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Advice Circle hooks

Kenny84

Kenny84

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Apologies if this has been covered before, feel free to point me in the direction of the post.

I was reading about the use of circle hooks instead of normal J hooks for a better catch and release experience for the fish (if there is such a thing)

All the blurb seems to suggest you get a better “corner of the mouth” hook up instead of deep hooking and no need to strike the rod.

Has anyone or does anyone solely use circle hooks for fishing from shore?

Any problems with missing bites etc.

I’m tempted to try it out. Fishing 2 identical set ups apart from the hook difference to see.

Cheers in advance
 
I changed to circles about a year ago,To try and reduce the amount of deep hooked whiting,and it's worked! Not noticed any missed bites,and a lot more lip hooked fish,particularly dogfish.i also squash the barbs down,with no problems with lost fish. Give them a go...
 
Most of my metal jigs and lures have circle or octopus hooks fitted these days. I no longer bait fish, but the last couple of years I moved over to circles. You have to get used to not striking, but allow the fish to become hooked and 90+% of the time it’s in the scissors. I’m as you can tell a convert👍
 
some info here
www.talkseafishing.co.uk

Sea Hooks?

Any views on either circle hooks, barbed beak (long & short shanked) Aberdeen etc. I tend to use long shanked barbed beak as it tends to keep the bait (worms etc) more secure.
www.talkseafishing.co.uk www.talkseafishing.co.uk
 
I've been using circles when uptiding in the Thames. They do work well but I found it was important to use a fixed spike lead rather than a breakaway one. Even better use a fixed rig as well rather than a running ledger. Both of these adjustments ensure the fish hooks itself and stopped the missed breakout bites.

They also stop most species getting deep hooked although that doesn't seem to apply to roker. Deep hooked roker on a circle are a bugger to unhook so I always use a J hook when specifically targeting them.
 
Most hooks will catch fish if they are about as long as you have bait on them ;)
 
my option , can work well i de barb them i use them for hounds rays and top hook on pennal hook for cod wind in to the fish , striking can just pull the hook straight out of mouth ,hook rate can be very good as a lot of fish have seemed to pick the top hook first ,
 
Circle hooks work on the principle that after taking the bait, the fish turns away and the hook is pulled into the scissors, the corner of the mouth on a typical round fish. This works reliably only if you use inline circles, ie hooks which are not offset. Unfortunately, not all fish obligingly turn away, and offset circles are just as likely to deep-hook fish as offset J hooks. Rays and flatfish are likely to sit tight and simply swallow the hook, and it is much harder to dislodge a swallowed and embedded circle than a J hook. I experimented with circles for conger but found many came off on the way in. I came to the conclusion that it was because they backed away with the bait rather than turning away and swimming forwards. They were simply not hooked at all. If you do use circle hooks, make sure the reduced gape is not obstructed by the bait and do wind into the fish rather than striking. It is harder to bait up neatly with worm baits, and I think the best use for circles is when a bait such as a mackerel strip is hanging from the bend of the hook and most of the hook is bare. I like circle hooks for turbot and brill, but mainly because the turned-in point is less likely to be damaged by being dragged over stones and gravel. Hope this helps!
 
Plaicehunter said:
Circle hooks work on the principle that after taking the bait, the fish turns away and the hook is pulled into the scissors, the corner of the mouth on a typical round fish. This works reliably only if you use inline circles, ie hooks which are not offset. Unfortunately, not all fish obligingly turn away, and offset circles are just as likely to deep-hook fish as offset J hooks. Rays and flatfish are likely to sit tight and simply swallow the hook, and it is much harder to dislodge a swallowed and embedded circle than a J hook. I experimented with circles for conger but found many came off on the way in. I came to the conclusion that it was because they backed away with the bait rather than turning away and swimming forwards. They were simply not hooked at all. If you do use circle hooks, make sure the reduced gape is not obstructed by the bait and do wind into the fish rather than striking. It is harder to bait up neatly with worm baits, and I think the best use for circles is when a bait such as a mackerel strip is hanging from the bend of the hook and most of the hook is bare. I like circle hooks for turbot and brill, but mainly because the turned-in point is less likely to be damaged by being dragged over stones and gravel. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Yes very helpful thanks, some good points there. Pardon the pun
 
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