Circle hooks- offset vs non offset

Started by rscotth, October 02, 2012, 11:20:31 PM

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rscotth

I've used both and have intentionally bought offset thinking these would equal more hook ups. I'm an "east coaster" and typically live bait fish and occasionally strip bait. It could be purely coincidental but I seem to "hook up" more often with the non offset than with the offset.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? What do you guys prefer and for what type of bait............

RSH

Makule

Have preferred offset from a very long time back.  Better number of hook-ups, and not only in the corner of the mouth.
I used to be in a constant state of improvement.  Now I'm in a constant state of renovation.

Keta

Kerbed hooks tend to hook better but they also hook in places you don't want them to, like gills.  I prefer unkerbed C hooks over kerbed ones except when fishing 400-700 feet deep for halibut.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

saltydog

When I used to commercial fish we never did anything to our circles.And even fishing on rod and reel I still don't,the key is let the fish hook themselves,anything you do can mess up the hookseting in the fishes mouth.Constant pressure and reel,that should be it,the pressure should do the rest.Although there are some fish I have found that circles just don't do a good job,thats when you should break out the J's and just try not to gut hook.
Remember...."The soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he
must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war!" Douglas
MacArthur

rscotth

ok- right on guys....... I still have a hard time "not setting a hook" when the action gets going.

Keta

"Setting" C hooks causes most of the problems people have with them.  I usualy "set" a J hook like a C hook and it works well.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

alantani

send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

johndtuttle

The idea behind "offset" or "kerbed" hooks is to make it easier to get on your bait. When I am in "catch and kill" mode and want to get a live bait on easily then I go offset except with big fish and big baits. This way if you get a hook set in the gills you are ok with it.

With big fish though you don't want the hook to set anywhere but the corner of the jaw or you get pulled hooks or chew offs in long fights.

Of course, you have to be in zen mode to get circles to work best (or brain dead works for me :)).

ShoreKasterHI

I've heard that offset circle hooks will up your hookup ratio (mentioned above by makule) as to regular circle hooks you will have misses but when you are hooked up with regular circle hooks you will most likely never have the fish spit the hook.

saltydog

The key with any circle hook is to not set the hook.The fish will do that themselves.Thats why it works great on some fish but not on others,if they chew and spit like Snook you better break out the J's but it is the ones that gulp and run that are most often caught on circle hooks.A tuna doesn't swim up and stop to mouth a bait,it inhales and leaves always on the run,a Snook on the other hand will mouth a bait sometimes for minutes before it decides to eat and then it just sits there,cuss,cuss,cuss!And if you have ever fished for Sheepshead those nibblers are hardly ever caught on any type of circle hook,j hooks only.Each type of fishing is different.
Remember...."The soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he
must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war!" Douglas
MacArthur

Dominick

Leave the gun.  Take the cannolis.

There are two things I don't like about fishing.  Getting up early in the morning and boats.  The rest of it is fun.

Alto Mare

Yes, I agree with Saltydog, it depends on the type of fishing. Circle hooks are the only hooks you're allowed to use on the Chesapeake, during the early spring Stripers run, when catch and release is in place. Unless you undersize quite a bit. I use circle hooks exclusively for stripers and blues, maybe that's why Dom gets more than me :-\
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

saltydog

I fish for freshwater stripers that can go anywhere from 3 to 40 pounds and we use circle hooks,put it in the rod holder and wait till it doubles up.We hook our shad through the nostrels,alot of people use circles that are way to big,on those striper we use 5/0 to 7/0 and a 5 to 9 inch shad or 4 to 7 inch bluegill.Heck I even use the same size hooks to fish for Reds and sharks on the beach with a nose hooked mullet or pinfish.
Remember...."The soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he
must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war!" Douglas
MacArthur

SoCalAngler

#13
Offset makes hooking live bait easier. I have not noticed any hook up ratio difference between the two.

Here is something I wrote on another board and it has some things that are discussed in this thread.

When to swing on a fish?

For me it is never. Let me explain this a bit. It started out of necessity for me, you see on most trips on public or private boats I usually bring several setups to fish. I was a huge fan of circle hooks for some of the different species of fish I was targeting or their size and still am but in a much more lesser extent now. On trips I may have something like two 15 lb, two 20 lb, two 30 lb and two 40 lb setups ect. all for fishing bait. On different setups I would a lot of the time tie on a J hook and others circle hooks depending on the type of fish I was looking to hook or their size. For me the more desirable, in my mind, bigger fish targeted or ones intended for release I used the circles on and the smaller less desirable or fish I kept for eating got the J hooks. Well as you can imagine in the heat of battle certain setups may need to be retied, I may want to switch to larger or smaller setups or I just grab the closest rod and sling out a bait. This is where it all began for me around ten years ago.

I'm betting you can start to see my dilemma can't you? I throw out a nice fresh lively bait, I'm picked up, line is ripping off my reel and it is time to set the hook and I think, oh crap which hook did I tie onto this setup? This is the precise moment in my fishing life I stopped swinging on fish. The reason really is in the critical moments where I had a split decision on what to do, I, well froze a bit and opted for the lesser of two evils and just engaged my reel and hoped for the best. By doing this on different trips and targeting different fish I noticed my hook up rates did not change but there was a big difference on where I hooked the fish.

With circle hooks it was the same as it should be but with J hooks I noticed a much better hook placement right in the corner of the fishes mouth as well. Very rarely do I hook a fish in the vital areas such as the stomach or gills and release if chosen gives the fish a much better survival rate when not hooked is these areas. Also this allows me to use lighter lines when targeting fish with J hooks because I do not get as much abrasion from the fishes mouth or gill plate. As we all know lighter lines can and almost always do result in better hookup rates but not always better landing rates but as you also know you cant land a fish if your not bit. Also for the most part J hooks are smaller and less heavy than circles in the same size allowing the bait to swim much better. Yes I know each hook is different depending on manufacturer, style and strength but as a rule of thumb a J hook will be smaller and lighter than it's equivalent in a circle.

I use the technique of not setting the hook when fishing bait, surface and yoyo iron and with soft plastics I do not use hard plastics except for trolling so need to hook set the hook there. I just wind through the bite.

From Calico's to Cabrilla, Mackerel to Marlin and Sand Bass to Snook I no longer set the hook. Give it a shot it may work for you also.

Keta

Quote from: SoCalAngler on October 03, 2012, 05:26:48 AM
From Calico's to Cabrilla, Mackerel to Marlin and Sand Bass to Snook I no longer set the hook. Give it a shot it may work for you also.

X2 

The J hooks I prefer for live bait have a slightly turned point. 
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain