circle hooks?

[Tiny Tin]

what's the best brand of circle hook to buy? when i look for them they seem good around the 2/0 size but when you get around 5/0+ they are way too thick for me..almost twice the diameter of normal hooks.. the gape is also very small..which makes them awkward to put through some baits..like pillies. to be honest i've used them on a two hook rig with a circle on the top and a normal pattern hook into the gut/side of the fish. the thickness of them puts me off the larger sizes.

[nadders]

hey mate,

mustad demons are thin guage circle hooks, my 130cm threadie was hooked on a single 7/0

personally i stay away from rigging big baits with circles now i've dropped a bunch of big fish somehow, like 10-15 seconds of drag pulling then ping hooks out of the mouth somehow :\ i still think they are great for rigging a small/medium livebait that only requires 1 hook though

[dhess]

Personally I use gamakatsu octopus circles. I use two 6/0's or 7/0's snelled (pillies, yakkas, garfish, myllet squid etc.) and I very rarely miss hookup fishing deeper water with braid. the keys is not to strike but to tension up the line gradually and the braid and the circle hooks do the rest.

The gamakatsu's and the mustad demon's aren't like traditional game fishing or long lining circles. They are a lot lighter guage and have an offset point. I can't see myself going back to a regular J pattern.

The same rig has worked equally well in the river for me.

[toadfish78]

Hi All,

I agree with dhess let the hook do the work there is no need to strike with these hooks they do the work for you. They are a great hook to use.

Matt

:cheer:

[nadders]

have never struck with circles, i just find that if its a large bait i miss alot of hookups, i seem to come up tight and have the fish hooked well enough to be taking drag reasonably for 30 seconds or more and then ping weight gone

never have the same problem using smaller baits and smaller circles, i just think that the big size of circles and them needing to be properly inside the mouth makes big baits (im talking like whole butterflied tailor or decent size mullet) a bit hit and miss

who knows maybe im just unlucky but when it comes to large baits in the future im no longer using circles, just going to put big regular hooks and hit em hard!

[Tiny Tin]

thanks guys, i have seen some circle hooks..mustad i think..that are kinda like a lonkshank circle..can't remember the name of em.they have em upstairs in tacklewarehouse. the gape is slightly larger. i might have to have a go at the 6/0 and 7/0 dhess has suggested. i watched fishing trip a while ago (the guys mental..'stop the bus'??) they had a couple of blokes fishing for snaps. they used circle hooks..let the fish run then gently lifted the rod and wound in the line until the rod tip bent into the fish..that was it. thanks guys i'll give them a go.

[dhess]

Thats pretty much exactly the way I fish for snaps. I just let them take it for a bit then tension up the drag on the lever drag on an overhead reel and I'm on.