We were recently at the lake for 2 wks. Tried’m both ways (“nekked” & dressed) with smile blades and spinners. I pretty much came away unimpressed. I had no better/worse results than with an aberdeen hook of comparable size. Like my bride sez, just something else to catch fishermen. 
jerr
Pulled 3 ways and live bait in Pool 4 witht hem the last 2 weeks and really like them….did have 1 hook straighten out on me though 2 weeks ago never saw what it was but it did not come across that big to do that so light drag. 
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We were recently at the lake for 2 wks. Tried’m both ways (“nekked” & dressed) with smile blades and spinners. I pretty much came away unimpressed. I had no better/worse results than with an aberdeen hook of comparable size. Like my bride sez, just something else to catch fishermen.
It may actually take some practice with these hooks to figure them out, but in the end, they are dynamite fish catchers. Year in & year out slow death hooks have been my “Go To” technique for walleyes & saugers during the end of May thru all of June. (#2 Tru-Turn hooks before mustad came out with slow death hooks)
Like any good trick, during the little things right is very important when using slow death hooks.
#1 – They are not made for use with spinner blades and there is no point in using them that way. Let the spinning blade do the work for you on those rigs. (crawler harnesses)
#2 – Do use a bead or two in front of them. The color of the bead can make a big difference. I use 4mm beads in front of every slow death hook that goes over the side of my boat. Many times, changing colors of the bead is all it takes to go from getting little or nothing, to putting fish in the boat.
#3 – “Always” use a swivel on the end of your leader. My leads are all pre-tied at 42-45′ long. Longer than that, and you will get more snags. Shorter, less fish.
The lake, river or resevoir that you use them on may be a bit different though. If your water is clear, you may need longer leads in order to get bit.
#4 – How you put the crawler on the hook is critical!
If you thread the crawler on in a sloppy manner and/or allow the crawler to ball up on the end of your hook, then you may as well be fishing for sheepshead. The slow death hook won’t do you a lick of good if you don’t thread the crawler on properly and keep it there.
#5 – The speed you move along at is critical to the action you get when using a slow death hook. A properly threaded crawler will spin just right when slow trolled behind a bottom bouncer or 3-way rig at approximately .7mph to 1.1mph. Put it over the side of the boat and check to see if it does.
Six or seven years ago while fishing an FLW tournament on Lake Oahe, I learned how to run these rigs from David Spade. They used Tru-Turn hooks back then and the technique was called “Death Twirl”. That was the day that I learned more about fishing with night crawlers for walleyes than pretty much the rest of my life.
Still think these hooks are a big gimmick?
Fine by me. It’s an easy trick to teach my clients and has literally put hundreds of walleyes & saugers in my boat.
Including this 27 incher caught by Mark Mowbray last week.
Like plenty of other great walleye catching techniques, I’ve seen fisherman after fisherman give it a try and give up on it with out ever really even learning how to do it properly.
I hear ya Joel!
I’m with Jerr on this one. I prefer aberdeen tru-turn for 3 reasons. It’s easier to thread the crawler past the knot, I hook more biters, and it’s a little more subtle of an action- rather than your half crawler spazzing out in full wide circles.
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I’m with Jerr on this one. I prefer aberdeen tru-turn for 3 reasons. It’s easier to thread the crawler past the knot, I hook more biters, and it’s a little more subtle of an action- rather than your half crawler spazzing out in full wide circles.
If your crawler is spazzing out in full wide circles, it’s no wonder your catching more fish on the tru-turns.
When done properly, “spazzing out” as you call it, is not a problem.
Last year, I ran the tru-turns against the slow death hooks. After that side by side comparison, I no longer run tru-turns.
Very well put Joel. I use the Tru-Turn 888zs and one little thing not mentioned is to change the swivel on the bottom bouncer to a ball bearing swivel snap. One of these days I need to get back up to Oahe. 
I am a slo-death guy. There are days they really make a difference over anything else. I have also seen days where the red ones will outfish the gold ones BIG TIME. One thing with slo-death hooks, speed is critical. I usually run them at .7 to .9. On Oahe one day my son was just smoking me with his crew in the pontoon where my boat was having meager results. I called him up on the radio and compared notes and he had upped his speed to 1.1 and 1.2. I explained that was too fast and then of course I cranked up my speed and started to catch fish. There are alot of variables with the slo-deaths—length of crawler, speed and beads but they do definitely put a few more fish in the boat!
Slow Death or Tru-Turn? I don’t think it really matters which one you prefer to use.
What really matters is getting all the variables right.
As mentioned above, speed, length of crawler, threading the crawler on properly, swivels on the leaders, bead colors, hook color…..etc.
The details definitely make a difference when using these style of hooks. But man, when you get it right, they are awesome fish catchers!
It’s worth hiring a guide who knows how to do this technique properly.
Spent a little over 2 hours yesterday afternoon fishing this technique on Lake Wisconsin. Three of us put thirteen walleyes & saugers in the boat. Seven keepers, three over 20’s and the rest shorts.
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I called him up on the radio and compared notes and he had upped his speed to 1.1 and 1.2.
I too usually stay between .7 and .9 seldome do 1.0 but 1.1-1.2 man you can cover some acreage at those speeds.
It just goes to show that you have to think outside of the box/boat. What do they want?
That kid of mine does get outside the box on occasion but usually ends up putting fish in the boat. On Oahe there is plenty of water to cover and not enough time to cover it no matter how fast you go
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