05-23-2011, 03:55 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Hook type and hook sizes are really a matter of personal preference...and what you have been told and what you have done best with in the past.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I usually carry several types and sizes...and change them out depending on the size and type of bait I am using...and according to the size fish I expect to catch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A lot of folks like circle hooks. I don't. I use mostly Eagle Claw #84 ring eye hooks in sizes 4 through about 1/0. Bigger hooks won't spook the fish but smaller hooks catch just as many...even the big ones. I have caught plenty of fish over 10 pounds on size 4 hooks...and most of the cats I catch are hooked right in the corner of the mouth.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A big part of successful hookups is in how you hook your bait and how you set the hook. I always hook my baits (minnows or carp meat) just well enough to hold the bait on the hook...but I always leave the point of the hook well exposed. I let the fish run a bit on an open bail and then I close the bail and let the light COME TIGHT before I try to set the hook. This works just like a circle hook. It pulls the bait up into the fish's mouth and into the corner...against the pull of the line. Then, a good sharp WHAM and you are bendo. I don't miss many hooksets and I seldom lose a fish once hooked. And, as stated, a very high percentage of the fish I hook are hooked in the corner of the mouth.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also occasionally use "octopus" style hooks...with the beak points and "up eye". If you tie them on your line right (snell knot) you get a good line of pull and solid hooksets. If you just tie directly to the offset eye you will miss more hooksets and lose more fish because you don't get the best connection.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Lots of folks have their own pet hooks and I would be the last one in the world to suggest that they change. If it ain't broke don't hook it...or however that goes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I usually carry several types and sizes...and change them out depending on the size and type of bait I am using...and according to the size fish I expect to catch.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]A lot of folks like circle hooks. I don't. I use mostly Eagle Claw #84 ring eye hooks in sizes 4 through about 1/0. Bigger hooks won't spook the fish but smaller hooks catch just as many...even the big ones. I have caught plenty of fish over 10 pounds on size 4 hooks...and most of the cats I catch are hooked right in the corner of the mouth.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]A big part of successful hookups is in how you hook your bait and how you set the hook. I always hook my baits (minnows or carp meat) just well enough to hold the bait on the hook...but I always leave the point of the hook well exposed. I let the fish run a bit on an open bail and then I close the bail and let the light COME TIGHT before I try to set the hook. This works just like a circle hook. It pulls the bait up into the fish's mouth and into the corner...against the pull of the line. Then, a good sharp WHAM and you are bendo. I don't miss many hooksets and I seldom lose a fish once hooked. And, as stated, a very high percentage of the fish I hook are hooked in the corner of the mouth.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I also occasionally use "octopus" style hooks...with the beak points and "up eye". If you tie them on your line right (snell knot) you get a good line of pull and solid hooksets. If you just tie directly to the offset eye you will miss more hooksets and lose more fish because you don't get the best connection.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Lots of folks have their own pet hooks and I would be the last one in the world to suggest that they change. If it ain't broke don't hook it...or however that goes.[/#0000ff]
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