grip with pliers when unhooking grouper or catfish boatside. The straight inline point drives on a direct pull rather than rolling, which suits firm hooksets on hard-mouthed bottom fish. The 4143SS adds a forged body and a solid ringed eye that takes heavy mono and fluorocarbon without a pressed edge to shave the knot. The manufacturer describes the 8/0 as 2X-strong heavy wire.

Being stainless, it is built for gear that lives in salt: rigs left made up in a tackle roll, traces soaking overnight, hooks stored on a boat all season. Stainless is generally a little softer than hardened high-carbon steel, so check the point after coral and file it back. It also does not corrode away inside a fish the way a carbon hook does, so if you are returning a fish, take the hook out properly instead of cutting the line short.

Key Features

• Classic O’Shaughnessy shape — long shank, deep round bend, heavy round wire
• Stainless steel construction for strong corrosion and rust resistance
• Forged hook body for increased strength under load
• Inline point for a straight pull and a controlled hookset
• Eagle-cutting needle point with a pronounced retaining barb
• Solid ringed eye for heavy leaders, strong knots and snelled rigs
• Long shank keeps teeth and gill plates away from the knot
• Twelve sizes, #4 through #9/0, for cut bait, whole bait and trolled natural bait

How To Rig It

• Long cut bait — Lay a fillet or belly strip along the shank and thread it on twice so it sits straight; a straight bait spins less in current.
• Squid strip or whole squid — Pass the point through the tube twice from the tip. The long shank stops soft squid sliding down and balling over the bend.
• Paternoster (apollo) rig — Two droppers above a sinker for reef, wreck and bridge bottom fishing. Wind down onto the fish and lift; do not strike upward on a slack line.
• Running sinker or snell — Sinker running to a swivel and a long leader for wary fish on sand; or snell the ringed eye for trolled and drifted whole baits.

Target Species By Region

• Southeast Asia — Grouper (kerapu), snapper (ikan merah) and golden snapper (jenahak) over reef and wreck; barramundi (siakap) at river mouths; catfish (duri) and croaker (gelama) on estuary mud, where the long shank makes unhooking spiny fish safer.
• North America — Red snapper and grouper bottom fishing in the Gulf, striped bass and bluefish on cut bait, and channel, blue and flathead catfish in big rivers.
• Japan & East Asia — Bukkomi (ブッコミ) bottom baits from breakwaters for anago, kurodai and large kasago; heavier dozuki (胴突き) boat rigs for hata and madai.
• Australia, Middle East & Europe — Snapper, emperor and mulloway on Australian bottom rigs; hamour and sheri in the Gulf; cod, ling and conger over European wrecks.

Specifications

Material: stainless steel throughout. Sizing runs #4 (smallest) up to #1, then #1/0 up to #9/0 (largest).

Recommended Pairing

• #4–#1: light bottom and estuary rigs, 12–20 lb line, small strip and prawn baits
• #1/0–#4/0: general reef and jetty bottom fishing, 30–50 lb braid with a 40–80 lb leader
• #5/0–#9/0: whole fish, squid and crab baits on heavy bottom or standup gear, 80–150 lb leader
• Snell with heavy mono for trolled baits; add a wire trace where mackerel, barracuda or shark feed