VMC Report

VMC Finesse Neko Hooks Feature Bait-KeeperThe hooks that grab bass and won’t let go are grabbing attention again with a new feature finesse anglers will love - the adjustable bait-keeper on new VMC Finesse Neko Hooks hold finesse worms firmly in place.

“Once you slide your bait over that little resined keeper, your worm is not going anywhere,” says VMC and Rapala Pro Michael “Ike” Iaconelli, who uses the new hook to secure small drop-shot baits and Texas-rigged finesse worms. “It will keep it threaded or Texas-rigged without that bait ripping through. Pretty amazing.”

The Finesse Neko Hook expands on the success of the original Neko Hook, which VMC created as a key component for Neko Rigging, a modern take on traditional nail rigging. Rapala Pro Seth Feider soon popularized Neko Hooks for wacky rigging and drop-shotting in his win of Bassmaster’s 2016 Angler of the Year Championship tournament on a famed smallmouth fishery, Lake Mille Lacs.

“I had such a good landing percentage on it, I decided to use it as my drop-shot hook for smallies,” he says.

Iaconelli has enjoyed similar success with Neko Hooks.

“They’ve got the most unbelievable hook-to-land ratio of any hook I’ve ever fished,” he says. “The shape of the Neko style — that particular bend of the hook — once you hook one, you’ll land that fish.”

Finesse Neko Hooks can be used for all types of finesse soft plastic rigging. They feature a black-nickel finish, wide gap, 3-degree offset point, resin-closed eye and a forged, long shank. They’re available in four sizes: 2, 1, 1/0 and 2/0.

A resin-closed hook eye is “key for guys who use really, really light fluorocarbon or braid – 4-, 6- or 8- pound test,” Iaconelli explains. “You’re never going to have that line pull through the eye of that hook.”