question for the eel guys
 

wondering what kind of hooks we're using out there

I've always been a gamakatsu octopus 7/0

bad thing about these hooks is if the point hits a rock, might as well retire it for the night

Gami 6/0 Circle.

Mustad short shank 6/0

Gami 7/0 Circle

using the same ones here jim either that or the 6/0, I actually had one where I snapped the barb off on the hookset, clean break all the way thorugh. :wall:

Scored a nice bunch of live bait style hooks from my buddy chris so I'll see how those turn out.

I use mostly use gami live bait 6/0 sometimes I'll go with the octopus I'v tryed others like owner,daichi,and the mustad L/B but I llike the gami's the best.I'am no longer into using circles my deep hook ratio is almost the same without them.

Depends on the size of the eel... on average, 4/0 gami is big enough to land the biggest bass in the sea.... for true snakes.. over 18" I'll go as big as 6/0... the bigger the hook, the harder it is to set... always use the smallest hook you can get away with....

vic I had the same thing happen on two differnt daichi hooks clean in half will never use those hooks again.

Gami Live bait (not HD) 5/o ir 6/o

mustad l/b 9174 6/0 there dull out of the package gota sharpen them. gamakatsu l/b are nice and sharp but i dont like the way the point curves in

ditto

Interesting thread James....I was going to post the same thing not long ago...knowing that you and seems like everyone else uses the Gamagatsu octopus hooks and I use the VMC live bait hook, I've always wondered if I was doing something wrong....I've just never really had any problems with them so I've stuck to it

Gami 4/0 live bait......I like the smallness and it is Heavy Duty....

i use the VMC live bait hook as well..

4/0 for me too.

I like the Mustad 9175 6/0 Short Shank Live bait. I believe it is the one with the straight point. I think they hook up better than the one with the curved point....

Of course they need sharpening...

Yep....:uhuh:

I agree decksweeper


a couple of nights you loaned a leader or two to me..... :thanks: those vmc's are great hooks...

Same here. They're still your best bang for the buck at about 10-12 cents per hook if you buy them by the 100 count.

I've used the same hook, only the 6/0 size, since the inception of time. Never a problem with them. You're right about the rocks though. I carry a bunch of them and frequently check the point. Will discard a few per night from damage, but they are worth the investment. People somtimes forget that the most important part of your tackle is the hook.

I fish Circles... Partner doesn't. He hangs on bottom more frequently than I do, both fishing eels. There's more variables than just the hooks. Just thought I'd mention it.

6/0 mustad 94150

You guys have got to try circles... you'll miss a few fish in the beginning but once you get the hang of it... they just don't come unbuttoned. 7/0 gami circles I buy them by the 100

Been there done that.... no sir, the J hooks in the application I use are far superrior.. I gave them(circles) a full season, tried differnt sizes, styles and brands... 30- 40 hours a week, May -October .. the circles just didnt cut it eeling.. but for livelining Macks or chunkin... theres no equal, circles rule.... might just be the application... never hurts to try different things....

dave

did the circle thing

hook up rate the same

I just like setting up on a fish and crossing her eyes :humpty:

Thats the one

JimS..
Best part of eeling is bowing to the cow and rearing back...
wouldn't trade that for anything!

5/0 Gami or Owner octopus hooks.

Me too. Plus, I don't want to have to stop and think about how to set a hook at 3 AM.

And they still hardly even come unbuttoned with J-hooks, when there's an eel attached to one.

Gamu LB HD 5/0-7/0 depending on size of eels. Bent more than a few of the Gamu Octopus with just mono.

I use the gami live baits 6/0 or 7/0 depending where.

I once preferd thin wire , chemically sharp hooks like the Lazersharp. As I get older , I seem to use bigger and bigger hooks. Currently I like big 8/0 Mustads. i suppose someday I'll be sharpening boat anchors! :)

Gami= To thin...Mustad 94150 6/0 Live bait short shank, best bang for the buck...awesome eel hook, need to sharpen. Circle hooks(AKA "SISSY" Hooks) suck IMO ....Takes the fun out of it for me, I like letting them run and then rearing back with a solid hook set..letting a fish hook themselves takes all the fun out of it...another 21st century way of doing things..screw that Cross there eyeballs! Using circle hooks is like Hunting with rubber bullets:btu: I never ever hang on the Bottom, if thats going on then there is a problem with the way one is fishing, has nothing to do with circle hooks, I have been using the same hook for 20 some odd years and dont "hang" bottom with it.......

...just a note from the "old days" on the Cape. The "sharpies" from NY and RI use to fish rigged eels almost exclusively in July. They would rig with 12/0 Siwash. Yep, 12/0. When you set, you knew you had a real fish.

Gami Live Bait 6/0

Dave,

I tried the circles in 5/0, 6/0, 7/0 gami's size fished BI for years with them thats all we used (boat). Just prefer not to use circles :huh: I get the corner of the lip pretty well, no auto pilot necessary :laugha:

Dude wait til you hook up with a fish where that gap in the circle barely goes over the lip so it can rock and set into place like its designed to.. you'll stop using them as well :think:

I been useing the Gami 18416 6/0, a live heavy bait hook. One of the things I look for in an eel hook is the barb, a good barb will save you alot of eels in the course of a season...I noticed a significant difference since switching over from octopus style hooks.