Circle Hooks

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JAA

Re: Circle Hooks

Post by JAA »

QM1s are snecked and it might be better to 'straighten' them to removed the sneck for grayling.

In general, when grayling are hooked and lost it's because they taken have the bait by coming sideways at it and are so hooked in side of the mouth which is the soft bit.

It pay to fish off the bottom so the fish has to rise at the bait and then you tend to hook it (firmly) in the top of the mouth. By the same token, strike upwards, no sideways and use a floating line. This is from Reg Righyni's great book (p68/69) and my experience is that this works and you loose a lot fewer fish.

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Grumpy
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Re: Circle Hooks

Post by Grumpy »

Afternoon Gents,just found this thread and thought I would add my opinion re circle hooks.I have been trialling them for the last couple of winters for Pike.I have had very mixed results with them.When Pike are hooked they are always,except once,in the scissors.very good for Pike welfare etc.The problem I have is timing when to hit the runs.With standard two size eight treble its easy,wind down at the start of the run and normally Pike are hooked in the scissors.With a single size one circle hook placed near the baits tail I give the Pike a bit more time.I find I am missing a lot more runs with this set up.When I retrieve the bait has invariably been gripped across the middle and the hook has been nowhere the the Pikes mouth.Maybe different hook placement is the key.I will carry on experimenting and see how I get on.Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Grumpy.

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Bob Brookes
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Re: Circle Hooks

Post by Bob Brookes »

:Hat: Grumpy,
Try fishing your dead bait on a short hair, leaving it a little longer before tightening up to the pike or zander (no need to strike hard). We are finding that more efficient and there have been no problems with deep hooking, when using a circle hook.
"You do not cease to fish because you get old, you get old because you cease to fish"

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Grumpy
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Re: Circle Hooks

Post by Grumpy »

Hi Bob,
I have thought about using a hair and is one option I will be trying.I believe it all comes down to timing,gauging when the bait is inside the Pikes mouth.I never "strike" runs I wind down until I feel the Pike then "lean" into them.As no doubt you are aware,this is much better than an over the shoulder wallop!
This is hardly traditional talk is it?Very useful though.
Grumpy.

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Olly
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Re: Circle Hooks

Post by Olly »

I too 'wind' the hooks in. But not circle ones.

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Tengisgol
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Re: Circle Hooks

Post by Tengisgol »

Fish safety trumps traditional.
Where the willows meet the water...

https://sites.google.com/site/tengisgol/

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Grumpy
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Re: Circle Hooks

Post by Grumpy »

Absolutely. :Hat:

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Phil Arnott
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Re: Circle Hooks

Post by Phil Arnott »

I've used Mustad 39951NP-BN Fine Demon Perfect Circle Hooks for quite some time now and can recommend them.

Always use in-line circle hooks. Do not make the mistake of using off-set circle hooks as they will deep hook and are impossible to remove. They have been made illegal in many places in America.

The bait should be hung off the bend of the hook or hair-rigged so the gape of the hook is not impeded.

With pike there is always a problem with the fish holding the bait crosswise before turning and swallowing head first. I'm not in favour of using a Pennel system as I have found fish starving to death after breaking the line and having the Pennel stuck across their throat. Also if the fish takes the bait down instantly or without moving off, removing two hooks can be very problematic and bad for the fish. 99% of the time I lip-hooked the bait on a single no. 10 semi-barbless treble and gave the fish a little time to turn it. Over the years I've only had to leave hooks in three fish which took deeply, one of which went from 21lb to 23lb before being captured again and was very healthy. The small treble appears to do little harm unlike a large hook which can pass through the stomach wall and injure a vital organ.

Using circle hooks you should lip-hook the bait and give time for the fish to turn the bait and start to swallow it before tightening to the fish and letting it run away from you. Up to now I've only used used circle hooks for catching bass and have not deep-hooked any fish. I'm confident they would prove excellent for pike.

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Tizer
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Re: Circle Hooks

Post by Tizer »

I had my best winter season since moving down here 8 years ago and I have not got a treble hook in my bag ,I will never go back to trebles,(in my opinion they should be in the same bin as the gaff and gag) I hair rig my deadbait on and can unhook most of the pike with my fingers,If I do not want a photo or to weigh the pike ,it doe's not even come out of the water,I just lift it half out of the water and get the hook out with my fingers,how good is that for the pike ? I timed myself once when I landed a pike..out of the water,into my pike cradle(thats another story) unhooked..weighed..photo of this side then a photo of the other side and back in the water..1 min 20 secs....I see people who even after 5 mins they still have not got their trebles out of the mouth,makes my blood boil

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Grumpy
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Re: Circle Hooks

Post by Grumpy »

Some good replies here Gents,keep 'em coming!

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