By Tackle Warehouse | October 2024
Tying your own feathered treble hook offers tons of benefits by allowing you to customize your presentation with the exact hook, size, and color combination that you want on your hardbaits. Many anglers know the advantages of adding a feathered treble hook and how it can give lures a new life with improved performance. In this How-To we’ll cover all the steps and materials needed to tie your own feathered treble hooks and enhance lures with your own personal touch.
To get started you’ll need a treble hook, feathers, flash material, a tying vise (a rotary vise is more helpful), a bobbin, thread, super sharp scissors, a whip finisher tool, UV clear finish, and a UV bench light.
Place your treble hook securely in the rotary vise. Keep in mind that it's important to set the hook as level as possible so it's easier to tie, and aim for clamping on the middle area of the hook bend while avoiding the barb and area near the hook point.
Start by wrapping a base layer of thread on the hook shank to give the materials something to grab onto, then clip off the tag end of the thread after covering your tying area of the shank.
Place a single strand of flash material in the space between hooks, and wrap twice with the thread in the middle of the flash material. Double over the flash material and wrap it two more times with the thread. Rotate the vise and repeat the process to tie on your flash material in the other two empty spaces between the hooks.
Gather and trim the flash material to your desired length.
Now it's time to select feathers for tying on, it's beneficial to get your feathers from the same area of the saddle hackle for a consistent presentation. Measure the length of the feather that you want to use and clean off the rest of the feather material from the quill. Leave some room on the quill to make it easier for tying.
Place one feather on the hook shank, preferably with a vertical orientation so it doesn't get in the way of the hook. Wrap the quill twice with the thread then fold the quill over and wrap two more times.
Trim off the tag end of the quill, repeat the process, and tie a feather in the remaining two empty spaces between the hooks.
Once you're finished adding feathers and any other material you want on your hook, wrap a layer of thread on the shank towards the eyelet to cover any exposed spots or material with a solid layer of thread.
To tie a whip finish knot it's helpful to use a Whip Finisher Tool. Hook the thread with the front of the tool, then loop the thread around the outside of the bent arm in the middle, bringing up the rest of the thread with the bobbin so it is parallel to the hook shank. Wrap the thread around the shank 5 or 6 times just below the eyelet, then let the thread slip off of the arm, and pull the loop closed, then remove the hook of the tool and pull the thread tight and clip the tag end.
Apply a layer of the UV clear finish and cure it with the UV bench light to ensure a durable and glossy finish. After a few seconds of application, the UV clear should be properly cured, and you're ready to enhance any lure in your arsenal with a hand-tied feathered treble hook that'll give you an extra advantage over the competition.
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