I like to only use the middle hook only with a barrel swivel at the canal. Youll get straightened out with just an o ring and a treble. Good luck though
Couldn't agree more, get rid of the tail hook. I just leave the split ring on that rear eye, and put an old swivel in place of the weight of the hook, for balance. I don't find a swivel necessary on that front hook on small light lures like the SP. On big 3oz plugs, then yes, a heavy dury swivel on the front hook hanger.
you want your sps to sink. sinking models get better action, with up and down trajectories instead of just beelining, and the only difference is the internal weight, which you can mostly replicate with bigger hooks and splits. the bill size seems to have very little effect on how deeply these plugs dive. marginally billed plugs can get down 10-15 feet. those bills will be a sizable portion of the length of the plug. these plugs are designed to be subsurface swimmers, not getting that far down into the water column. you've really got them diving down deep if they're 3-5 feet. i use 1/0 mustads and 2/0 vmc. the 1/0 mustad is 5x and actually bigger and heavier than the 4x vmc one size up. really, put them on the scale and see it for yourself. the one size DOWN mustad weighs about a gram more. i want to say the standard sp hook is 3x and it will not stand up to big fish in current. test them in clear water and see what you like, and switch the plugs depending on how deep you need to get. color isn't super important but that said, i catch almost all of my fish on bone, white and yellow, because i fish first light because that's what works with my schedule. SP_ is not what i throw when i know there are big fish. it is my go to when there are not a lot of fish around, when they're not on topwater, and when i know where and how deep the structure is so i can work my plug over it in current. very rarely will i find local fish that are picky and haven't seen a ton of bait in their lifetimes who are hitting something over an SP. silversides, sandeels, juvenile herring, even peanut bunker, the sp is a very good presentation which also casts well and is dirt cheap. if i told a new fisherman to get three plugs this year it would be a topwater pencil or spook, an sp for the water column, and a bucktail or a soft plastic to get to the bottom.
