I have been watching a zander fishing video featuring Terry Houseago and Dave Lavender.Being a total zander and indeed a pike dead/live baiting novice i sat in awe of these wonderful fish terry and dave were catching and can`t wait to have a bash and learn the ropes of zander fishing this winter.

Now in this video,Terry was using double hooks as opposed to the norm trebles,they were something he was leaning more and more towards because they were easier to set on a strike and easier to un-hook from a fishes chops etc.... he also gave no indication that his catch rate had suffered because of this change.

I gotta admit that i kinda still find trebles daunting(even the ones on my lures) and even though i will be zander and piking with yoggy all the time who is vastly more experienced and will be on hand to offer guidance,i wouldn`t mind giving the double hooks a try.Have any of you predator chaps tried them in the past or use them today??? What were your experiences with them??? and are they availiable today to buy???

The other question i have is concearning the end trace that Dave Lavender was using.Instead of the usual two fixed trebles on his trace,he had the very end one fixed and the other one was left running loose.I presume this was so he could easily adjust the distance between hooks when using different sized baits??? Anyone tried this out before and what where your thoughts etc...???

By the way,the video featured Dave lavender catching,landing and weighing the then british record....a magnificent fish from a fen drain.

I've got to be honest Nick and say that I thought the fishing methods and fish handling techniques demonstrated in the video were very crude.

Not a big fan of commercially available doubles yet a few mates swear by home made ones made by whipping a smaller single to the back of a larger one. I prefer trebles. I find them easier to unhook. Just use short nosed forceps, flatten any microbarbs and they will turn out easily. I like Owner ST36's in black and red.

Not a fan of sliding hooks either I'm afraid. I'd prefer to swap traces if I need a longer gap between hooks 

I can't comment on double hooks Nick as i have never used them.

I have used a lower treble with a size 4 single fixed up the trace, this was mainly to prevent flying hook tangles in the net after dark, certainly did'nt seem to affect the hook hold. Use 2 trebles now as i don't use a close nit landing net mesh anymore. 

The sliding treble works on the idea that you change the the hook gap to suit the bait size, as with above the hook hold relize on the lower fixed treble. I don't like it personaly as it makes a mess of the trace.

I was quite surprised when i heard Dave Lavender apeared in that video to be honest as he has never realy come across to me as someone who would put themselves in the limelight. Hell of a fish to catch on film though.

If you want to try doubles use Partridge vb doubles as they are the only commercially made ones that are any good at all. They hook up very well & are a damned sight easier to get out of your landing net at night than trebles ! You can buy them at any good tackle shop but if you have problems finding them just e-mail me & I will sort you some. Also agree with sash re sliding hooks. In my opinion it is far better to change the trace than have a "versatile" sliding hook trace.

Re the Dave Lavender video, having seen him on the bank, listened to him, witnessed his antics & had my thoughts confirmed by other friends &  some of his former fishing partners I am glad I don't see much of him on the bank, and as for him catching "that fish on film", I'm not saying he didn't but if he retains zander in pike tubes for as long as he leaves his runs before hitting them he would have time to get a film crew there from Russia on a donkey !! 

Not impressed then Steve?

I've used doubles, but haven't had much confidence in them.  I missed some runs then wondered why?  Could it be the the hook is lying flat against the bait?  A treble will make two hooks stand proud and therefore offer a better hook up.

A sliding hook trashes the trace Nick, so go for two fixed hooks.  I use rig bins that carry about ten traces, in them I've got traces with different distances between hooks, much easier to change the trace mate.

The Drennan ones get flattened as the eyes are in the wrong plane, ie same as the bend in the hooks as they're made from one continuous bit of wire. This is a shame as they're flat-forged and very strong.

Partridge have the eyes flat to the surface of the bait when it's hooked up so a bit more chance the points will stay proud.

 Some fish will always be lost when deadbaiting, there will always be alternative hooks and methods, bear in mind when you consider doing it different that it was probably the deadbait that lost that fish for you, it can provide leverage against the hooks in a good tussle

Many thanks for the replies gents,as always there are varied opinions.I`ve brought some partridge double hooks and will give them a go this winter alongside trebles.

I am no expert but i`d of thought steve/coxy that as long as the sliding treble has a secure hook hold on the bait,then there shouldn`t be any problems,plus how do they trash traces????

One other thing,why were the methods and and techniques crude etc...? certainly no worse than any other fishing video i`ve seen from around that time,obviously modern day fishing videos/dvds promote fish welfare-unhooking mats and the rest of the gubbins which is the correct thing to do.

I am not saying that terry`s and daves way was the correct one but just intrested why folk say it wasn`t.

Sliding trebles ie the top treble as in old-style ryder hook snap tackles, slide and damage the wire ie put a spiral kink in it - thats why most people lock the top treble nowadays.

Just minimises the risk of the trace snapping.

Dumping fish straight onto the bank in the landing net on to sharp, cut reeds.

Leaving a run for god knows how long before hitting it.

Just 2 reasons for you Nick.

Cheers steve,that explains it all.

Many thanks for the replies so far gents.

"Re sliding hooks, when the top hook slides down the trace it not only pig tails the trace but you also lose hooking power on the strike as most of the striking power would go into sliding the hook down the trace whereas if the hook were fixed the striking power would go straight into setting the hook  into the fishes jaw"

That sums it up perfectly. The fact that the hook slides (ie is NOT fixed) basically means it won't set on the strike...that is until it slides down to the other treble and jams against it....in which case you might as well only use one treble!!!!

I'm pretty sure 'sliding' trebles were invented for lazy anglers that can't be arsed tying a new trace to match the bait size... 

Fixed hooks are the way to go Nick, tying new ones each time to match the bait size...

Dave Horton showed me a natty way of creating an adjustable trace that involves incorporating a bead.

..... unfortunately I can't remember exactly how he does it.  Anyone??

I'm with the fixed treble/double camp myself. A sliding hook arrangement trashes the trace completely. I know because, like others I guess, I've been down that road and written it off as bad practise. Not only will it ruin the trace when it is put under pressure, but it actually works like a cheese wire. If the top and bottom treble both get a hold, then pulling against it, i.e playing a fish, causes the two trebles to move towards each other. To do this the top treble has to tear out of the flesh between the two hooks.

It's on here in the rigs library somewhere. He has the bottom hook moving, the bead is the stop. can't remember what the thinking behind it was now.