CIRCLE HOOKS - The great debate may be over

You've read it before and this will likely not be the last time... Circle Hooks are here to stay! Three years ago my grandson was still quite young and like other kids, he is sometimes asleep at the rail. When Fluke fishing he held the record for gut hooking short Fluke. That's how Gavin became the first to test them. On our first trip equipped with 2/0 Gamakatsu inline circle hooks he caught 6 Fluke, everyone of them were hooked solidly in the corner of the mouth. What was even better was "Gramps" had only 4 fish that day knowing I missed a couple that were "hanging on", something my patient partner didn't experience. Gavin is now 13 and my first mate, he still uses circle hooks, but now by choice.
Another type of fishing I tried the circle hook on was clamming the sedge banks for Striped Bass. My friend Paul was down and a trip on the boat to Oyster Creek channel was on the itinerary. Paul is not a fisherman, that is to say he had to wear a glove to bait his hook. We both used circle hooks with surf clam. Anchored up awaiting the tide change we had lunch, dead sticking the rods while we ate. Paul's rod doubled over and he caught the biggest fish of his life a 29" Bass. Paul carries the picture in his wallet. We proceeded to catch 7 Bass that day mostly taking turns with all fish perfectly hooked. The only fish we lost was one that I just couldn't resist setting the hook on and I pulled it out of the fishes mouth clam and all.
Surf fishing with circle hooks? Of course! My grandson Gavin had already proven they work on the surf two years ago. He has caught and released dozens of various fish but it took me until this past fall to commit myself to using only circle hooks. The first couple of trips resulted in lost fish on about 50% of the strikes. It quickly became apparent that using the sand spike, with the drag set as not to lose a rod, would help me resist the temptation to set the hook and I began to develop some patience and catch fish. After trying a few different set-ups I opted for an 8/0 octopus inline circle hook tied to 125# leader, yeah that's right 125, attaching the sinker on a fish finder. I caught a decent number of fish that way. I listed the pros and cons of my own little experiment. Pros; Properly fished, I hooked more fish. All were hooked cleanly in the jaw. I did not "gut hook" any fish. I didn't use wire for bluefish because of the 125# test leader. Although the largest was only 13 pounds, Bluefish did not bite me off. These fish were hooked in the corner of the mouth keeping those sharp teeth away from the leader. Catching over 25 Bluefish that way made the method made a definite impression on me. I caught a fair number of Striped Bass also, so I don't think the heavy leader was detected by the fish. (if Bluefish were not around I would probably use 60# test leader) And lastly, I did not hook myself when tying rigs. Con's; It is difficult to hook a large bunker chunk. Larger circle hooks will facilitate baiting with bunker if you like to use truly large chunks. I've got to stopp setting that hook and let the fish do the work.
Don't get me wrong, I've heard all the arguments and I too love the feeling of "setting up" on a big one using a baited J-hook. You know when you "stick 'em" and they peel off 50 yards. But the reality is, circle hooks work by reducing mortality, catching more fish and they're here to stay. Try them this year you will not be disappointed if used correctly. And guess what, if you hook a big one, when she's hooked, and knows it, she'll still peel off 50 yards. If you couldn't tell by now I'm sold on circle hooks. Try them you just might like them too.

The following has been reprinted from our friends at the Jersey Coast Anglers Association www.jcaa.org

"The most effective way to hook a fish with a circle hook is not to raise the rod in a quick motion, more or less to reel and lift at the same time. If you do the typical hook set, you will pull the hook out of the fish’s mouth. The fish grabs the baited hook and starts to swim away. The line tightens slowly and usually pulls the hook out of the throat and to the corner of the mouth, where the point rotates and pierces the jaw hinge or check. Once the fish is hooked, it cannot escape. According to manufacturers, advantages of the circle hook design include: increased catch rate, higher lip hook rate, which greatly reduces mortality; ease of use because the fish hooks itself; and less snagging in certain bottom fishing applications. Remember, avoid the typical hook setting practice.
There has been a lot of study on the use of circle hooks so let me fill you in on some of the results. The Lukakovic test listed 97% hooked in the jaw with 1% mortality. J-hooks resulted in an 83% mouth hooking and a mortality of 9%. A study done by Caruso showed the same 97% jaw hooked and a mortality of 3% with circle style hooks, compared to only 60% jaw hooked and a mortality of 16% with J-hooks. Both these tests were conducted on Striped Bass. Does this mean that a conservative 10% mortality with J-hooks affects even the catch and release fisherman? You be the judge. Those are the numbers. Studies done on Pelagic species are even more dramatic with C-hooks 94% mouth hooked to only 62% for J-hooks. And the mortality is 4% vs. a frightening 28%."