Ep. 97: Steave Heath on TackleMeet Origins & Blacktail Hooks

Guest: Steve Heath (TackleMeet)

Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

Steve Heath, the founder of TackleMeet, joins the show, recorded live on August 19, 2025, to walk through how a seven-vendor Norwalk parking lot turned into a rotating SoCal tackle show, and the conversation turns into the strongest Blacktail hooks endorsement of any episode this season. Luke, Daniel, and Steve each fish them for a different reason, and by the end there’s a clear answer for why a hook that small holds a fish that big.

In This Episode

• Why TackleMeet grew from 7 vendors to 65 by keeping entry and parking free
• How the vendor mix flipped from 80% used tackle to 80% new brands over ten years
• Why Luke downsized from 4/0–5/0 to 1/0–2/0 EWG hooks on 3/4 oz heads at the wall
• How a 2/0 hook is landing 6–7 lb calicos when the forage gets small
• Why Daniel pours belly weights on 3/0 Trokar and 4/0 Beast hooks specifically
• The one-line hook-sizing rule from a deckhand on the Victory: match the bait, not the target fish
• Where to find Blacktail hooks in the wild — Martin’s Tackle, 29th and Western

Why Blacktail Hooks Keep Showing Up in Everyone’s Bag

No single episode in the back catalog has this many people vouching for the same hook. Steve buys 5/0 and 7/0 Blacktail hooks at Martin’s Tackle and says they end up in his bag every time he walks in. Luke fished them for nine months before ever contacting the company, and his dad was already running Blacktail‘s small circle and chimney hooks for tuna. Daniel pours belly weights specifically for the 3/0 Trokar and 4/0 Beast hook sizes and has since tried Blacktail’s center-pin hooks himself, confirming the barb holds fish the way people say it does.

The through-line is the barb and the gap. A sticky barb means fewer fish shaking free on the initial take, and the extra-wide gap means the hook still bites on a thicker bait profile without sacrificing hook set.

Downsizing the Hook Without Downsizing the Fish

Luke’s wall program has quietly moved from 4/0–5/0 hooks down to 1/0–2/0 EWG on 3/4 oz heads as the forage at the wall has gotten smaller. That is a real downsize, and it comes with a real result: he has landed 6–7 lb calicos on a 2/0 hook. His logic is that hook strength and hook size aren’t the same variable. A smaller Blacktail hook still holds up under a big fish because of the metal, not because of the gauge, so matching the hook to the bait profile doesn’t cost him anything on the hook set.

Steve’s cousin Richard, who works as a deckhand on the Victory, put it in one line: hooks match the bait, not the target fish. It’s a rule that runs against instinct. Most anglers size up when they’re targeting bigger fish. Luke’s calicos say the opposite can work, as long as the hook itself is built to hold.

TackleMeet’s Growth Model: Keep It Free, Keep It Open

Steve started TackleMeet informally around 2015 and made it official in 2017, running the first show with seven vendors in a Norwalk boat shop parking lot he managed. The second show pulled 65. The mix has flipped over the years, from roughly 80% used tackle and 20% brands early on to roughly 80% brands and 20% used tackle now, but the model hasn’t changed: free parking, free entry, and no pressure to buy anything.

That structure is why TackleMeet keeps landing new venues. The Moreno Valley Mall interior takeover on August 23 runs 11 AM to 6 PM, air-conditioned, with roughly 35 vendors. October 25 brings the first TackleMeet to Lakeside, San Diego, after Steve saw how many Lakeside locals showed up to a Day at the Docks event closer to home. For a SoCal angler, that means you can walk in, ask Luke or Daniel about hook sizing in person, and leave without buying anything if that’s the day you’re having.

Why This Episode Matters

This is the deepest hook-specific conversation TOTW has run. Three people who fish completely different water, from wall bass to bluefin, all landed on the same hook for the same reason: it holds. That kind of unprompted agreement is worth more than any single product claim, and it gives SoCal anglers still fishing oversized hooks out of habit a concrete reason to size down. For the full rigging breakdown, including belly weights and EWG hook sizing across every setup, How to Rig a Slug for SoCal Inshore Bass covers it in depth.

It’s also a reminder that gear talk and community talk aren’t separate conversations. TackleMeet’s free-entry model exists for the same reason Luke downsizes his hooks: remove the friction that doesn’t need to be there, and the good stuff, the fish, the vendors, the community, takes care of itself.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.