Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
The first time I ever used circle hooks was down in the Florida Keys back in the late 1980's. Tarpon were the quarry and if you know anything at all about those fish you're probably keen to the fact that they have a very large, hard and bony mouth that's tough enough to get a hook to stick into - let alone stay-put during what is often a long fight highlighted by a lot of jumps, head shakes, runs and double-backs. Getting a tarpon to bite was enough of a challenge, but even though we'd sharpen our hooks to perfection, not pulling the hook within the first 30-seconds was always the greatest challenge.
Then I started hearing that some guys were using what folks were calling "Japanese long-line hooks" that were designed to latch over the jaw and not be thrown so easily, particularly when there is slack in the line. I had to search around a bit to find a tackle shop that carried the unique hook, but even when I did I was not quite sold on the prospect of using what the guy in the store called a "circle hook."
With a full circle, a point projecting inward, and what appeared to be an unusually small gap between the point and the shank, I just couldn't see how in the world a fish could be hooked on such a creation. More than a couple times I asked the guy behind the counter to confirm that these were indeed the same hooks that folks were using to catch tarpon. Upon his insistence that they were the right hook and, despite their awkward appearance, they would catch fish, I bought a half dozen. Fortunately, before I left the store the clerk offered two bits of advice; "You'll want to leave the hook as exposed as possible, so don't clump the bait up all over it. And when you get a bite - don't set the hook".
The next morning I was anchored up under the old Seven-Mile Bridge, drifting live pinfish and mullet back in the current and waiting for a tarpon to bite. Not quite ready to put all my eggs in one basket, I only had circle hooks on two lines. The other two had the more traditional live bait J-hooks. When the morning was over the score was one mutton snapper and two jumped-off tarpon on the J-hooks and one (caught) tarpon, a blacktip and a big grouper landed on the circle hooks. While I still didn't quite understand how the fish were getting hooked, I was certainly impressed enough by their performance that, since that day, circle hooks have been the only thing I've used when tarpon fishing with bait.
In the same way that circle hooks helped tarpon fishermen down south, fishermen here in the mid-Atlantic, and up in the northeast, have reaped the benefits of using circles rather than J-hooks when chunking for tuna. In fact, the use of circle hooks is so prevalent in the tuna chunking fishery that today you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t use them. Likewise, anglers have found out how deadly effective circle hooks are when properly rigged in natural baits trolled for billfish or floated back for sharks.
Of course by now, we all know that the effectiveness of circle hooks and the advantages of using them is not reserved only for jumbo-size fish. With the old "Japanese longline hook" now available in just about any size you could ask for, anglers are effectively using them in both fresh and saltwater for even the smallest of fish. I know that for a lot of anglers this is not new information. You've probably been using circle hooks for a while now and are quite aware of their effectiveness. But, like most fishing products or techniques, there are some general guidelines that anglers should try to follow that will help ensure that the hooks work to their fullest potential.
Everyone is familiar with Rule #1 that tells us "don't set the hook," and we know the reason for this is because circle hooks are not designed to impale the fish by a sharp jab, but simply to lock onto the fish's jaw as it slips out of the mouth. A sharp jab could pluck the bait and hook right out of the mouth. The mechanics of how a circle hook works is that when a fish takes the bait and begins to feel an increasing pull from the line it will usually turn and swim away from the angler. With the fish swimming away, pressure from the drag pulls the leader along the corner of the fish's mouth from the inside of the mouth (or even the stomach) to the opening of the jaw. The leader can then make the u-turn from inside the mouth, around the jaw and back past the gill - but the hook can't. As the eye of the hook passes over the jaw the hook naturally rotates the gap of the hook into the corner of the fish's mouth where the point finds a place to imbed - and the fish is hooked!
With all that in mind we should see that there's a little more to getting the most out of circle hooks than just following Rule #1. For one thing, the fact that the hook needs to rotate in the fish's mouth to properly lock over the jaw should be an indicator that a free-swinging hook on line or leader will outperform one that's rigidly tied, such as one that's snelled or tied with a clinch or Palomar knot. Some sort of loop-knot might not always be the best knot for the job, but I always try to use them when I can.
Since the hooking process works best when the fish is moving away, in situations where anglers are able to actually observe a fish take a bait, they should not attempt to come tight on the fish until seeing that it has turned and is pointed away from them or they could pull the hook right out of its mouth. This situation is not uncommon for anglers who fish for sharks or troll for billfish.
While braided line offers anglers a lot of advantages over monofilament, including increased sensitivity, thin diameter and abrasion resistance, because circle hooks ease their way into the corner of a fish's mouth rather then being snatched in place in the way that a j-hook is, braid provides no real advantage when it comes to setting the hook. In fact, because of the stretch factor of monofilament, I actually prefer using monofilament over braid when using circle hooks.
We've all spent a lot of time dragging files or stones over our hooks to get them as sharp as possible so that we don't miss the right fish for the wrong reason. While I still like to have hooks that are "sticky" sharp at the point, because of the way a circle hook holds on to a fish primarily by latching over the jaw, I've found that it's not as critical to have a cutting edge on the blade part of the larger hooks. Once the tip of the hook finds a place in the jaw it will work it's way deeper into place without having to cut its way through.
The options and designs of circle hooks these days are endless. There is still not much uniformity in sizes or design from one manufacturer to the other and some hooks are labeled as being circle hooks, but besides a little bit of an inward bend at the point, they don't look much different from a standard j-hook. When buying hooks I'll rarely pay much attention to what the packaging says, opting instead to just look at the hooks themselves until I find ones that have the features and dimensions that fit the type of fishing I'll be using them for. One thing to watch for, however, is whether circle hooks are "offset" or "non-offset". Non-offset hooks are flat (barb is in-line with shaft) and offset hooks have a bend in them that allow the hook a greater chance of deep hooking a fish that swallows the bait. Since deep-hooking a fish is a "bad thing", anglers should never use offset circle hooks. Fortunately, the offset can be easily bent "out" of a hook with a pair of pliers.
Finally, if there is one design problem with circle hooks it's that they are so effective at holding their place in the corner of the mouth that sometimes anglers have trouble removing it from the fish when it's time to do so. We know that with a j-hook it is usually a simple matter of pushing the hook in the opposite direction of the point, but circle hooks are best removed by using a pair of pliers to "rotate" the hook out. Smashing down the barb will help anglers unhook fish more easily without affecting the ability of the hook to hold onto the fish during the fight.
Whether by choice or by regulation, nowadays anglers are using circle hooks more than ever, and within each new fishery that they're used it always takes a little time for anglers to figure the best way to rig and fish them before they become enthusiastically embraced by the majority of fishermen.
Capt. Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
