Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
With the 31st Annual Ocean City Shark Tournament less than a month away, we’ve been getting a few questions from anglers about some of the new rules that will be in place this year, none the least of which is the requirement that all teams use single, non-offset, circle hooks on all their shark rigs.
The decision to implement this rule was based on the fact that time and testing has proven the circle hook design to be the best tool for both hooking sharks as well as helping to ensure the survival of any that are released. They’re good for the fishermen and they’re good for the fish, requiring their use was pretty much a no-brainer.
However, since many offshore fishermen these days don’t do all that much shark fishing when they’re not actually involved in a tournament, it’s understandable how some are still a bit behind the curve when it comes to updating their shark tackle and techniques. Modern sharking has come a long way from the early days of balloons, chain leaders, and huge J-hooks, but some folks are still spooked by the thought of straying too far from techniques they’ve had success with in the past. It was the same way when circle hooks were introduced into the tuna chunking fishery as it was when anglers were recently required to use them in billfish tournaments. In both cases a lot of anglers “squeaked” at first, but then quickly realized that the hooks not only worked, but actually were more effective than the J-hooks they had used in the past.
I started using circle hooks for sharks 6-7 years ago and, a few thousand sharks later, I wouldn’t switch back to J-hooks for anything. Most anglers are aware that, since circle hooks usually imbed in the corner of a fish’s jaw rather than in its throat or stomach, they are much less likely to cause life-threatening injuries to fish that are released. Since most recreationally caught sharks are released, this benefit alone makes them an ideal tool for shark fishing. But sharkers will find that the benefits of using circle hooks goes far beyond helping minimize post-release mortality.
The thick and fleshy fold of tough skin in the corner of a shark’s mouth makes an ideal location for a circle hook to set and hold with little threat that the hook might pull out while the fish is being fought on the line or wired at the boat. Even if the hook doesn’t latch over the jaw itself, it will grab the outside fold which provides a strong enough hold for the hook.
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 its 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 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 and the fish gets a whole lot of slack line, there is very little chance that it will throw the hook and get away. Why in the world would anyone use any thing else?
I wish I could direct anglers to the best size circle hook, but manufacturers still haven’t come up with any kind of uniform sizing. This means that unless anglers know exactly what size and brand they want, and the particular tackle shop carries what they are looking for, the best they can do is examine all the options in the store until they find a hook that “looks” like it’s what they need. I can say, however, that what we’ve been using for the bigger sharks has been the 16/0 Mustad #39960D. These non-offset hooks are strong enough to handle large sharks on heavy tackle and cost less than a dollar. I’ve heard of anglers spending four or more dollars each for circle hooks to use for sharks. You don’t have to be a poor charter boat captain like me to see that as a huge waste of money and perhaps another reason why some fishermen think they need to stay in the stone-age and use J-hooks for shark fishing.
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
