Circle Hooks?

[Guest Jeremie]

Im looking to tie up some flies for the pinks that are running up the campbell and i'm not sure whether i should tie them on circle hooks or not! I want to know before a waste hours at the vise and then hooking up with 1 fish instead of 10. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Jeremie

[reevesr1]

Depends on how the hook enters their mouth. Circle hooks are designed to hinge on the jaw and rotate into place by the steady application of tension, not by a traditional hook set. They are fantastic live bait hooks for fishermen wishing to minimize hook damage, virtually eliminate gut hooked fish, and hence be able to release a fish caught with bait unharmed. I don't know anything about fishing for pinks, but if they are not holding the fly in their mouth for awhile, I have a hard time seeing circle hooks working.

 

That said, the Moffit system seems to be designed "snag" a fish in a single hook, multi-fly system.

 

How are pinks fished for?

[Guest Jeremie]

Well you swing a pink or chartreuse colour fly across the bottom and the fish aren't actually feeding but if the brightly coloured fly is in their faces then they will simply "taste it" is what we call it. They mouth the fly and when you feel a slight drag you set the hook. That being said when the fish are in thick you snag a lot in the back, tail, fins etc.. So they aren't actually feeding its basically putting the fly in the fishes mouth.

[reevesr1]

Well, my bet would be that the amount of snagging would drop very significantly, particularly in fleshy areas like the back. Might still snag some in the fins as the hook could have something to rotate into. Hookup in the mouth would drop as well. Circle hooks are used if you want to eliminate hooking a fish deep. They don't, IMHO, ever increase hookup rate. My dad used to say-if you are fishing for fun use a circle hook. If you are fishing for food, don't.

 

 

[maxwell]

i know of a few friends now who are tying there steelie and salmong flies on circle hooks.. so they dotn hook madd amount of chums/ pinks/ coho etc in teh back tail or werever.. the trick is not too set the hook but let it tighten up whioe u8 are swinging the fly then when u got good weight too strike down and towards the bank... hopefully a few who have big doing this will explain further.. but form what i recall that is the trick!

[Ricinus]

I've never used circle hooks, but I hear they significantly cut down on foul hooking-- so much so that I believe they are mandatory for salmon fishing in California. If you tie some up let us know what you think. Maxwell's tip on a delayed strike is the part that takes getting used too.

 

Regards Mike

[reevesr1]

I always found it was best to not set the hook at all. Tightening rotates the hook into place. Once it is there, setting is unnecessary. I've caught many sharks using this method and their mouths are pretty tough.

 

But there is a difference. With most saltwater fish, they are always roaming. So once they pick up the bait or lure they will be moving. When moving away, circle hooks are awesome. When moving towards you, much more of a challenge. With salmon, they probably are not moving much at all. The current on the line would create some tension after pickup on the swing, but probably not enough. so you may want to sweep the rod slowly to set. Not a hookset in the traditional sense. On the dangle, hmm. I would think sweep as well, but my bet is the hookup ratio will suffer more than on the swing.

 

It will take work to overcome your instinct to strike. I've watched lots of people struggle with circle hooks at first, but once you figure it out they can be great.

[Wolfie]

Im looking to tie up some flies for the pinks that are running up the campbell and i'm not sure whether i should tie them on circle hooks or not! I want to know before a waste hours at the vise and then hooking up with 1 fish instead of 10. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Jeremie

 

hi there....it's been a while since i fished the pinks on the Island , however, i take it that this is the "odd" year for them..the most productive year, am i right?...anyway the fly that we used was a simple as one can get..made with a very bright FL. Chartreuse, if not that Hot Pink..chenille..BUT..my colour that gave me 45 pinks, was neither one of the colours used by my friends...it was made with : "Hollywood Cerise"..[note the image], just a single wrap from the head to the bend of the streamer hook....that's it nothing fancy..short strips , and in most cases it didn't get a chance to move no more than 3-5', before it was smashed.........Wolfie

 

 

[Guest Jeremie]

On the campbell they get over 1 million pinks every year, I've been fishing the river for the past 4 years and i've noticed that we snag a lot of fish so i know what to use but im wondering if tying them on circle hooks will put an end to snagging the fish. I'm pretty sure max answered my question, and yes i will let you guys know how the circle hooks work.

[maxwell]

i know it works dude and i think u will be laughin! my buddy al mentioned this lastyear fishing for chums out with a guide and he said all his fish were mouth hooked!

[kipper]

I tie some flies for a friend on the island who fishes for Chum and he specifically asks for them to be tied on circle hooks.

[Guest Jeremie]

Alright then, do i set the hook normally or do i let the line tighten out and the set it downstream?

[SilverDoctor]

Alright then, do i set the hook normally or do i let the line tighten out and the set it downstream?

 

Just let it tighten up like rickr said. That's your best bet. I fished the coast for many years and that's you best bet. Still tie a lot of flies on circle hooks in the winter for guys going after Chum.

 

[alhuger]

Im looking to tie up some flies for the pinks that are running up the campbell and i'm not sure whether i should tie them on circle hooks or not! I want to know before a waste hours at the vise and then hooking up with 1 fish instead of 10. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Jeremie

 

Hey Jeremie,

 

If you tie on circles you are going to take far more fish in the mouth than by snagging them. I have fished them several times now for salmon and it's been *stunning* the difference you see. I learned it from Todd Scharf and it's treated me well for fishing water that's choked with salmon. It's good for rainbow fishing in tight quarters with salmon filled water as well.

 

al

[nebc]

Hey Jeremie,

 

If you tie on circles you are going to take far more fish in the mouth than by snagging them. I have fished them several times now for salmon and it's been *stunning* the difference you see. I learned it from Todd Scharf and it's treated me well for fishing water that's choked with salmon. It's good for rainbow fishing in tight quarters with salmon filled water as well.

 

al

 

I am curious as to the brand, size and source for these, of circle hooks that one might use for chironomid fishing.

 

For example I found only a few size 12 and 14 from Eagle with straight eyes...model L702 I think. Available at Cabelas.

[maxwell]

why would u wabnt too use these for chironomids?

[dryfly]

I tied a few pike flies using large circle hooks. Someone said, "...they significantly cut down on foul hooking" I'd rephrase that and say, "... they significantly cut down on hooking." They may have a place for salmon and other species, but when I used them the pike would not get hooked. I tried setting hooking "normally." Tried waiting and setting. Tried lifting. Nothing worked. So as rickr noted, there are conditions in which they may not work. They did not seem to work for pike and smaller pike (where deep hooking is a problem) tend to hit from behind as rickr noted, "When moving towards you, much more of a challenge."

 

Good luck.

[nebc]

why would u wabnt too use these for chironomids?

 

thought after reading this thread that I might try it this fall on several lakes. Many times the take is soft but this year in deeper water (64 feet) the takes by big rainbow were violent and several were not hooked. Thought trying these may help although I was using size 14 hooks with a decent gap already. (Tiemco 2487)

[Ricinus]

I read a post by the N.A Rep for Mustad, who said that not all circle hooks are suitable for fly tying. Circle hooks are designed for bait fishing and most have a long point and narrow gap that doesn't work well for tying flies. His recommendations in the Mustad line are:

 

39951 BLN

C51S BLN

C71S SS

 

Regards Mike

[Guest Jeremie]

couldn't hook a damn one with them. But we caught lots more on normal hooks! Sorry if this doesn't help anyone.