6 Pack Stickers: Why Capt. John Switched to Double Snelled Trebles

Adapted from Capt. John King's article "6 Pack Stickers – Tandem Snelled Trebles," completed January 1, 2009 on MichiganSportsman.com. Read the original.

"Missing fish can be fixed, getting more strikes can not!" In 2008, Capt. John fixed his missed diver bites with one change: two snelled treble hooks instead of one. Six hook points instead of three, or as he called it, a "6 pack of stickers."

The before and after

• August 31, 2008: single trebles on the flies. About 1 fish boated out of 4 diver bites.
• September 2, 2008: every fly switched to double snelled trebles, same as on his meat rigs. No missed diver hits that day, or on the 3 diver hits on September 25.
• That September 2 trip, south of Manistee from 9am to 2pm, boxed a 10-fish limit for two people: 6 Kings, 3 Coho and a Lake Trout.

Nibblers vs. eaters

• Kings that hit flies were "nibblers," hooked on the chin and outside of the snout. The second treble is what caught them.
• Kings that hit meat rigs swallowed the bait and were hooked deep inside.
• In 2008, meat only took fish for John in 46–38°F water. In warmer 54–62°F water, Salmon hit BTIs with flies on the divers harder than meat.

The turned-up eye

John didn't claim to be the first to tie two trebles together, but his company was the first to handcraft a custom bend, or turned-up eye, on the treble. The result is a straight-line pull that drives the point home.

Fly leader length

John recommended 20–24" fly leaders behind 10" BTI flashers. The shorter the leader, the faster the fly snaps and rolls.

Proven combos from his 2008 photos

• King Purple BTI with an X-Glow BTI fly
• Monkey Puke BTI with an X-Glow Sea Green fly

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