Starting to Believe in Circle Hooks Again

[Mr Special]

Last weekend while out channel cating. I had my rod rigged with the usual 1/0 Eagle Wide gap and my buds rod with a 2/0 circle hook. Needless to say he landed more fish "like 5/1" and had about a 90% hook up ratio.

So now I'm convinced that they do work and work very well. So my ??? is what size hook do most of you guys use? The cats mainly are from #3-#6, but chances of 10+ aren't uncommon. My bait is usually about 3/4"x 1.5" strips of fillet or 1" chunks?

Thanks

[Fisher Dave]

Depending on the brand of hook.. your looking at something around 1/0-4/0.. circles vary greatly by manufacturer.

I like circles too with cut bait.. live bait is a bit *iffy*.. I have had my good days and bad, but am no longer using them on live because I cant find them to fit my needs.

[Mr Special]

I was using the Mustad LightWire series 39951BL with no offset in a 2/0. Pick them up at GM. I've also used the Gamakatsu Octo Circle #G208. Those two styles seem to have a pretty wide gap and I hear that really helps.

My dilemma now is I only have one rod with a softer action. All my other rods are MH FTip or Heavy FTip. I think that might be why I've had trouble in the past also.

I guess that would give me another reason to buy new rods.

Thanks Again

[hanson]

I've been using Gamakatsu Octopus Circle Hooks in 3/0. I've got some smaller and some bigger but I seam to like the 3/0 for getting a good piece of cut bait on. Good piece meaning a 1" to 1-1/2" wide fillet of goldeye or even a 1" steak of goldeye.

I've been getting a lot of nibblers with this setup that I can't connect with. Could possibly be small sheepies or small kitties even.

Besides the nibblers, the hookup percentage has been pretty good. Unfortunately, if they take it too long, I have been getting a few hooked deeper than I'd like. Sounds weird with the circles but it has happened on a few. Most of the time, its corner of the mouth though.

[Dennis Steele]

I like a little larger hook. I use mostly Gammy Octopus or Nautilis circles in the 4/0 and 6/0 sizes. I'll only move down to a 2/0 if I am sure most the fish are the pound and halfers.

I'll move up to an 8/0 when using bigger hunks of meat.

A slow action rod is a must for circles. They just don't work well on a stiff rod.

Line is another factor on how well a circle hook works. If your using braided or superline you need a real slow loading rod.

Mono is probably the best line for circle hooks. The stretch really helps the circle hook do its job. I hate using mono but do have a few spools ready to go when I start missing fish.

As for those "peckers"....

If you missed a fish it most likely wasn't worth catching!

[Mr Special]

I'm still not sure if I'm ready to give up that hookset yet. But watching my bud pull in fish, while I get ready to land them isn't fun either.

Again thanks everyone