Circle Hooks

[DZ]

I'm hearing a lot from some very well known captains that the circles have not been working as well as the theorized. Could be that normally most accomplished anglers hit fish fairly quickly while using J-hooks. With circles they're told to just let fish run until your line tightens, then lift. This may add much more time for the bass to swallow baits then these anglers would normally wait.

[JFigliuolo]

I'm having EXCELLENT success with circles and live pogies. That is ZERO gut hooks. That's because I have hooked EXACTLY ZERO fish. No idea what I am doing wrong. With eels i use circles exclusively and have excellent success....

[wdmso]

I honestly feel bass choke down a pogie faster than an eel or or small Mak but Personally dont let them run with the pogie no line leaves my Spool I fell the knock . and lift the rod .. if you hook behind the back dorsal and can free swim them gut hooking is reduced ,, but anything tru the nose or 3 waying them gets tough

[bloocrab]

I honestly feel bass choke down a pogie faster than an eel or small Mak

I don't agree...actually just the opposite, I would think a small bait gets inhaled and swallowed fairly quickly...a big old pogy needs to squeeze through the esophagus opening, that must take some additional time/, there are still some sharp barbs on that pogy that the bass needs to reckon with, carefully>IMO

I let her run a little, ...too many dropped pogies to keep things locked down. Too many years trying too many methods...I'm all for learning new stuff, but I like to catch and not just go fishing.
Pains me to see them gut-hooked like that though...these fish were well above the slot, so fighting fish that large with the hook embedded in the throat can't be good, the minute I saw the leader vanish into the abyss, the line got cut, and it took no time at all to revive and get splashed in the face with water. What happens after that is out of my control.
By using a "J" hook, I'd set quicker and possibly get the hook out of harms way faster than allowing it to reach those depths, but again JMO -