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I am in the process of loading a Bait-Mate box I got from Raven and I found one of my spoons was badly damaged. It is a Mag Dreamweaver Blue Dolphin. This is a new lure that hooked and eventually landed one big steelhead during the last tourney when I came up last. My point? I did not notice the twisted up hook split ring. I will better check my lures after a fish fight with a king or one of the big trout species. I hope you guys do it regularly. I have caught bass that weighed more than that steelhead on much lighter hooks and rings with ZERO damage to those lure parts. I am amazed how a steelhead can wreck fishing gear.

Yep, they wreck lures all the time. Lol

I have only had one wrecked split ring and that was from a king, but also on a dreamweaver spoon......hmmm

Don,

I have had steelies cause more issues with equipmemt then any of the other fish. I have a small box that I carry with that has different size trebles,split rings, and split ring pliers.. Do a bait inspection, and replace when you see a issue. Alot of crank baits also come with lighter hooks and or split rings. Try to keep the same size on your cranks so the action will stay the same.

I think I will see if I can find some salt water hardware to put on my lures. Those types of hooks and rings are usually stronger or made of a tougher alloy metal. I fish with a 20# fluorocarbon leader usually, you would think the leader would break before that heavy split ring would fail. That Berkley fluorocarbon must be some strong line.

a better split ring is probably all you need - and sometimes you just have to chalk it up to a strong fish and possibly faulty hardware............now crankbaits as Ed mentioned are a whole other story. Have had plenty of those wrecked lol.

Had a fish rip a slider and it was gone quickly after the release. Figured my line broke or it just spit the hook. Pulled the line In to find the hook / split ring gone. It happens!!

I know it happens regularly, to me! I did get that fish in so all is/was not lost. It disappoints me to think a mag spoon with its over size hook and heavy split ring cannot stand up to a 7 or 8 pound steelhead. I wouldn't be whining as much if it were a 15 or 20 pounder doing the damage. Since I have started fishing up there bent hooks and stretched out split rings are an all to common occurrence. I guess it is just another fact you have to accept is that Murphy swims in Lake Michigan.