The Red Hook Guy

I finally got TJ of TTI-Blakemore Fishing Group to sit down long enough for an interview about his fish research.

Ed: So how did this ‘red hook” thing start TJ?

TJ: My dad lowered different colored jigs into our tackle shops, bait tank. The bait ignored all the “normal” colors like white, yellow and chartreuse; but the minnows bumped and chewed the red jig head like it was food.  Dad was the best angler I’d ever met because he was curious and really thought about how fish “think”.

Ed: Fish “Think”?

TJ: Not really. They react to their environment. They react to opportunities to eat and survive.

Ed: How long have you studied fish TJ?

TJ: 23 years now. Funny thing is; I’m still learning.

Ed: Back to this “red hook’ phenomenon you started. What happened after the bait tank test?

TJ: Well a tackle shop is a prison you own the keys to; so college was out of the question. I just read EVERYTHING about fish I could get my hands on. The fishing tests were the most fun of course; until all my friends didn’t want to be the “test dummy” anymore. From Snook to Crappie; to Bass to Grouper lures with red or live bait with a dark red bead out-fished other colors, EVERYTIME. I get to be the “test dummy” a lot now.

Ed: What’s the “Blood” connection?

TJ: I injured a minnow and threw it back in the bait tank. The other minnows attacked the injury like they were piranha. It was an “Eureka!” moment for me. No matter where I injured a minnow; the others would attack that spot.

Ed: I thought red disappeared underwater?

TJ: It doesn’t disappear; it changes color. Fortunately, fish still recognize it as a feeding signal or blood/injury. We’ve tested it to 178’ deep off the Florida coast on Grouper. By the way: if red really disappeared, our Navy’s subs wouldn’t be black.

Ed: Why wouldn’t you fish an all red lure?

TJ: Several reasons actually. 1. Contrast is very important. I’ve spent a lot of time underwater and contrast really helps fish “Find” your bait.

2. Wouldn’t you rather Crappie hit the hook and not the bait?

Ed: How did you get to the “hook” being red?

TJ: My buddy pointed a laser-sight at his aquarium. Every fish followed the dot like a circus act. I totally freaked. After 17 years, it never occurred to me that the HOOK should be red.

Ed: So you started the hooks then?

TJ: I was a rep for TTI (Tru-Turn, Daiichi, XPoint) at the time. TTI believed me but they wanted to see it work before they invested a pile of hard-earned money.  When they saw the tank-test for the first time, it was a done deal.

Ed: What did they do?

TJ: Their jaws dropped and said “Oh my god”.

Ed: (It took a minute for us to quit laughing here)

So they started making red hooks?

TJ: Funny thing. They had a small red octopus hook for the Walleye market. Those Walleye anglers figured it out before I did; they just didn’t understand the science. We just added more and more patterns as we went along.

Ed: You said “I keep learning” earlier, what else have you learned?

1. That contrast is extremely important. It makes the Bleeding Bait color work better.

2. If you want fish to hit the hook; no more than 10-15% of the bait should be red.

3. Bleeding Bait Hooks, work for TWO reasons:

a. Fish naturally strike blood/injury

b. The Bleeding bait color simulates the gill-flash feeding signal. (As fish feed; the gills become engorged with blood from the movement. As they flare to inhale food, these bright red gills are exposed.)

4. DARK red is the best color. Light red-dark orange is the preferred color for Walleye.

5. Shark do not respond to Bleeding Bait Hooks. (I lost sleep on this one.)

I finally figured out during tests at Sea Center Texas facility; that Shark do not have exposed gills and therefore don’t recognize the gill-flash feeding signal.

Ed: Everyone has come out with red hooks. Couldn’t you patent it?

TJ: Actually, red hooks have been around for years. I’ve been told that Heddon lures had all red hooks back in the forties. We just invested in more patterns and research.

Ed: How come the red comes off?

TJ: There is a red that will last perhaps 1000 hours but we won’t use it.

Ed: Why not?

TJ: If you broke your line during battle, that hook will last until the fish died. I want hooks to decompose quickly for that reason. Besides, scratched, hooks reveal the shiny metal below and increases contrast. My brother still scratches brand new hooks for that reason. Besides, our new dark red is lasting about 25% longer than the old red. We’ll keep the old, bright red on the Walleye hooks though.

Ed: What are you working on now?

TJ: Now that we have Road Runner; I’m spending a lot of time studying other colors. Road Runners have contrast, vibration and the gill-flash signal is built right in so it’s going to be hard to improve upon that.

Ed: What’s in the future for Road Runners?

TJ: We added the Road Runner heads with Bleeding Bait Hooks right away.

I’ve also found that OPAQUE colors are far more effective in dirty waters so look for some color innovations from us soon.

Ed: How is Wally Marshall- (Mr. Crappie) involved with your company?

TJ: Wally came to us over a year ago and asked us to make his hooks. He just wasn’t happy where he was at. Wally wanted to be more involved in the research end and with a broader selection.

 Ed: He has a red hook now?

TJ: You bet he does. Two fish have been caught on his boat WITHOUT bait. He nearly broke his arm to call me about the first one. I said: “What took you so long”. He’s fun to pick on; but his ability to find fish and find fish that will bite, is uncanny. Wally’s been a tremendous asset with the color research.

Ed: How many red hooks do you guys have now?

TJ: Let’s see; there’s about 12 different patterns in Bleeding Bait Hooks, then  five patterns in Tru-Turn, StandOUT™ has RedAlert™ hooks and then Mr. Crappie has Code-RED™.

Ed:  What’s YOUR favorite hook?

TJ: Hmm. It’s not ONE hook. I like the Bleeding Bait Trebles on hard baits obviously. The CopperHead™ pattern is my favorite for soft plastics. I like the Tru-Turns for Bluegill and Wally’s cam-action hook on Crappie of course. The StandOUT Red-Alert is awesome for stacking above the Road Runner.

Ed: Anything else you’d like to say to the Crappie.com anglers?

TJ: Yeah; take your kids fishing. The memories you make will last forever.

You’ll need those memories because they grow up so darn fast.

Ed: Good point. I appreciate your time.