In a tireless effort to reinvent the wheel, the bass fishing industry kicks out more and more wheels every year that are, most of the time, just another circle to drive on.
Eagle Claw, however, has done something truly different this time in their Lazer Sharp AXS Keeper Drop Shot Hook. It’s a very cool and unique take on the hook design for a decades-old technique.
If you’re someone who likes to finesse fish in tough conditions, this is a hook that you might want to seriously consider. It’s one of those go-to options that’s not always what you might want to throw but when you’re struggling for a bite, it’ll get you out of a pickle in a hurry.
What’s different?
Most drop shot hooks are simply hooks. This drop shot hook, however, comes with a spiked pegged that you insert into the nose of your soft-plastic bass fishing bait. This bait keeper is clipped onto the wire of the hook between two small rubber stoppers, which are designed to hold the bait keeper in place at the optimal spot in the bend of the hook so the bait will stand straight out.
This might seem like a small addition but it actually makes a very noticeable difference with the drop shot technique. The more horizontal your soft-plastic bait is, the more natural it looks and the easier it naturally moves with the current.
This allows you to present a much more natural and subtle action to the bass. You don’t have to constantly twitch your rod tip or bump the slack in your line; you can simply rely on the natural movement of the water to entice bites in especially difficult conditions.
High-quality hook
Even without the innovative new way of securing the soft plastic, the circle hook Eagle Claw went with here is top notch. Available in 4 sizes ranging from size 4 to 1/0, there’s a sharp and strong Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp AXS Keeper Drop Shot Hook for any drop shot application you want to use.
I’ve been using the No. 4 hook for the majority of my applications and it seems to be a solid and versatile option. Be careful rigging it because these hook points are super sharp and will hook just about anything they come into contact with. Eagle Claw went with an incredible hook on this drop shot rig and we have all the confidence in the world while using it.
Rubber stoppers
The two spherical rubber stops can be slid along the shaft of the hook to hold the bait keeper (and thus the soft plastic) in any position you’d like. The two stops as well as the bait keeper are designed to slide up and down the shaft of the hook to get out of the way when a bite comes.
This gives you a bunch of different options depending upon the style of bait you’re using. When you get a bite, the stops don’t get anywhere near in the way of the fish, so we haven’t noticed any reduction in our hookup ratio.
Bait keeper
The bait keeper consists of a metal wire running through a hard plastic piece that is formed with two barbs. Sticking the bait keeper into the nose of your soft plastic makes for a more durable connection as compared to the typical method of rigging a worm by running the hook point through the nose of the bait. This new design should lead to fewer lost baits.
Although soft-plastic baits aren’t super expensive, the cost adds up over time. I really appreciate Eagle Claw’s thought process with this as it certainly saves money and makes me feel a bit more confident using super-realistic and perhaps more expensive drop shot baits.
Bottom line
Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp AXS Keeper Drop Shot Hook gives you a pretty good deal here. These hooks should conserve soft plastics for you as well, further adding to their immense value. Available in four sizes as well as ultra sharp and strong, the Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp AXS Keeper Drop Shot Hook is one that every fan of the drop shot is going to want to try out for themselves.
