Gamakatsu Treble SP / RB Series Review — 5 Years In, This Is My Go-To Treble Hook

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📌 What you’ll learn in this article
✅ How SP and RB differ and when to use each
✅ How to pick the right size and wire thickness for catfish
✅ Pros and cons I’ve found after 5 years of real use
✅ How to make your hooks last longer

🎣 What are the Gamakatsu Treble SP / RB?

Tournament-grade treble hooks from Gamakatsu. The highlights are Hyper Shield anti-rust plating and T.G.W. (Tournament Grade Wire) for durability. I mostly fish for catfish (namazu), and for trebles I almost exclusively run this series. I’ve been using it for 5 years.

🔄 SP vs. RB — differences and use cases

🔵 SP 🟢 RB
Bend shape Sproat bend
point angled inward toward the shank		 Round bend
point runs straight relative to the shank
When to use When you want to cut down on lost fish When you want maximum hook-up rate

💡 Don’t overthink it: if you’re torn, go SP to reduce lost fish, RB when hook-up rate matters most.

📏 Picking size and wire thickness

Wire thickness (M / MH)

MH (Medium Heavy) M (Medium)
Wire Thick Thin
Strength Higher (MH > M) A bit lower
Penetration Good Even better (M > MH)
Main use 🔥 Year-round main ❄️ Low-activity situations
MH is the all-rounder for 95% of situations. The thicker wire gives you strength, and as long as you’ve buried the point, it basically won’t straighten. Only when bites are weak and hooksets aren’t sticking do I swap down to M — that often lifts the hook-up rate.

Size

Match hook size to the lure and to fish activity.

📋 Full SP / RB lineup

Current lineup on Gamakatsu’s official site (as of April 2026, excluding discontinued models). Wire thickness runs M → MH → H → XH (SP only), getting thicker and stronger as you go down.
Type 🔵 SP (sproat bend) 🟢 RB (round bend)
M
thin wire, penetration-focused		 #12–#2 (9 sizes) #14–#2 (10 sizes)
MH
year-round main		 #14–2/0 (13 sizes) #14–2/0 (13 sizes)
MH value pack
18 pcs		 #8–#1 (8 sizes) #8–#4 (5 sizes)
H
thick wire, strength-focused		 #6–3/0 (9 sizes) #6–#1 (6 sizes)
XH
extra-thick, trophy-class		 #3–6/0 (9 sizes) —

💡 Sizes range from the thin-wire M all the way up to the extra-thick XH, so between these two series, you can cover almost any fishing you do. Being able to match hooks to species and lures is a big reason I’ve stuck with them for years.

🐟 Recommended setup for catfish (namazu)

Here’s what I run for catfish.
Item My pick
Bend SP (fewer lost fish) / RB (max hook-ups)
Wire MH main / M for low-activity days
Size Mostly #3–#6 (match to lure size and activity)

💡 Start from SP-MH #5 as your baseline and adjust size/wire up or down based on the lure and conditions — you won’t stray far.

👍 What I love after 5 years

⚡ Overwhelming penetration

The sharpness is a clear step above other hooks. It sticks even in a catfish’s hard mouth. On lesser hooks you’re tempted to blame the hook when “bites don’t stick” — with these, if it didn’t go in, you can only blame your own technique.

🔬 Hook-swirl marks are completely different

Thanks to the hardness and needle-sharp point, after a while you see clear hook-swirl marks on the lure body. I’ve run other brands on the same lures and none of them leave marks this crisp. That’s how sharp the point is.
Orange pencil bait rigged with Gamakatsu Treble SP after a year of use, body covered in clean hook-swirl marks
This lure has been rigged with Gamakatsu trebles for over a year. Other brands won’t leave marks this sharp in the same time

🛡️ Rust resistance

The Hyper Shield plating gives strong rust resistance. I can skip rinsing after a saltwater trip without seeing rust right away. Less rust = fewer forced hook changes = less hassle overall.

👎 Cons

💰 Price is high

A single pack of MH (6 hooks) runs around 640–860 JPY on Amazon, depending on size. That’s pricey versus other brands. There’s an 18-pack value bulk option that eases the cost a bit.

⚠️ That said, the regret of using a cheap hook and losing a fish makes the price easy to justify. This isn’t the place to cut corners.

💥 Can break if you abuse them

They’re hard rather than flexible hooks, so hitting a wall or rocks on a cast can crack the wire.

⚠️ Occasional duds in the box

Buying by the case, I run into roughly 1 bent-point dud per 60 hooks (10 packs × 6). A quick inspection on opening catches it, so no real damage done, but at this price point it still stings a little when you spot one. Probably similar rates across other brands, so this one’s just the nature of mass-manufactured hooks.

⚠️ I still keep using them because nothing else I’ve tried matches this level of penetration. The performance is a clear tier above — enough to make the occasional dud tolerable.

📦 I store them in a Meiho Slit Foam Case 3020NS

For bulk-bought hooks I use a Meiho Slit Foam Case 3020NS Clear. The clear top lets you see contents at a glance, and the slit foam holds the hooks in place.
  • ✅ Fast hook changes → grab one without fiddling, even on the water
  • ✅ No running out → sorting by size makes your stock obvious
  • ✅ Point protection → loose hooks dull faster
Gamakatsu treble hooks organized by size and type in a Meiho Slit Foam Case
📂 Sorted by size and type in a Meiho case. If you keep it ready-to-grab, on-site swaps are painless

🏠 How I run it

Like in the photo, I keep two size/type-sorted cases at home and two more in the car. That way I can always swap hooks. Plus I buy hooks by the case as backup stock, so I never run out.

🔧 Tips to make your hooks last

At this price, you want to baby them. My routine has two steps:
  • 🔹 Touch up dulled points with a hook sharpener → penetration comes right back
  • 🔹 Use pliers to straighten light bends → fully opened hooks get replaced, but minor tweaks can be corrected and reused

⚠️ These are first aid only. If you’re serious about hook performance, just replace them.

✅ Summary — who this is for

🎯 Anyone looking for a treble they can trust 🎯 Anyone who wants to lift their hook-up rate 🎯 Anyone who believes hooks are the difference between landing a fish and losing it

After 5 years of trying alternatives, I keep coming back to Gamakatsu. They’re expensive, but between the penetration and the durability, they pay for themselves.

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