Using Circle Hooks in Saltwater fishing

[flatzie]

Be interested to hear different people experiences with Circle Hooks in different applications.
Eg does anyone use them on whiting? Or deep water fishing for Coral trout or Sweetlip? How about Reds?
I have been using them with good success on Snapper. Just let them take it and its amazing how often they end up in the corner of the mouth.
Bream anyone?
And how has it changed your approach Ie. have you need to adjust your response to bites, or do some of you still strike to hook fish?
If a number of people respond to this it would be interesting for all I'm sure, to see how many different applications these unique hooks are proving to be a successful hook/
Cheers
Flatzie

[onerabbit]

G'day Flatzie,

The only hooks i use are Big Gun,
& while not being a true circle hook, they work on the same principle.

I live in Ballina, & only fish in water 60-250 mtrs.

Fishing in 60-100 mtrs, I still strike, the fish dont always just hook themselves,
but once we get to the deep, the strike is very different..

In 250 mtrs we can still feel bites, but the strike is 6 winds of the reel,
then lift your rod tip high & see if you have weight,

if you have weight your rod tip will nearly touch the water,
swear words are often heard at this point, hehehe.

When we catch cod they are nearly always hooked in the jaw.

Hope this helps,

Muzz

[netmaker]

hi flatzie,
am a big fan of the circles for snaps. bloke on strikezone last week was catching king george whiting on em.
cheers
davo

[onerabbit]

Must have only got you by seconds netmaker, check the time.

Muzz

[charlie09]

Hey flatzie i use size 1/0 long shank for whiting and circle for bream and snapper.

Cheers

[nigelr]

Circles for the reef and bream and I have used them successfully drifting with worms for whiting.

[goat boy]

Use 'em for Bream. Also gang 2 5/0 or 6/0s up with a swivel for Tailor, which also works on the Bream.

[jag078]

I use them on the reef fishing for Reds,Trout,Red Throut etc. I don't stike at all using braid in 40-50m of water. I use a black magic KL hook for the pilchards and the circle hook for the squid.

Brett.

[Sevric]

4/o to 6/o Circles in 15m of water for Snapper in conjunction with long leaders, braid and moderate taper rods left unattended, only watched in rod holders that sit the rods at about the 10 o'clock position. The hookup rate is excellent; mostly hooked in the corner of the mouth. We use either a snooded rig or single dependent on the bait being used at the time.

[flatzie]

Thanks all for the feedback, good to hear! Especially interested re the trout, and reef fishing, as the norm is to fish with rod in hand and to strike hard to hook fish.
keep it coming!
Cheers
Flatzie

[tropicrows]

I used no 4 circles the last time I was out whiting fishing. Most fish hooked in the mouth, and non gut hooked, only problem they are pain to put the small squid strips on. Or is it that I should wear my glasses.

[jag078]

Flatzie,
When i say strike i mean that you wait until the fish has hooked itself then you go hard. Some people strike as soon as they feel a bite to hook it and usually ends up being smaller fish. You will find the larger fish will barge in to take the baits and this is what you wait for.

[spelchek]

Yeah - I found the hardest part about switching to circles is repressing that primeval urge to 'strike' on the bite. Once you get used to letting them hook themselves, they are fantastic! I owuldn't use anything else on the reefs now.

Whiting/bream - I still use the standard long shank as I use yabbies or prawns as bait and find the long shanks better for bait presentation.

[NormC]

I use Circle Hooks for most fishing these days. Gamakatsu Octopus are my most common hooks. Main reason is to maximize safe fish release.
I carry and use sizes 8/0 (barra live baiting) around 6/0 for Golden Snapper, Jacks etc, down to 4/0 for bream. For reef fishing for Sweetlip, Coral Trout, Tusk Fish and the like, I generally use around 5/0.
Yes there is a process of adapting (resisting the urge to strike early), but worth while in my view. I get about 80% mouth hooked and generally able to release without damage.

Have not used them for Whiting, but I suspect the principal would be the same, just smaller hooks.

Norm C

[flatzie]

Good feedback here, seems the issue of not striking is the challenge people need to adjust to. In shallow water its easier as you can just place the rod in the holder.
I just boufht some circle hooks on Ebay from tackledirect168 in Australia, I got size 6, very strong hooks and chemically sharpened, and they are at a very good price compared to the name brands which give you a small packet at quite a premium price. I also find that many times in local stores the size I wanted was out of stock.
Check them out, 100 hooks for $9.90. Anyone else tried them?
What about rigs?
I have been using two hooks as I like to put out a big bait, so I use the snelling system which enables me to have a very strong and well laid out rig.
Cheers
Flatzie

[marto78]

10/0 VMC circles are good for reds IMO I dont realy use them for anything else as they are a pain in the butt to put a bait on.

[jag078]

Yeah mate brought the same hooks and think they are great and half the price. I use 2 hooks also but have one loose and one tied off on each paternoster unless floating a big bait down when i snell them.

Bigger Baits = Bigger Fish !!!

[cruise_ control]

Just had a great reef session recently out of Gladstone using circles. We got a good mix of Red Throat, Reds and Trout. All fish except one were all hooked in the corner of the mouth. We were trying the new Z-Steel Mustad circles and a few others on the boat used KL Black Magics. Both were great.

[trueblue]

hi flatzie,
am a big fan of the circles for snaps. bloke on strikezone last week was catching king george whiting on em.
cheers
davo

I saw that episode as well - what were those hooks? was that a longer shanked type of circle?

[flatzie]

Thanks all good feedback here
Cheers
Flatzie

[oldboot]

One realy good thing is fishing circles ya don't snag nearly as much...I was off for a wade a few years ago and got snagged twice in 3 casts..changed to a kahle and fished the same ground with not a snag the remains of the session...that convinced me.

The wide circle hooks you saw may be a Kahle...not a new hook been round over a century, invented by the nordic types...available in a full range of sizes from tiny.
Most hook manufacturers have em.

The other thing I find, is a get better results on small fish, completly burying the hook in the bait..ya wont the fish to swallow and swim away....the hook comes up and bingo in the corner of the mouth.
ANd use a smaller hook than you think.

cheers

[tenzing]

Dont know if its actually beneficial, but for livies I snell a circle for the front hook thru thenose and use an octopus fot the gorsal hook as its easier to insert.
Cheers
Brendan

[Sevric]

[QUOTE=oldboot;1297009]One realy good thing is fishing circles ya don't snag nearly as much...I was off for a wade a few years ago and got snagged twice in 3 casts..changed to a kahle and fished the same ground with not a snag the remains of the session...that convinced me.

Great thoughts there Oldboot about not getting snagged. I had never thought about hook pattern from that angle before and you are perhaps very correct. My wife always hooks up on the bottom while i only do this from time to time. I had always put it down to her lack of ability (i had to write this bit while she was at work). I run circles while she uses a standard octopus styled hooks as she has never overcome the mindset to strike at a fish. I leave my rods in the rod holder with the circles and she holds hers and strikes. She still catches her fair share of fish but seems to be forever hooking the bottom. Great thought, i will be watching and keeping a silent score on this in the future, thanks.

[Coodgee]

interesting discussion about "striking". Do some people give the rod a good sharp pull as soon as they feel hits? Whatever the hook I use I always wait for the fish to "take" the bait. and by that I mean, waiting until there is constant weight/pull on the line for a second or two. This is alot different from the "tap, tap, tap" that often preceeds a "take". Then after a second or two of the constant weight I pull the rod up and start the lift and wind.

Do people really give the rod a solid jerk as soon as feel taps? Does this work?

I almost always go by the rule that a decent fish will take a bait and swim without having to hook it while it nibbles away at the bait - ie, big fish don't nibble.