i really can't say why they hook up so well,i just know they do. when a fish hits one of these they get caught. as for holding up,alot of it comes from getting eaten all the time. they are real hairy,i think it's marabu,and every fish takes some off. and i lose a lot of the second hooks. they are held on with a piece of surgical tubing and if you don't watch it they fall off. i make the problem worse by taking the barbs off everything. i bought some new ones for this year and i put shrink tubing on 'em. looks like it will stay there,we'll see.