Lets Talk Circle Hooks

[adam5016]

yes, I know - that's a mustad 14/0 in the barbel's mouth. Don't ask me how, but it happened.

As for even the smallest fish - I've caught strepies with 3/0 hooks and rarely miss them. Took the same 3/0 circles to the river the other day and caught some freshwater catfish between 1 - 7kg with no fish missed.

have to agree to the above though - haven't hooked a single elf with them

 

[morbus]

ive caught elf on a circle.
though im going to/want to try your theory out
im going to langebaan the weekend

im also going to try the tight drag thing -
i always fish with a loose drag . .
whats the idea behind tight drag?
my idea with loose is: let the fish mouth the bait fully then add pressure.
what if the drag is tight, the fish pulls on the bait before properly mouthing the hook - then he gets spooked because theres pressure on "drifting" food . . .

 

[NateBroedeletPE]

boepens wrote:

Hey chaps I say circles all the way especially when sliding I use 12/0 z steel on smaller baits only one hook at a time and I use 13/0 eagle claws which I open to pretty much the same as a 18/0 for my bigger baits . U have to learn how and when to apply fast hard pressure to bed a circle and please guys squash ur barbs u don't need them I just this weekend past tried 6/0 circles on live mullet in a river and had a almost 100 percent hookup rate

Just watch out for the z steel... we have opened a couple of those already on raggies..

Other than that I really do enjoy my circles! Wont be going back to J hooks any time soon..

 

[Arrie D]

Its on the 12/0 Z steel that I have lost the fish I mention above ! Will never use them again !!

 

[Trophy]

Hiya Guys,

I dont hook my circles into any bait and use wire ties (zip straps) on all my rigs. This allows the biat to be totally free and I recon it assists the action of the circle hook?

Regarding Mustad Z-Steel...I just love the hook, but they are quite thin guage compared to other brands. I have also had a few bend open when all I used was them. I know Angus had the same problem recently. The other problem is that they are to small?

 

[Marthin]

Morbus I feel the circle needs constant pressure to really set. As soon as it bends ur rod fully, the fish is hooked in the corner of the mouth. Too little pressure from a slack line or too loose drag and the circle doesn't set properly. In my opinion of course.

I fish 10pound braid for stump off the boat. Because its so direct and u only fishing 30m out, I fish a light action bass rod. If u are fishing mono there is more stretch so u can use a medium action rod. Remember I'm not saying turn ur drag so tight the line can't move. Just so tight that ur rod has to bend properly before the line comes out of the reel.

 

[morbus]

I see what you're saying
set it high enough to set itself - rather than having to set it myself?

what i do is leave it light and tighten up during the run.
Im gona try you're method though - maybe i like it better
thanks boet

 

[DJP]

I used the 15/0 and 14/0 Tuna circles this weekend for the first time and hooked a decent Spotted gully and my Pb rag on them, opened them up a bit and removed the barb, filed the point sharp as I could. Thanks for the hooking tips.

For smaller eds I use the VMC sport circles, but at R4-R5 a hook they were a bit harsh so I found some circles that cost me R52 for 25 and are very strong, problem is only one supplier in CT so I'm afraid with there monopoly they will up the price if it becomes to popular.

J hooks still have there place but if I can, I will fish circles.

 

 

[PatrickC]

I've a love hate relationship with circles, some days and some species i just never miss a fish on them and other days just can't hook one.
For me the best circle is the VMC sport circle just wish I could find bigger than 10/0! They are heavy gauge and extremely sharp.
I've seen the z-steels opening on smooth hounds so tend to stay away from those. The smaller VMC circle also work well for ed's.
Regarding the tight drag topic, I've found what works best for me is to fish rod in hand and when you feel the pick up dip the rod and let the fish take up the slack as it moves away onto a tight drag... seems to work well. Usually give it a few bumps after that just to make sure.

 

[Mannie]

Marthin wrote:

Morbus I feel the circle needs constant pressure to really set. As soon as it bends ur rod fully, the fish is hooked in the corner of the mouth. Too little pressure from a slack line or too loose drag and the circle doesn't set properly. In my opinion of course.

 

@Marthin, I think it depends on the size of the bait you put out. If it's a biiiiiig bait then the drag mustn't be too tight, the fish needs to be able to swim with it as it's eating (talking bout raggies now).  Too tight a drag and the fish will drop your bait (this will probably count for edibles as well, unless the fish can take the whole bait with one bite).

@Arrie D - I only use cricles for shark fishing and I've had quite a lot of success (no real drops or hooks pulling), and will be moving to circles for edibles as well now during winter (will still use my J-hooks that I've got but as soon as they done, HELLO CIRCLES). Will only use J-hooks for cracker and maybe elf.

Just my 2c

 

[aquadementia]

the only way...

 

[cracker jack.]

the 12/0 z steel opens but the 11/0 seldom opens due to its smaller size being a bit stronger! 1 tip from me is take the nylon coating off your steel because it hooks into the sharks teeth which doesnt allow the hook to set properly

 

[morbus]

i know that circle Aqua
i like that circle!!
and thats a beast tarpon!

i think thats it mannie
it is with bigger baits that i let them run - as i said before - to fully mouth the bait
but with stumps (smaller, 1 bite baits) i fished rod in hand and tight drag.

 

[Shuffles]

I started using them a few years ago for a very particular application given that I wanted to ensure release. I still use j-hooks for much of my fishing. I would be interested to see some pictures of hook sets on circles and whether the 'scissors' theory holds true in the experience of others on sealine. In my experience it has done the majority of the time. Although I do remember Lushwill hooking a nice cob in the tongue with a pretty small circle. Nothing like a picture to explain!

 

[adam5016]

Shuffles wrote:

I started using them a few years ago for a very particular application given that I wanted to ensure release. I still use j-hooks for much of my fishing. I would be interested to see some pictures of hook sets on circles and whether the 'scissors' theory holds true in the experience of others on sealine. In my experience it has done the majority of the time. Although I do remember Lushwill hooking a nice cob in the tongue with a pretty small circle. Nothing like a picture to explain!

will be interesting to see. something that i have noticed is that when targeting smaller species (reef fish) my hookups with circles are usually in the middle of the bottom jaw. I have no idea why that is, maybe the hooks, but i'd say at least 75% are hooked this way.

 

[boepens]

@ adam the reason ure hooking the eds in the bottom jaw is when they pic up the bait the weight of ur sinker pulls the hook down into the bottom jaw and then u set the hook .
I haven't had a problem with the z steels yet ,I think if ur hook doesent set properly that's when u have problems ,all my hookups have been in the scissors exept one in the tongue

 

[kopstamp]

how is this for a hook set?

 

[Arrie D]

Brett - would you mind explaining the wire ties ( zip straps)

 

[boepens]

Circle hook on cable ties like so , the foam is the bait not really the bait but an example

 

[kopstamp]

I want to go fishing right now...