The American Snelled Hook, Part V: A Dave Cook Special

Dave Cook, who we've written about before, was an interesting guy. Not only was he a good friend, but he was a shrewd marketer as well.

Take for example our snelled hook under the microscope this week -- Dave Cook's trademarked "Speed Barb" hooks. He spent a lot of time and effort branding these hooks, declaring them to use an exclusive "special knot [which] is very difficult to tie … and is used by no other manufacturer .. because of the high cost of tieing." Cook also declared them to be "manufactured for and sold exclusively by the Dave Cook Sporting Goods Co."





It was all a great bit of obfuscation, for the Dave Cook "Speed Barb" was nothing other than an Eagle Claw Bait Holder hook, made so famous across town from Dave Cook's headquarters.



I don't often find Eagle Claw trade snells, so perhaps their close proximity allowed Cook to market his Speed Barb hooks when others had to sell the Eagle Claw brand. Anyway, it's a nice story and another feather in the cap of Dave Cook.

-- Dr. Todd