04-19-2019, 10:58 PM
The first circle hooks were designed for commercial fishing. Back in the 1980s when my family started commercial halibut fishing, we used your typical "J" hook, however it would often foul hook a sub legal sized halibut down in the gullet and kill the fish when trying to unhook it. The circle hook was designed to only hook the fish when it came out of the gullet and would then curl around the lip of the fish.
Catch rates increased quite a bit and the number of foul hooked sub legal fish dramatically went down.
An octopus hook is NOT a circle hook. It is simply a short shank "J" hook with the tip slightly facing towards the shank and generally has an eye bent away from the hook. A circle hook has a tip that points toward the shank and a straight shank and eye and the hook should not hook the fish until it twist around the lip of the fish as it begins to exit the mouth. In most cases it will self hook the fish and does not require a "hook set" when the fish bites. In most cases it will hook the fish in the lower jaw in the same place 90% of the time.
When I started working for a halibut charter operation out of Homer, Alaska in the 1990s we instructed the fishermen NOT to set the hook. The hook sets itself and drives in under tension.
Mustad makes large circle hooks and you can find them in sizes from 4/0 and up. We use 8/0 for halibut. Eagle claw makes a nice circle hook for smaller game fish and I like the 1/0 and 2/0 L197 CIRCLE SEA HOOK for cat fishing. Sharp and effective. Plus you can make a nice set line with them. They come is size 6,1, 0 and 1/0 to 8/0. I looked on Eagle Claw online and there is a L702 CIRCLE SEA HOOK down to size 14.
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Catch rates increased quite a bit and the number of foul hooked sub legal fish dramatically went down.
An octopus hook is NOT a circle hook. It is simply a short shank "J" hook with the tip slightly facing towards the shank and generally has an eye bent away from the hook. A circle hook has a tip that points toward the shank and a straight shank and eye and the hook should not hook the fish until it twist around the lip of the fish as it begins to exit the mouth. In most cases it will self hook the fish and does not require a "hook set" when the fish bites. In most cases it will hook the fish in the lower jaw in the same place 90% of the time.
When I started working for a halibut charter operation out of Homer, Alaska in the 1990s we instructed the fishermen NOT to set the hook. The hook sets itself and drives in under tension.
Mustad makes large circle hooks and you can find them in sizes from 4/0 and up. We use 8/0 for halibut. Eagle claw makes a nice circle hook for smaller game fish and I like the 1/0 and 2/0 L197 CIRCLE SEA HOOK for cat fishing. Sharp and effective. Plus you can make a nice set line with them. They come is size 6,1, 0 and 1/0 to 8/0. I looked on Eagle Claw online and there is a L702 CIRCLE SEA HOOK down to size 14.
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