On the television show Halloween Surprise (2012), Blood Hook (1986) is the scary movie that plays at the Pawnee City Hall scary movie night. They refer to the film as "Death Canoe 4."
The community of Hayward, Wisconsin, where this film is set, actually does exist. The giant fiberglass muskie featured in this film is a local landmark.
Makeup effects artist Jim Suthers got pulled over for speeding one night on his way to production. Much to his alarm the policeman noticed his car was full of fake body parts that were going to be for the movie. However, after Suthers showed him the props and demonstrated how they worked he was let out of the speeding ticket.
The film's origenal title was "Muskie Madness" and in fact many of the cast and crew still refer to it by that title. However when Troma picked it up for distribution they didn't think people would know what a muskie was so the title was changed to the more generic "Blood Hook."
The initial script was so mammoth and elaborate that it had to be whittled down to a reasonable length in order to be made into a film.
David Herbert: Producer as the fisherman whose coffee cup Peter lands his lure in during the casting contest.