Circle Hook ?

[gvg_uwec]

I have never used circle hooks before and after reading so many good things about them here on FM I thought I would give them a try this year.

Okay guys my ? to you is what type of setup and what size circle hooks do you use for:

1) Crappie

2) Walleye

I plan on using them below an icebuster bobber and also deadsticking using no bobber with a rod rocker 2. How do you rig them and what sizes, colors and hooking the minow techniques work best for you.

[Dan Thiem]

I watched my son catch a bunch of perch using a circle hook on a Beaver Dam tip up. It was working for him pretty good too.

[RK]

Hiya -

Circle hooks can be great if used right. I've used Gamakatsu circles but am now getting to prefer the Mustad Ultrapoint 39954BLN, which is an extra fine wire hook.

I use circles below tip-ups more than I do on dead rods. With a dead rod you're usually right there to set the hook but circles can save some fish from being gut-hooked if they're really gulping down a minnow fast when they hit on a tip-up line.

As far as sizes go, generally the same sizes work for standard hooks and circles, so with a larger shiner I'll use a #4 or even a #2, and for smaller fatheads, etc., a #6.

There is a learning curve with circle hooks. You DO NOT set the hook. Just apply steady pressure to get the fish to turn away from the pressure and the hook will slide to the corner of their mouth.

The way circles work can sometimes mean you need to let the fish run a little. Hooking percentages are better when the fish is moving off vs. when they're straight below the hole. Pulling straight up doesn't work all that well. I make some rigging modifications with circles just for that reason. Rather than using a split shot to anchor the rig I use a tiny split shot with a sliding bullet weight (like you'd use for bass fishing) upside-down (pointy end toward the hook) above it. With this rigging a fish can run and if the sinker catches on weeds or on the bottom it'll slide and the fish won't feel any resistance and drop the bait.

It may seem counter-intuative, and it may just be my experience, but it seems to me that circle hooks work better for aggressive fish than for turned-off fish - when talking walleyes anyhow. Aggressive fish will eat the bait faster and are more likely to turn and move off, making hooking percentages better. Neutral fish may just grab a minnow and not move, and when you apply pressure to get them to turn, they'll just drop the thing - does not make for happy times on days when fishing's tough in the first place. Like I said, circles also don't hook all that great when pulled straight up. In situations like that I do far better with weighted Kahle-style anchor jig like a Northland Ghost Grub.

So that's my thoughts. Even at $.02, it's probably still a rip-off

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[EBass]

Circle Hooks are great! Hook the minnow like you normally would, but when you get a hit don't set the hook. Rather start reeling or a slow sweep of the rod then start reeling. They are designed to catch the corner of the mouth.

Size depends on what minnow your using and what fish your going after. It's nice to have a variety of sizes so anything from a lil crappie minnow to a XL shiner on a tip up for pike.

[Troublehook]

Are octopus circles the same thing, or at least basically the same?

[Zdaddy76]

I use them for tip up too. They work great, you just pull up slow and the hook in set. What's great is that if it's cold out you usually don't have to muss with getting a hook out to the fishes gullet while your hands freeze off.

Zdaddy---