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While I can certainly understand and respect that argument and your point of view on the topic - especially given personal experiences (and that gut-wrenching photo! Ouch!!) - were you the one who made the lures that the screw eyes came out of, or were they lures you purchased? Do you know if they were made properly? How old were the lures when they failed? Were there other signs of damage to the lure - something that perhaps the user should have seen (epoxy failure, cracking, etc), that would otherwise have been a sign of "it's time to retire this lure" if not for the emotional and/or financial investment made in said lure that was working counter to logic? I've seen several videos in which rather small screw eyes were tested (like those used for bass-sized lures), and when properly epoxied and secured into the wooden body, the failure strength is well in excess of 100 pounds. Give this a watch. Quite interesting. The fact of the matter is that when considering the rod, reel line, and lure as a "system", the whole thing is only as strong as the weakest link. If you're using 85# braid, and the hook eye holds to 140+ pounds, the hook eye is not the weakest link. Certainly not trying to sway anyone's decision to build things one way or the other, just pointing out some additional information for consideration.

I have heard and used lures with all those methods of installing hook hangers. The only one I really trust is wire thru. It isn't a question of how strong it is brand new, it is the question of time. We change our fishing line so it maintains the 20lb rating? We change split rings? We change hooks? We sharpen hooks?. We can't do the same with a lure hook hanger. When musky fishing, you may go an entire season before having the briefest encounter with a 40lb fish if you are lucky enough, and when you set the hook and all you feel is a expensive lure fly back at you it makes you question your life choices lol. Think of musky fishing more like sitting there and waiting for a month for a big giant buck. What weapon would you chose? To the casual hunter who wants shoot the first available deer and fill the freezer, it probably doesn't matter too much. You will have ample opportunity to get another one. But to get a musky of a lifetime, like a giant buck, you may never have a second chance. So you stack all the odds in your favor to never let that chance go to waste. To me, using a lure that I've had for a while, that has screw in eyes, is all part of those odds. And as you can see, I've played that game and lost. To anyone who has never been obsessed with musky fishing, it is a different game. Re-reading this I don't mean to be preachy lol. I just really really like musky fishing. And got into lure making after having 100$ lures screw eyes come out, or lips get loose etc.. it's like buying a corvette with crank windows. Screw eyes have no play IMO in high end quality musky lures.

I use barrel twisted eyes in my small cranks. I catch Bawal 7Lb - 12Lb regularly. These deep bodied fish can really pull. Never had a failure. Actually, even these twisted eyes are linked to the hook hanger, so I suppose you could call it a through wire. BUT, I cannot imagine trying to wrestle with an angry 40Lb Musky with all its leverage. Why would anyone take the risk of losing such a stunning fish, not to mention the damage to the fish as mentioned above. The dowel idea is good, it is a surface area thing. Dave

I think this air is put intentionally to make the bait noise down when paused on the bottom other baits like the mat lures bluegill have this as well

Not trying to start a debate just offering a few tips that were passed on to me. My neighbor used to build some Musky, Pike and a few saltwater plugs told me he always epoxied his hook hangers into hardwood dowel, then epoxies the dowels into his baits, he once said he never wanted the hanger or lure to fail before the line. We used his theory on some baits and if done this way the line is always the weakest link. I build bass baits so line for sure is the weak link and it doesn't take much to strengthen your line ties, belly weights and wood dowels in the tails never fail if good strong bonding epoxy is used. I've used my lures to pickup incredible amounts of weight before 20lb line failed, almost to the point of line, rod breaking before the bait.

That's interesting. You would think with a name like Huddleston, there would be no flaws. Either that or the air pocket worked and they said if it ain't broke, don't fix it. LOL

Big Epp a fish aquarium here is your friend, float test. I was going to suggest unpainted lure blanks similar so you can see the weight how its distributed, but with wood it's going to be slightly different. A suggestion would be spend lots of time tank testing, assemble and seal your lure, then use suspend strips and small dia. lead solder to wrap around hook hangers. With a wood lure you still might need a little tail weight to get it right.? Ive spent countless hours tank testing prototypes before ever lake testing or finishing a lure. Attitude in how a lure sits in the water will tell you alot. And good old fashing elbo grease if you will, but hey you probably know all of that, just a few thoughts that come to mind. Best of luck with that project.