Circle hooks

[JackK]

The ME thread got me thinking about my experiences with circle hooks.

I don't use them often- Just prefer the Gami Octopus or Live Bait HD's. But for about a month this past season I tried using the Gami Octopus Circle hooks exclusively for fishing eels. I caught about a dozen fish (nothing huge, largest ~15-20 lb) and ALL of them were gut-hooked on the circles (6/0)!

This kinda discouraged me... I did the supposed "normal" technique... Get the hit, drop the rod tip, wait for some of the slack to move out, and slowly reel in with the rod pointed at the fish, then slowly raise the tip... Consistent gut hooks. I couldn't believe it. When I went back to my Live Baits, I found that a quicker, traditional, cross-their-eyes set ended up with ~90% of fish hooked in the mouth.

So what could the problem be? Obviously something's off with my technique... But I'm not sure where to remedy it. I'm all for using them, and have seen them be incredibly effective in offshore fisheries. Just not sure where I'm going wrong on this one.

[RIJIMMY]

You shouldnt have waited to feel the slack move out. Once you feel the tap, point the rod towards the eel, raise the tip and reel in until you feel the hookset.
I think you waited to long. Bass dont chew their food they swallow fast.

[RIROCKHOUND]

I agree with both posts.

Used properly, I pretty rarely gut hook a bass on an eel with a 7/0 live bait hook (Gami's are too rich for my blood though)

I use circles on eels at outflows (RIJ knows where and has been there when I've used them) where some slack might exist in the line, and have no problem hooking fish into the mid 30's on eels there with 8/0 circles), like RIJ said, you're just waiting too long.

[The Dad Fisherman]

I've used them...not a big fan of them. I may start using them in the Yak more though. My thought process being that "Swinging for the Fences" in a Yak will probably get me more wet than anything else.

[mackerel hunter]

Sometimes if its very windy and the water is real turbulent they do not work as intended. At least that has been my experience sometimes. Overall though have worked majority of times!

[Rob Rockcrawler]

If im fishing the canal or a b-way, someplace where i am drifting eels i much prefer a circle hook, but when i am casting and retreiving i prefer a live bait hook. I did use the Gami Nautilus circle hooks last year in both the canal and the surf. One was given to me. It worked great in both places till i lost it. I bought some this off season and plan on using them more often. It seems like a good mix between a cirlce and "J" hook. I set the hook similar to a "J" hook and had success, corner mouth, no gut hooks, not many missed strikes.

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

You shouldnt have waited to feel the slack move out. Once you feel the tap, point the rod towards the eel, raise the tip and reel in until you feel the hookset.
I think you waited to long. Bass dont chew their food they swallow fast.

What he said. ^ I only started really using them last year, but I hooked every fish in the corner of the mouth. My hookup ratio was excellent, too. I only lost a couple of fish and that was due to me either not expecting the hit, or because I was a little too jumpy and tried to set the hook rather than let it set itself. There was also a stretch of a about 3 days last season where I picked up some nice fish and every one of them hit like a freight train and was hooked instantly. I never even had to drop the rod tip.