Anyone out there use them? I have been thinking about it for a few years but have to try. If you do any brand/size recommendations? Also hook placement?

no one i know.....try it

Circle hooks for ice fishing, is like the post i did many years ago concerning them for fly-fishing. The remarks to my post said i was nuts, Then Lefty did an article in
a magazine about them, now they are common to salt water Fly-Fishing.

The ONLY time I don't use them ice fishing is when I'm jigging!
I've been using them for 5+ years now, and the ONLY times I get a gut-hooked fish is when a very hungry bass literally inhales the bait.
Other than that I get 97-99% lip/jaw hookups.

The only trouble you may face is if you use them on a steel leader for pike. That's when you need a good hook remover!.

Depending on the size of the bait, I have a wide selection of hook sizes as well. You wouln't want to fish a pin minnow on a size #7 hook, or a #1 on a pike shiner.

It's worth giving a try, but just like bait fishing the salt, you don't "set" the hook, but just apply tension on the line and let it set itself.

The ONLY time I don't use them ice fishing is when I'm jigging!
I've been using them for 5+ years now, and the ONLY times I get a gut-hooked fish is when a very hungry bass literally inhales the bait.
Other than that I get 97-99% lip/jaw hookups.

The only trouble you may face is if you use them on a steel leader for pike. That's when you need a good hook remover!.

Depending on the size of the bait, I have a wide selection of hook sizes as well. You wouln't want to fish a pin minnow on a size #7 hook, or a #1 on a pike shiner.

It's worth giving a try, but just like bait fishing the salt, you don't "set" the hook, but just apply tension on the line and let it set itself.


Thats what I figured would be the case, I guess I just needed some verification. The angle and application seemed perfect. It just makes sense from a C&R standpoint. Do you place it behind the dosal?

For Pike and LMB I use kahle hooks. Very few gut hooks, none on pike.

I hook them through the dorsal area, or in the mouth and out though one of the nasal passages. (It's similar to how eels are hooked.) You just have to make sure that you hit the nasal cavity or you may hit the cranial area and kill the fish. As for the doral area, you also have to be careful not to damage the spine, or risk killing the shiner that way as well.

I started off trying to lip-hook the shiners, but that was an exercise in futility as they have very weak lips.

The main reason I have been using both methods when ice fishing is that if I want to save the bait for another day, I can unhook the nose hooked fish with minimal damage and the fish will recover by the next trip.

I use them on tip-ups all the time. Mustad 1/0 circles for bass and pike. When you get to the flag, just start pulling. Corner of the mouth everytime.

Good luck.

I use them while ice fishing sometimes. Only with tip ups. I thin they are VMC's but i cant remeber, they are red about a 1/0. I didnt notice any difference with hook ups, and still get a couple gut hooks, but usually in the corner.

I like them for bass, pickerel and pike... not for trout and salmon...

I started using them at lake Champlian years ago, people up there swear by trebles and though I was nuts..... I found that in most instances you dont need wire leader with circles because ( in my findings) the line is away from the teeth...

I have small circle hooks for trout, but I prefer jigging for trout with small spoons and microtube jigs. My favorite experiences were fishing the shallows of my favorite late season pond, and being able to see the trout when they swam by the hole. When they went after the lure, you could see them striking just below the surface.
I jigged up more trout last season than in all my prior years, primarily because I learned HOW to jig properly.

I started out jigging with a kiddie fishing rod (from Kmart) and added an old trout reel. The rod was medium action, which for a small rod made it feel like heavy action. I started out jigging like I was jigging for cod, which was completely useless when targeting trout and panfish. Then I saw a TV show that showed one proper technique for jigging through the ice, and viola! A star was born. I started catching fish on every trip. It took patience and perserverence, but I knew what I needed to do and was able to do it with that clunky setup.
Now I have ultralight jigging rigs (as well as a couple mediums for big lake fish) and I love the sensativity these things convey. I can feel a fish if it just thinks of hitting the jig.

I started out using traditional "J" style hooks for shiners, but the gut hook ratio was way too high, so I experimented with circle hooks (some 5-10 years ago) and have never looked back!