Circle hooks- offset vs non offset

[rscotth]

Thanks for the reply's, this turned out to be a pretty good topic (at least for me). Lots of good points and I'm looking at circle hooks a bit different as well. Helps explain why my Snook and Sheephead numbers are down.

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

i hate circle hooks......   

ME TOO,   Dominick

I cant stand em, if it wont for sandtiger sharks i wouldnt use em, talk about swallowin a bait And sheeps, u need a J. I love my 12/0 J hooks, the 14s are better to mess with the tourons on the pier with

[rscotth]

Anymore with all the law changes my "J" hook cache has really shrunk. Seems like they are trying to do away with "J" hooks altogether.
In Florida the "law" says you must use circle hooks when fishing for "reef" species and have venting tools and dehooking devices. Kinda vague since the fish targeted on the reefs can also be found inshore, in the inter-coastal and just about everywhere. I even had the "undercover" FWC asked about circle hooks when they boarded us last month but we were diving for bugs on that trip, but they are checking. I think the most recent change is non stainless circle hooks with natural baits in Atlantic federal waters north of 28°N. It's really getting to be quite a job just being knowledgeable and compliant with the "law of the week" method Florida uses.

[dobrobill]

"i hate circle hooks"

BUMP Me Too

[wallacewt]

laws are bad here in oz also.just had 1.3 million sq miles of marine parks introduced 2 days ago around aust;how they going to stop poachers and police it? me, im going to disregard all the stupid laws. iust abide by the ones i agree with

[josa1]

After having problems with J hooks for a while, such as broken hooks, pulled hooks, straightened hooks, etc. I started using circle hooks.  I've been using Mustad 11/0 and 12/0 circle hooks for long range sardine fishing for the last few years.  I really like them and wouldn't change. I had to look quiet a while to find the "right" hook, and like a lot of things found them right under my nose.  Watching "Junkyard Bob" Michner (Accurate rep & RRIII patron) catch lots of 200+ YFT with no hook problems I just started using what he uses and I've never been sorry.  Like Bob, I do add my own rings to the hooks. It does take a little getting used to just letting the fish set the hook for you but it soon just becomes second nature.  Don't think I've missed many hookups with circle hooks either.  Thinking about that right now makes me want to be on a boat in Cowland!

[day0ne]

Anymore with all the law changes my "J" hook cache has really shrunk. Seems like they are trying to do away with "J" hooks altogether.
In Florida the "law" says you must use circle hooks when fishing for "reef" species and have venting tools and dehooking devices. Kinda vague since the fish targeted on the reefs can also be found inshore, in the inter-coastal and just about everywhere. I even had the "undercover" FWC asked about circle hooks when they boarded us last month but we were diving for bugs on that trip, but they are checking. I think the most recent change is non stainless circle hooks with natural baits in Atlantic federal waters north of 28°N. It's really getting to be quite a job just being knowledgeable and compliant with the "law of the week" method Florida uses.

In the GOM (not Gulf of Maine), non stainless circle hooks are required for reef fish in federal waters. Texas waters require circle hooks on saltwater trot lines (with gap and size restrictions), and red snapper must be taken using a pole and line and a circle hook.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe FL has some restrictions on offset circle hooks.

[Keta]

Watching "Junkyard Bob" Michner (Accurate rep & RRIII patron) catch lots of 200+ YFT with no hook problems

Bob was fun to fish with.

[saltydog]

The reef fish that the laws protect don't have a problem getting on a circle hook,the angler has a problem with setting the hook.I commercial fished for grouper and snapper using handlines and rod and reel and never had a problem with grouper,amberjack,cobia and snapper,you just have to put on a tough bait and when they bite start pulling not jerking.The days of using two day old frozen sardines by the way is over.Put on hunks of fresh caught fish or live pinfish,crabs and you won't have a problem if you DON'T set the hook.
It is just a learned response,and not every fish can be successfully taken with them and that is also part of the plan which everyone is overlooking.I had a fisheries biologist friend of mine tell me once that for every frustrating miss on a circle hook there goes a fish that would have been drug up undersized,vented and thrown back in most times to die.Not all fish vented live.Then again who wants to catsh a 12" snapper on a 10/0 circle hook,I'm lookin for those 20"+ monsters with live whole pinfish or grunts.

[Makule]

At a lot of places in Hawaii, the bottom is primarily reef.  Circle hooks tend to not catch the bottom as much as "J" hooks so that is one reason they are preferred.

[ACDIII]

This was copied from the Florida regulation ending 31 Dec 2012:

Circle Hooks

The rules require fishers on all vessels fishing for reef fish in the Gulf to possess and use non-stainless steel circle hooks when natural baits are used. A circle hook is a fishing hook designed and manufactured so that the point is not offset, but turned perpendicularly back to the shank to form a generally circular or oval shape.

At its June 2010 meeting, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved a management measure that would require persons aboard vessels fishing for reef fish in Atlantic federal waters north of 28° latitude (near Melbourne) to use non-stainless steel circle hooks.  This requirement will be reviewed by NOAA Fisheries Service and is subject to the approval of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.  If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the circle hook requirement for Atlantic federal waters would likely go into effect later this year

[FirePro911]

We use the premade setups from Academy for various reasons. These are the 10.5" Eagle Claw Nylawire Circle Single Hooks 5-Pack. We use the number 4, 5 and 6 hooks. The leader is steel also. The setup is on Abu Garcia's 6000, 6500 c3 and 6600 c4 with 65lb braid on each. We will put an egg sinker on it first, from 1/2 to 3 ounce depending on how strong the tide is. Then add a 8mm red bead and snap swivel. That way we can just change out the leader and hook faster when they are worn out.

The sharks can mess up the leaders a lot, plus the Redfish can kink the leaders. 

The main reason I buy the premade is, I am to lazy and mostly busy to make my own. Also for convenience as we mainly fish the ends of the Galveston Jetties and they keep up from catching bull bottom. Plus we fish two to three times a week a lot and can wear out tackle. So they are cheap and readily available. My tackle box is for whoever fished with me, but others do bring their own tackle sometimes. Plus they do help restock mine.

We have never had any problems with these circle hooks and have a ton of photos and videos to show we continually catch fish with them without a problem. We started using circle hooks years back as we release a lot of fish we catch and they do little damage. I would say 99% of the time the hook the fish up in the corner.

Sometimes they will gut hook a Redfish simply because if the pole is left in the rod holder and the fish hits it, that fish may be lazy and not take off with the bait. It might just hit the bait, sit there and swallow it not knowing itis hooked yet. So once someone realizes a Red is on it, the fish is gut hooked.

We carry The Fishermans Deep Hook Remover and that thing is the bomb. It will remove a gut hooked circle hook in a split second without any further damage to the fish.

Most of the time though we are busting on the Redfish with every cast and releasing a lot of them, so the circle hook does litle damage and unhooks easy. Texas has limits on lengths and quantity on them. They have to be 20" to 28" (called Slot Reds) and only 3 per day per person. So we only keep the ones that go 26" to 28" and if we are doing a tourney, then between 27 1/2" and as close to 28" as we can get.

Most of the time with 3 of us on the boat we can easily catch up to 25 to 30 reds alone in a matter of an hour or two, depending on how good the bite is. So we have never had a problem with circle hooks.

Here is a pic of a number 5 hook and how we hook the shrimp. This is to keep the bait thieves from stealing us blind so fast. lol!


Two firefighters I work with, while one holds his fish for the camera, the other is hooked up.


Me


Another double hook up. If you have an iPhone, check out the FishingScout App. It's pretty cool.


Venting the fish to give it a better survival rate.


A catch and release Black Drum (Big Ugly) a few months back that my wife caught on one of the #4's.


You can see the setup here. Plus see the hook at the upper corner of the mouth.


Kinda went off topic but I just wanted to show how we like to use the circle hook setups. I see it as everything else in fishing, it is all personal preference. I like buying the premade setups with steel leaders from Academy. They come 5 to a package and with as much fishing as we do, it works for us.

Oh yea, they are the offset circle hooks.

[wallacewt]

firepro911
magnificent report.thank you
whats george clooney doin with ya

[FirePro911]

whats george clooney doin with ya

Being a pain as usual! lol!

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

Firepro911, trust me if you would tie your own leaders out of 30 to 50lb mono you would catch more fish, and it would be cheaper