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Circle Hooks


Elton

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Been sent some circle hooks from http://www.tacklebargain.com/ and am hoping to send a few to another forum member who is in a better position to try them out than me. i.e. he actually goes fishing more than once a month! (No volunteers - I've already asked someone LOL)

 

Wheh these were first mooted on here, a few years back, everyone seemed a bit wary. Then some of the 'big fish' anglers seemed to start using them for rays and sharks. Interestingly, I'm now hearing of people using them for smaller fish, too.

 

So, who here uses circle hooks and for what species? Any comments about them in general would be of interest.

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Been sent some circle hooks from http://www.tacklebargain.com/ and am hoping to send a few to another forum member who is in a better position to try them out than me. i.e. he actually goes fishing more than once a month! (No volunteers - I've already asked someone LOL)

 

Wheh these were first mooted on here, a few years back, everyone seemed a bit wary. Then some of the 'big fish' anglers seemed to start using them for rays and sharks. Interestingly, I'm now hearing of people using them for smaller fish, too.

 

So, who here uses circle hooks and for what species? Any comments about them in general would be of interest.

:clap2: They are good for tuna as they are shy of wire traces and they are good for sharks as they tend to bite through wire but the circle hooks catch in the scissors so don't allow the fish to bite through the line. I've got loads on thest at the moment from Mustad, from 4's to 6/0's, great hooks, you just have to remember not to strike. They are good for bream, bass, tope etc. as they help C&R.:clap2:

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Norm,

 

Would you say the hook up rate is on a par with traditional hooks, especially with smaller species?

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Been sent some circle hooks from http://www.tacklebargain.com/ and am hoping to send a few to another forum member who is in a better position to try them out than me. i.e. he actually goes fishing more than once a month! (No volunteers - I've already asked someone LOL)

 

Wheh these were first mooted on here, a few years back, everyone seemed a bit wary. Then some of the 'big fish' anglers seemed to start using them for rays and sharks. Interestingly, I'm now hearing of people using them for smaller fish, too.

 

So, who here uses circle hooks and for what species? Any comments about them in general would be of interest.

Elton i use them was a bit worried that you would not get as many hook ups but after trying them realised that was not a problem.it does stop a lot of deep hooking usually hook ends up in the scissors give your bite plenty of time fish usually hook them self when running

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I tried them for tope.

 

They probably reduced the hook up rate two to one compared with J hooks.

 

A gut hooked tope is usaully down to bad angling practise. If you strike early J hooks are not a problem.

 

They are also more difficult to release with a T bar at the side of the boat as the t bar pulls in the wrong place

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Norm,

 

Would you say the hook up rate is on a par with traditional hooks, especially with smaller species?

:clap2: You probably miss a few bites by not striking immediately but unless I'm match fishing I prefer to use the circles because they result in lip hooked fish. One slight problem is that with the larger fish they are more difficult to T bar off at the side of the boat. In fact some skippers don't like me using them for that reason. Get 8 anglers with 8 tope or smoothhounds on and it's a nightmare, unfortunately thats not been a problem for a couple of years now. :(

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I use circle hooks for all my boat fishing and think they are excellent.

Most fish are "missed" with circle hooks, because the angler strikes, which is not necessary.

I have never lost, or deep hooked a fish using them.

 

I use standard J hooks for beach fishing, as worm bait and circle hooks just doesn't work.

"I gotta go where its warm, I gotta fly to saint somewhere "

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My two-penneth...

 

Use 8/0 Gamakatsu Circles for tope, & really like them - we probably don't get the chance to do a proper comparison vs J-hooks, but I'm not rushing to go back to J's.

 

Got to agree with Ian B on the T-Bar unhooking bit - we find pilers are generally needed to twist the hook out.

 

Also agree with the comment about them not working whan loaded with bait around the shank - basically they don't work that way!!

 

My mate Chris (cps) will tell you all about the time several years ago when I first tried them for codlings with crab/ mussel baits from the boat- bites were taking the rod tip under, but despite trying not striking/ striking/ winding/ etc, the only ones i could get ended up gut-hooked - presumably had taken the bait so far down, after being left so long, that they'd stripped most of the bait off & were basically digesting it!! I didn't persevere with them after the 2nd fish hooked that way.

 

The trick is definitely to have the majority of the bait hanging below the hook - fish baits hooked once through the end are fine - along this line I also occasionally use circles as top hooks on my pennel rigs for codlings - have landed plenty of codlings hooked only on the circle, but to be honest I'm not totally sure that they're any better (or worse) than the usual J-hooks in that application.

 

Hope this helps

 

mww

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have to agree with all thar mww has to say, it was quite funney when i had about 20 codlings on j hooks to marts 2 the day he first used the cercles as soon as he stoped useing them an went to a j we were fish for fish. on the tope though i havent noticed any diference apart from once the hooks into a tope they dont come of , last week mart [mww] hooked a tope about 30lb through the dorsal fin on a 8/0 gamakatsu when he got it to the side of the boat it took ages to get out had it been a j the t bar would have sorted it in seconds.

so my verdict is good for some things but not for others

 

cheers chris

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