single or treble hooks for tip-ups & type of hooks

[Papa Sly]

I know this question comes up every year and I have been ice fishing for a long time. I used to always use circle hooks but found I lost a lot of fish. When I switched to regular wide gap hooks hook up rate was a little better. I ran into some guys last year and they say the only hook they use is alberdeen hooks and they widen the gap with pliers.
I mostly fish for bass and pickerel so it is always with shiners on the tip-ups and I love to increase hits by adding blades and beads and also colored hooks. Looking through Ice Shanty many out west attach jigs or spoons and then put the shiner on them and they also almost always use treble hooks for a better hook up rate.
Last year we fished Tupper Lake in upstate New York for pike and bass. I kept track and we got over 2x as many hit on tip-ups with beads and blades. Same was true when I lived on Crystal lake in CT. and was fishing for trout and salmon.

[fishermantim]

I would say that if you expect to keep any fish you catch, then use trebles to increase chances of hook-ups.

If you are fishing for relaxation and enjoyment, practicing "C&R", then skip the trebles and go with a single hook. (possibly a circle hook).

Reason?  Because treble hooks are effective....maybe TOO effective in catching fish, but also in ripping fish's mouths apart as a result of the hook-up struggle, the hauling through the ice and the hook removal. The fish will undoubtedly have a hard time feeding with a ripped up lip and jaw.

I'm not saying that everyone that uses trebles is a masochist, but rather some are over-eager with their handling of the fish and cause more injuries in the end than just a hook puncture.

[hardwater diehard]

If your mostly fishing bass and pickerel ... I would say a single hook so releasing the smaller ones will increase the chance of survival . I like  long hooks now so alberdeen hooks are a good choice ...I tried beads ...spinners for flash on my tip ups for pickerel but never really noticed a real increase in harvest ...I believe pickerel ..unlike their larger cousin don't much care for flash or extra hardware(steel leaders etc) ...but do love/need live bait .. need to change or shake up tip ups often.. if that bait is moving they'll be biting . Circle and Octopus hooks and Spider wire braid was my normal set up for pickerel ...but now mostly fish for pan fish  by jigging and tip downs . You will get some cuts and loses on the braid/circle hooks but mostly the hooks end up in the corner of the mouth more often then not . If they do swallow your tip up offering they are in an aggressive mode ..jigging may be in order. Good luck.

[slimeypete]

Ive always used small trebles on my tilts for everyday fishing. The hookup rate is very high and as long as your a constant watcher of your tilts then you almost never hook the fish deep enough to hurt them. The only problem i find with using trebles is that when packing my tilts away, the other points on the treble sometimes snag together causing a tangle here and there.

[stripernut]

Double Ryder Hooks, the best of both worlds...

[BaitBucket]

Over the past few years I have been changing it up, to see what works better, for me.

I have settled on Finesse Wide Gap Hooks for the time being.  Size is dependent on the bait. But i like the smaller profile, shorter hook shank, wide gap between hook point and shank, and the offset eye that allows for the  use of a snell knot for straight line hook sets.

I have also been trying different methods of hooking the shiners.

[A. Moss Bunker]

I tried circle hooks on my tip-ups one season and actually ended up gut hooking a lot of fish with them, so I've gone back to Octopus hooks.  Circle hooks have worked for me every time when striper fishing with eels, but I didn't like how they performed when ice fishing.   

[Chris338378]

I've always used trebble hooks on my tip-up since I started ice fishing back in 1996 and can count the number of fish that I've lost on one hand.  I set my tip-ups for mainly bass but have caught God only knows how many pickerel on them.  The hooks I've used over the years are the Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp hooks in size 6 or 8 depending on the size of the bait I'm using. 

[drscholl14]

I use both. I have been using VMC sure set trebles more and more. They are great when using larger shiners or suckers. Hook them with the larger hook on the treble.

[Papa Sly]

I have never used the trebles except for pike but my brother recently asked me why since all our crank baits and other ice fishing jigs have trebles on them. I was always afraid to kill fisk since I exclusively practice C & R. I love the look of the double rider hooks and just ordered a bunch off of ebay to try and am also going to try big river baits

[BASSQUATCH]

Gamakatsu octopus, size depends on the bait.