Circle Hooks?

Question

Whats your opinion on them ?

and any tips on how your supposed to hook a fish on them lol

Answer 1

Brandon,
They are supposed to be self setting & the fish isn't supposed to swallow them. So how could the fish not swallow it yet get hooked.............

I have a couple hundred 7/0 Octopus hooks that I use when BIG catfishing, tied off to my Ambassadors using the bait clickers & have never missed hooking one that ran w/ the bait. I've had some break the line or pull loose. Despite my sucess, I tried some circles cause they were supposed to be the best, new thing. I missed several fish, I imedatley went back to the Octopus & throwed the 1/2 dozen Circles in the Lake.

My opnion is they are a gimac. It's another one of those marketing things where the maufactures TRY to build a better mouse trap & charge more $ for it. The old saying "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it" should be the rule. I wish I would have went by that rule & saved a few bucks. But I as well as others are always trying to find a better way & keep up w/ the times, it's just human nature & the manufactures know this............

Answer 2

The idea with circle hooks is that the fish will swallow the bait and swim off. The circle hook will slip up out of the fish's gullet as the line comes tight, then as they "turn the corner" coming out of the fish's mouth they'll wrap around the bony jaw and catch, and from then on act as a link of a chain around that bone. As long as the fish's jawbone doesn't break, the hook will hold. In addition, since the hook is in the jaw, the line is outside the mouth where a fish can't chew on it.

The other advantage is if you're doing catch-and-release -- as the fish is just hooked in the jaw, there's essentially no chance of internal injuries. But most of my c&r is done with artificials, which almost always hook a fish in the jaw anyway.

A standard hook will poke a hole somewhere in the fish's mouth or gullet, and if it's in a softer spot, it'll tear the hole bigger as you fight the fish, maybe tearing out if it's a long fight, or if the fish gets some slack, it might just fall out.

So the real advantage of a circle hook is really in a long fight with fish which shake their heads a lot -- or if you're leaving a set line in the water. The San Diego long range skippers recommend circle hooks for the big tuna (100-300+ pounds), and as that's their bread-and-butter, I'll accept that. A buddy of mine goes up to Alaska to fish the big halibut up there, and they use circle hooks, too -- his best is a 355 pounder.

However, for the smaller local tuna (10-50 pounds or so) standard hooks are still the norm. It's easier to pin a sardine on a hook without messing it up with a standard hook, and usually a better looking bait is the key to getting bit.

Personally, I think circle hooks are good for some kinds of fishing, but not worth the effort for smaller fish you'll be fighting for ten minutes or less.

Answer 3

Starting tomorrow, I'm going back to Circle Hooks. Today, I had a decent size striped bass, I guess about 32", spit the hook. Oh well! Anyway, I like circle hooks because the fish usually stays hooked. What happens is after a striped bass picks up the bait, clam or bunker, it starts to swim quickly away with the baited hook. Once the fish bolts on pick up, the hook lodges into the fleshy part of the jaw. This is why it's best to dead stick with a circle hook so the fish could hook itself. If you try to set the hook after feeling the initial tug, there's a chance you could tear the hook out of its mouth without hook up. I started to use circle hooks after talking to a long liner fisherman who convinced me circle hooks were more effective than any other hook.

Answer 4

Kale self setting circle hooks are great for lying your pole down kicking your feet up and waiting good for relaxing day fishing just remember they set themselves don't yank to set the hook when the fish gets on just start reeling its usually a good hook set in the corner of the mouth.

Answer 5

I use circle hooks for all my live and dead bait when im chasing larger fish. Almost never lose a fish once there hooked, and 90% of the time the set themselves.

Answer 6

Wne you trout fish, circle hooks work well when used with powerbait. Or any egg shaped or round bait, doughbait too!
When you hook a berkley poweregg, the bait gets hooked but there is still some hook left to "barb" him. When you fish powerbait the secret is to use a hook that will allow the bait to float. a size 10 hook is perfect for power egging trout!!!

Answer 7

Best hook going for drop shot rigs.
Mortality rate is very close to J hooks for released fish (other than gut hooked).

Answer 8

I tried tyin some flys on circle hooks but they didn't work out nearly as good as I had hoped.

Answer 9

I used them for California yellow tail before but it doesn't seem to change catching or loosing fish.I heard that they
have less of a chance to pull out.,Don't know.People loose fish especially large fish that they get to anxious and tighten down the drag to much,boink ,Cya.

Answer 10

I found this website on them-http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sg042

And this one-http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if0502_VVCircleHooks/

I use a circular hook sometimes when catfishing but I get hung very easily.