Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

[RJS]

I fish saltwater and now use circle hooks almost exclusively. I agree that they greatly limit the amount of gut-hooked fish, but at times I think they detract from the fishing experience because you're not really supposed to set the hook. Lifting the rod and reeling in isn't as much fun.

 

[Fishbusters]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

Don't like circle hooks. I love circle hooks. They don't do it all but man oh man are they the next best thing. I have fished on a party boat with them using thier gear my hooks and outfished everyone at least by 2 to 1 and for the way I catfish they work better than regular hooks. I think some methods of fishing would be better served by "normal" hooks but for me circles get the most use.

 

[crab bait]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

i agree .. ther's nothin' like snatchin' a hook in fishes face ..

 

[paintermn]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

I started using circle hooks in a testing sort of way about three years ago to see how they work, and now use them almost exclusively.<br /><br />I find a circle will work even with no leader in saltwater which get me more bites. (this was another test side by side with my friends) Even works on shark. I caught two with that little hook firmly in the corner of the mouth every time!<br /><br />Also great, of course, is the fact that they do so little harm to the fish. If you are catching alot of undersized fish or just catch and release.<br /><br />The only problem you will have is this: If you think that part of fishing is slamming a hook in a fish head ala Bill Dance, then you won't like them. If you "set" the hook like that with a circle you will just pull it out of the fish.<br /><br />Just reel up till you feel the pressure, and the circle will do the rest every time. Right in the corner of the mouth every time.

 

[RJS]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

THanks for the comments,<br /><br />I love circle hooks too, especially for fluke, stipers, and (believe it or not) tautog. For blues (chunking), weakfish, sea bass, and porgy's, the jury is out. Some time you need to set the hook hard and fast to get them.

 

[rhett]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

i use circle hooks now for everything except trolling. like they said the hard part is getting use to not rearing back and setting the hook

 

[lepper]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

not setting the hook? that doens't sound like much fun, and does anyone have a link to a siight so I can see these hooks?

 

[bassndude]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

lepper: go to www.mustad.no<br /><br />Right on the homepage is a streamer tied with a circle hook. If you try some of the links you should find some of the circle hooks available. They have versions for lg saltwater species down to freshwater panfish sized ones.<br /><br />I've tried them for perch (freshwater) and they take some time getting used to but it beats diggin hooks out the fishes guts. Also, becasue of the design the fish don't throw the hooks as often.<br /><br />Hope this helps good luck, give 'em a try but be patient. They do work...

 

[bassndude]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

Hey Lepper,<br /><br />Did some of the leg work...<br /><br />Ultra Point Demon circle hook and Ultra Point Fine wire circle hook:<br /><br /> http://www.mustad.no/northamerica/ULTRAP/saltw13.htm <br /><br />Ultra Point technology: hook point stays sharp longer because it is more durable. It takes more pressure to roll over hook points than conventional needle point hooks. They seem to keep a little more material in the hook point until the very last section of the hook point. More beef = more strength. Also very sticky sharp out of the package. If you need a few testimonials if youlook thru the Mustad photos some of the people talk about the circle hooks they were using. I've used Ultra Point hooks for bass over the last three years and I won't use anything else now... Used to use a lot of Owner, VMC, Gamakatsu, Eagle Claw's, not amymore.

 

[RJS]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

Lepper,<br />My favorite circle hooks are Owner and Gamakatsu, these hooks are incredibly sharp. I would buy a pro-pack since you save alot of money. Try Cabelas, Boatersworld, or BassPro Shops.

 

[derwood]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

hey gents,<br /> after reading this post i decided to give circle a try. before i read this post i did not know what they were. i had seen them before and just thought that they were some funny looking new fangle hook dreamed up by hook makers to get something new on the market. i hate gut hooking fish! and sometimes no matter how fast you set the hook on normal tackle they still seem to swallow the darn hook. i will cut the line before i rip a hook out of the guts or gills of a fish. its such a waste to kill a gamefish for a 15 cent hook and two minutes worth of knot tieing.( my opinion) so i went out and bought a pack of owner circle hooks. the first fish i caught was a spotted sea trout. i was not paying attention to my bobber(untangling a sabiki rig. imagen that, a tangled sabiki rig, whoda thunk it?) and the trout sucked it in and had it half digested by the time i looked up. gut hooked...sure it was. but that was my fault, not the hooks. so i cut the line and put on another. since then i have caught 90% of the hits i've had on this rig. all have preformed just like yall said...hook set right in the corner of the mouth every time. that is just what i was looking for. as far as the hook set...big deal,who cares, so what. the fun for me has always been the stalk,fight,braggin rights,smile on a kids face and a fat stomack full of fresh fish! so i am now a converted true beliver. plus the resurch i did had some impressive numbers as far as fish survival. that gets an A+ in my book. thanks for the iggy guys.<br />good luck and good gung fu(tight lines).<br />derwood.

 

[RJS]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

Derwood,<br /><br />Glad you like the circles, I use them for most of my fishing. For stripers, they really reduce the mortality because of the way stripers bite. I'm 50/50 with weakies, if I'm drifting, circles work very well; however, at anchor, I miss them because I really need to set the hook.

 

[Fishbusters]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

I started using them on cats but not as much as I do now till I took an offshore party boat trip. It was paid for by my wife's company and using circles she and I outfished everyone else combined. There were about 10 of us and everyone was asking about the hooks at the end of the day. None of the fish went to waste there was the company fish fry the next day followed by one with my friends and family the following weekend. All fish were hooked in the corner of the mouth and we rarely got a hit w/o catching the fish. BTW we limited out on some things and went to catch and release before the day was up which is unusual on a party boat.

 

[lepper]

Re: Circle Hooks...Opinions Please

thanks for the info guys, i'll go pick up a coule before I go out salmon fishing again. course I'll have to pinch the barbs down but that is okay..... <br />thanks again.<br />dave