The old Suicide has been replaced with what manufacturers call the Octopus hook these days and they are still a very popular hook for bait fishing. It really is a classic hook shape that has stood the test of time. However, it’s lure fishing hooks that have really benefitted from engineering, design, materials and manufacturing techniques over the past two decades. In 2005 Forbes rated the fishing hook 19th out of the top 20 innovations of all time in terms of impact on human civilisation. The humble but very innovative fishing hook goes back to around 4000 BC and was originally fashioned from stone, bone, wood or horn.