The wait is over… The Krank hooks are out now. Here’s an insight, straight from Tom Dove, head of product development who is the man behind this new pattern of hook.
For a long time, when I was a little younger, I would always suffer from a large amount of hook pulls. There is nothing worse than losing fish and that sinking feeling as the lead skips back along the surface is something I wanted to distance myself from as much as possible. One of the popular rigs at the time was the use of Wide Gape style hook, with shrink tubing accentuating the eye and silicone or a ring on the shank. This tubing would close the gape, which I didn’t really like and it was this setup that I had the most trouble with.
Whilst enduring these troubles, I came across the Kamasan B745 hook – a very effective pattern that put a stop to my trouble with hook pulls. This hook was completely different to everything else that I had used in the past; it had a sweeping shank with a very in-turned eye and a straight, offset point. The offset made the hook look gaped, so much so that it appeared ever so slightly opened out. As I often fish with critically balanced hook baits and relatively short hairs, this hook suited me down to the ground. My confidence soon grew and I went from gritting my teeth whilst playing a fish, to reeling them in like bream. As I gained confidence with this curve shank pattern I then slowly moved over to Korda's Kurv Shank, which was a newly released pattern at the time. Again, I had no troubles with hook pulls and particularly liked the size 6.
Although I had great confidence in these two hooks, it was at this stage that I really started to understand the function of a hook and I knew what features were working for and against me. I had just started my product development role at Korda and the powers that be let me sit in the corner and draw my own hook. The design and production stages take a long time but after several samples, I had the hook I was after.
During the testing, we gave the hook to several different anglers, starting in house and eventually branching out. There have been some great results from anglers using this pattern and the hooked to landed ratio has been astonishing. The Krank does exactly what it says on the packet, it buries deep and stays seated, resulting in very few dropped fish. This has been apparent across all varieties of hook, be it the large, small or barbless options. Here’s what some of the lads had to say…
Elliott Gray - “I used the early samples of the Krank during a trip to Gigantica Road Lake, about 18 months ago, and I was genuinely impressed by them. Although the pattern doesn’t suit my usual bottom bait presentation quite like the Wide Gape does, for the rigs I was using in France, it was ideal. I wanted to achieve as many takes as possible and therefore opted for a simple knotless knot arrangement – no rig ring, tubing etc like normal. Tom had explained how the hook was perfect for the knotless knot angler and that he wanted them testing, so I happily obliged. The rules at Gigantica enforce a strict barbless rule and if anything would put this hook to the test it would be the lack of barb. If the Krank really was a good hook then I would experience few losses. To cut a long story short, I had around 20 bites during my trip and landed all bar one of them, which was unfortunately down to my main line parting. I never had a single hook pull all week, which for a knotless knot presentation is pretty rare, in my opinion.”
Neil Spooner – “I have used the Krank pretty consistently in my fishing for about eight months now, much of which has been with the Krank Choddy. This pattern will be released later on in the year but is very similar to the Krank itself, with only the eye differing. For a long time I used the standard Choddy and this rarely let me down. The thing I have noticed with the Krank is that the hook holds are slightly deeper – it seems like because of the large gape, the hook is penetrating a little faster. Although this is only a small difference, it is the smallest of things that make the biggest difference at times. One thing that I can be certain about is that the Krank is certainly a hook I will be using for many years to come.”
Jake Wildbore – “I first started to use the Krank hooks last autumn. The second I laid eyes on them, I knew that this pattern of hook that was right up my street and I couldn’t wait to use them. It’s a hook that can be used in so many different situations. With its offset and beaked point, the hook doesn’t need any form of shrink tubing, rig rings or any other bits of clutter accompanying it. The hooks shape will always want to turn and catch hold, every single time. With a hook that is working so hard for you, of its own accord, a simple 9-turn knotless knot is all that you need. I have used this hook with very simple rigs and the results that I have had, have been solid and reliable.”
The testing of an item is a massive part of the development, and in reality, it completely dictates the future of that said product. There are plenty of ideas that sound great to begin with, or look good in their first stages of development, but don’t actually make it to the shelves. Fortunately, the Krank isn’t one of those products. After years of testing and tweaks toward perfection, the Krank hook was born, and is now sitting in a pack for everyone to buy.
