Miyawaki popper hook replacement failure, or a Tale of Fat Fingers

[Pink Nighty]

So I've been fishing a lot of miyawaki poppers on sinking lines and thrashing the hooks pretty decently. I went to replace one and it came off easily but I'll be dammed if I can get the mono through the eye of a replacement. The replacement has an eye slightly larger than the original as well.

Is there a trick to this? I thought it was my kielbasa fingers but I brought my wives tiny elven hands into the mix and still no dice.

 

[Stonedfish]

Put a piece of mono through the loop. Insert the open ends of the mono through the hook eye and pull the loop through the hook eye.
SF

 

[Pink Nighty]

Put a piece of mono through the loop. Insert the open ends of the mono through the hook eye and pull the loop through the hook eye.
SF

This was the way and the path. Thank you kindly!