Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Most anglers are aware that circle hooks usually imbed themselves in the corner of a fish’s jaw rather than its throat or stomach like the standard “J-hook” will often do, so they are much less likely to cause life-threatening injuries to fish that are released. Those who have used circle hooks have likely come to appreciate the fact that, because the jaw area of most fish is comprised of sturdy bone and tissue, once they hook a fish on a circle hook there is less chance that the hook will be thrown or pulled-out during the fight. These attributes make circle hooks a win-win for both fish and fishermen.
But that’s not to say that circle hooks are the best hook for all types of fish or under all fishing conditions. In some cases, the good old “J” will do just fine, such as when fishing with most lures. Imagine a bucktail jig rigged with a circle hook. Considering the way bucktails are typically fished and the species they’re usually tossed at, I’m pretty sure that there wouldn’t be much benefit if circle hooks were worked into the process. We know, however, that ballyhoo rigged on circle hooks is deadly on white marlin. Bottom fishermen have been singing their praises for years and no tuna chunker in their right mind would even think about leaving the dock without an ample supply of these unique hooks.
Over a decade ago, we started using circle hooks for shark fishing and now you couldn’t pay me to use anything else. Since most recreationally caught sharks are released, the conservation benefits alone makes them an ideal tool for shark fishing. But sharkers will find that the advantages of using circle hooks goes far beyond helping minimize post-release mortality of the sharks they turn loose.
Just like in any other fishery, the use of circle hooks for sharks means that anglers no longer need to fish with their reels in free-spool or give the fish a drop-back when it picks up a bait. No-stretch braided line can be used, but it’s no longer needed to assist in the hook-setting because the hook will find it’s way to the corner of the mouth on its own once the line tightens up. Monofilament line works just fine with circle hooks.
Another advantage is that fishermen no longer need to spend a lot of time sharpening their hooks before each trip. Because the holding power of the circle hook is in the way it latches over the corner of the mouth, rather than imbedding deeply into it, a sharp cutting edge is not needed, so other than touching up the point of a hook with a file once in a while, we rarely find a need to sharpen circle hooks. We’ll take a new hook right from the box, smash down the barb, twist it to the leader, stick it in the bait and we’re fishing – it’s that simple! By the way, we take the barb off because we’ve found that the only use for a barb on a circle hook is to help keep the bait from working its way off the hook – which rarely happens. Barbs are not needed to help hold the hook in place during the battle, and they only make it more difficult to remove the hook when the shark has been brought to the boat.
Fishing with circle hooks is just so much simpler and more efficient than the “old way” that I’m always surprised when I meet anglers who haven’t embraced the idea. No more worries about drop-backs, hook-setting or sharpening. All we do is send out our baits, set the reels in strike, wait for the bite, then pick up the rod and start cranking – that’s it. Circle hooks are so good at staying in place that even if there’s a problem during the fight and the fish gets slack in the line there is very little chance that it will throw the hook and get away.
Forget about the conservation benefits, the deadly effectiveness of circle hooks to grab and hold on to a shark should be enough to prompt every angler to use these hooks whenever they’re targeting sharks.
But if anyone out there doesn’t want to take my word for it, they can now read all about it in a study that was just published in the Fishery Bulletin entitled, “A comparison of circle hook and J hook performance in the recreational shark fishery off Maryland.” Designed and administered by Angel Willey and Linda Barker from Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources.
The study began in 2012 and was submitted for publication in 2015. The field work for the study was done aboard my boat, “Fish Finder”, and involved us fishing two “study lines” each day that we would switch back and forth from circle to J-hooks every time we got a shark bite. Every bite was recorded on our data sheet and included information about the size and type of shark, whether or not the bite resulted in a hook-up, if the shark was successfully brought to the boat or if the hook pulled along the way and also where the hook was embedded in the shark. Circle hooks were fished with the reels in gear and when a bite occurred we would just crank the reel until the line was tight and begin the fight with no hook setting involved. J-hooks were fished with the reel in free-spool with just the clicker on and when a bite occurred the hook would be set after a drop-back. All study lines were fished close to the surface, 8 to 15 feet below a float.
Naturally the full report goes into great detail, but a summary of the results shows that in three seasons of fishing, our study lines were bitten 781 times and accounted for 624 sharks of ten different species. Bites on circle hooks resulted in a 91% hooking rate, 88% capture rate with a 3% deep hooking rate. J-hooks had a 75% hooking rate, 68% capture rate and a 6% deep hooking rate. These results demonstrate on paper what we’ve been observing all along, that circle hooks are the best choice for anyone who wants to hook a shark.
With a better chance of hooking the shark, a better chance holding onto the shark once it’s hooked and a better chance that the hook will embed in the jaw, the choice to use circle hooks should be a “no-brainer” for every fisherman!
The full study can be read at the following website - http://fishbull.noaa.gov/1143/willey.pdf
Capt. Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
