Circle hooks, How and Why.

[Tommo]

When fishing with bait, live or dead, one of the most effective methods is using a circle hook. These hooks ensure a good hookset, and also enable fish to be released in good shape after the fight. Circle hooks are ideal for any fish that will eat a whole bait, which includes all of the predatory species.

How Circle Hooks Work:

Circle hooks look odd, with the point facing inwards, and for this reason many people are not that keen to try them out. They are designed to hook fish on the way out of the mouth, after the bait has been swallowed, and line tension pulls the hook back out of the mouth from the throat of the fish. The in bent point prevents the hook from hooking the fish in the throat, gills or stomach, but swivels into place and penetrates the fishes jaw as it exits the mouth.

Choosing the right circle hook:

Using the correct circle hook for the job is the first step. I recommend a circle hook that has its point in line with the shank of the hook, as opposed to offset. Also the hook should be strong while being made from a light gauge wire, ensuring  good penetration. The best hooks for the job in my opinion are the VMC Tournament Circle hooks in size 4/0. Others that will also do the job well are Gamakatsu Nautilus circle hooks while Eagle Claw, Mustad and Owner all make good hooks as well, as long as they fit in with the above criteria.

Rigging Circle Hooks:

The best way to rig a circle hook, is to snell the leader or trace onto the hook shank. This can be done with Nylon coated or carbon coated wire, as well as uncoated knottable wire or mono leader, fluorocarbon etc. Piano wire is not ideal for use on circle hooks.  The best way to join the hook to the wire is by snelling it on, with the trace coming into the eye of the hook from the point side.


It is best to use quite a long trace for circle hook fishing, so make the length of the leader at least 50cm long.

Baiting circle hooks:

The important thing when baiting a circle hook is to not choke the gape of the hook. For this reason you want the bait to simply hang off the hook, leaving the hook gape open. Live bait can simply be hooked through the top lip and out between the nostrils, while fillets and dead bait should be hooked on similarly, so that the bait hangs from the hook. While this does not look pretty, it is effective. The pic below shows a piece of squid baited on a circle hook. A fish fillet can be put on the same way.


Another option for rigging livebait is to attach a small J-Hook to the circle hook, using soft wire and hook the livebait with the small hook, as illustrated in the pic below:

 
How to use the circle hook:
The two most important points when using circle hooks are firstly to allow the fish to swallow the bait before attempting to set the hook. The hook and bait need to have been swallowed for it to work. The second important point is not to strike at all, but to allow the line to tighten and the hook to be pulled into place by the line tightening. Striking will most often simply pull the hook and bait out of the fish's mouth, while a gradual tightening of the line will allow the hook to swivel into place naturally. Once the line is tight, and the fish is on, then you can further set the hook by giving the rod a couple of firm nods.

Therefore, once the bait has been picked up by a fish, you should allow it sufficient time to eat the bait properly while the reel is giving line freely. Once you decide that the bait has been swallowed, then tighten up and only give a couple of firm nods to the rod once the line is properly tight and the fish is pulling hard on the other end. Simple!

By using circle hooks you will seldom gut hook, or throat hook fish, and the chances of your fish surviving the experience is so much better than using any other method of bait fishing. Also, because the hook will not set in the guts, you can allow it to feed a bit longer before deciding to set the hook without concern that it is going to be hooked to deep. This cuts out some of the anxiety of striking too soon which can happen when fishing with conventional J-hooks and not wanting to kill the fish.

[Skaap Tjop]

 :shre:

[Kumz]

  ... Awesome stuff ...  Tommo .... 

[krissi]

Thanks Tommo - very well written and explained; my biggest problem with using circle hooks is that it requires a whole mind-set change and old habits are hard to break, especially not striking.  I am keen to try it and will do so at our next compo.

[BETTYS]

Hi Tommo,nice one.
 
One question,when using circel hooks, must you go bigger or smaller than than the normal J hook. Say when using a 6/0 J hook what size circle will I use ?
 
Thanks
 

[REEFMAN]

Tommo, what "soft wire" do you use to attach the small J-hook to the circle, and what knots? Is this Piano wire with a Haywire twist?

[deezynking]

 :shre:

[SAfish]

Super post, Tommo!  I only use circles when fishing with live bait and have yet to get a badly hooked fish. They also make releasing fish a breeze. I only lost 1 fish on a circle but it was my own fault. We had a double up on Kob and I was assisting my Dad with his fish. His Kob was bigger than mine and I did not keep my line tight. I didn't mind loosing my fish, the look on my Dad's face when he landed his 6.9kg Kob was a big enough reward.

[Tommo]

Thanks guys.
 
Reefz, Any soft wire will do, copper wire or a light galvanised wire. I find piano wire too stiff. Simply wrap the soft wire around the circle hook shank 3 times, then put it through the eye of the small J-hook, bend it into a small U shape, and wrap it 3 times around the circle hook shank again on the other side of the hook, as in the pic. There is very little strain on the small hook, as it is just a bait holder, so it doesn't have to be a super strong connection.
 
BETTYS; That's a tricky question as all circle hook manufacturers seem to have completely different size ratings. A 4/0 VMC is totally different to a 4/0 Mustad for example. The thing is that the gape (distance between the point and shank) must be wide enough to fit around the scissors part of the jaw of the fish that you are targeting. You can go pretty small such as 2/0 VMC(if you can find them) for species such as blacktail, galjoen, bronze bream etc. 4/0 VMC is good for fish up to around 10kg. The hooks don't have to be huge at all, as long as they can accomodate the jawbone in the gape.
 
Bruce Mann and his team of research guys use circle hooks with the barbs squashed flat when on tagging trips. They are very effective. When you get a fish that is pecking, such as a blacktail youcan just tighten up by reeling in a little bit of line. If the fish has the bait in his mouth he will get hooked. If not you are not pulling the bait away from him like when you strike and he will keep biting. In fact slowly retrieving the bait once you are getting knocks often stimulates the fish to grab the bait properly. The instinct to strike is always there, but if you keep reminding yourself, you can overcome it and it is a nice challenge to try something new. 

[WJ]

Tomma last week I got 3 pic ups with big baits(sharks). I set the hook, the fish were taking line....and off. Why?
I was using 13/0 Mustad Z-Steel.
Btw respect for a well written and informative post.

[Tommo]

Hi WJ, it could be a number of reasons. Perhaps your bait blocked the gape of the hook? It is unusual for a circle hook to pull on a shark, normally they are vas first time. The good thing about using circles for sharks is that there is almost no pressure on your trace, as he is hooked in the scissors and your trace is outside his mouth. I have landed quite a few big sharks on nylon traces using circle hooks. My worry about the Z-Steel hooks is that they are very corrosion resistant, so if you get a break off that hook is stuck in the fish's mouth for a long, long time, a bit like using stainless steel hooks.
 
Are you just using the one hook, and is the gape well clear of bait?

[WJ]

I only use one hook when fishing with circles(do not see the point of 2).
I attach the hook either with dacron or with Piano wire to the bait. If it is a head bait I just put the hook through the nose of the bait.
What other circle will you suggest I use? The general fish targeted are big rag bags and black tips. I only now made the shift to circles so I am open to suggestions.

[Tommo]

Ok good, just checking, some guys use two hooks and that makes no sense. Sometimes when the bait is off the hook a bit, such as with dacron, it can turn into the bait, which blocks the gape. A good idea is to get some plastic tubing like they use with fishtank pumps and slip that over the dacron to give the rig some stiffness and keep the hook from swiveling into the bait. It sounds like you are doing the right thing though, so it is puzzling that you are losing fish. As long as the hook gape is completely open you should be nailing it.
The VMC circle hooks are made from materials that are very strong, but will rust away with time if left in the fish's jaw. I have done well with VMC hooks, so can recommend them. 

[adam]

Tomma last week I got 3 pic ups with big baits(sharks). I set the hook, the fish were taking line....and off. Why?
I was using 13/0 Mustad Z-Steel.
Btw respect for a well written and informative post.

What type of trace wire were you using?  Especially with rags, some types of wire gets stuck in their teeth (thickly coated wire) and the hook never sets. 


And a second question that might sound stupid - did your sinker break off?  Around here the rags eat sinkers for some reason.


Wait a bit longer to tighten up with circles.  If the fish is 150m+ out on nylon topshot, don't be afraid to strike with a circle.  The stretch negates this and I get better hookups this way.  Tighten up and give it a couple of hard knocks.

[WJ]

Thanks Tommo and Adam, will put it to use. Hehehe hopefully I have photos to show after the weekend. @ adam...I use industrial steel 1.5mm(non-coated). The thing is hook was set, and then just off(3 times in a row). I came out with everything(hook and sinker). Maybe it was just a case of "skelm" raggies.
Revenge is on the cards for this weekend. Again thanks tommo

[riaandl]

Tomma last week I got 3 pic ups with big baits(sharks). I set the hook, the fish were taking line....and off. Why?
I was using 13/0 Mustad Z-Steel.
Btw respect for a well written and informative post.

What type of trace wire were you using?  Especially with rags, some types of wire gets stuck in their teeth (thickly coated wire) and the hook never sets. 


And a second question that might sound stupid - did your sinker break off?  Around here the rags eat sinkers for some reason.


Wait a bit longer to tighten up with circles.  If the fish is 150m+ out on nylon topshot, don't be afraid to strike with a circle.  The stretch negates this and I get better hookups this way.  Tighten up and give it a couple of hard knocks.

I don't kown what you put on your circles but you might try a hook next time, LOL Adam you had more pickups on sinkers than you hooked them

[adam]

Haha.  Thinking of putting a hook on the sinker too

WJ - did the bait come out as well?  Sounds as if the hooks never set, just the fish hanging on to the bait.  Try to rig the bait so that the hook has more free movement.

[WJ]

That maybe the case, but the bait didn't come out. I don't know, I am gonna try saturday again and see what happens.
I have had an awful spell of bad luck for 2 months now, I think it is time that my luck turns.

[Moolies]

Hi Tommo,

Firstly great artical. I was reading RS&D last night about small edibles with circles.
I normally use prawn and white mussel for bait. Preferred target Cape White stump-nose.
How would bait up with that? Is it the same as mentioned?
If you have any more illustrations or step by step methods would really be informative.

Thanks

[Half-Pint]

Awesome article Tommo I have really been trying to make a switch to circles for R&S and I'd like to put a few questions over. I know sliding baits is a bit different to offshore fishing with circles but as someone with more hook ups on circle than anyone else I know I'm sure you can help!

1) Do you think it matters whether the hook points up from the baits nose? I'm so used to rigging baits with hooks pointing either up or down having it across the bait seems strange to me I normally put a cable tie through the hard part of the baits nose which keeps the gape clear and the mouth closed.

2) A lot of anglers rig up a trace with circle on the top and a j hook on the bottom. The idea being that smaller fish like your small greys etc will eat the softer flesh and be hooked on the J hook while your bigger fish will eat the entire bait and be hooked on the circle. In my own disfunctional brain this seems counter productive. We go to the lengths of using snell knots to keep the connection smooth and not interfere and now add a hook designed to hook the first object it bumps into. In fact it seems it could result in more gut hook ups as you need to let the fish eat so the J hook will now be deeper than if you struck as you felt the pull? So any merits to combination traces?

3)Is there any merit to a double circle hook rig?