circle hooks

[john52948]

anybody tried tying using circle hooks, i have a killer pattern i use under the lights for trout and redfish in south texas. the only drawback is the fish take it deep, i usually have to stick my finger done their throat to pop it out. my guess is that one out of ten fish is hooked deep enough that no matter how carefull i am , i am doing him some harm. the fish dont hit it hard, they just ease up on it, swallow it, then ease off . seems like it would be the ideal situation to try a circle hook. for those of you that have gotten this far, the pattern im using is what i call a clown colored clouser, chartrues over pink. seems to be very effective. with it being a clouser pattern im concerned that the barbell eyes may interfer with the circle hooks abitlity to slide up the throat and become lodged in the jaw,

any body with some thoughts or experience.

[ohiotuber]

Go for it! I use large circles for my bunny strips for bass. Some may dislike the short shank, but that hasn't been an issue for me. When I began using them years agop for live bait fishing on Noth Carolina's Outerbanks, I purchased large numbers in stainless steel. I use those same circles for my bass flies......NEVER have had a "gut hook" with them.
Mike

[Bamboozle]

I tie "kid" flies with circle hooks with great success. I call them kid flies because I find that kids can make them work without me yelling at them to "set the hook!"

I say give your idea a try, you got nothing to lose except some time at the bench and a few $ for hooks.

[Bluegill222]

I tie a lot on circle hooks, using almost nothing else for streamers anymore. The only drawback I've found is that the fish has to turn with the fly for a really good hookup. If a fish swims up, eats the fly and stops, your next strip can pull the fly out of his mouth with out hooking up. Doesn't always happen, doesn't even happen a lot, but has happened. Also, you have to train yourself NOT to set the hook. That part is not as easy as it sounds. I use them mostly on white bass, wipers, crappie and other relatively aggressive feeders, so it should do well for reds and specs.

[ScottP]

Chartreuse/pink (or pink/chartreuse) Clousers are called Tutti Frutti's when we fished them for false albacore at Harker's Island; great fly. Haven't tied any with circle hooks, but here's some folks who have: http://www.stripersonline.com/surfta...d.php?t=564918 Sounds like you've found something the fishies like, hope the circle hook version works for you.

Regards,
Scott

[quivira kid]

In the crappie jig world, that color combo is called Electric Chicken. It's been a great one for me at times. Killed the slabs off the docks at a certain place this past winter on it.

[Buddy Sanders]

John,

I had a similar problem with deep hooking bass when fishing in deep water with a full sinking line. I tried clouser style flies and circle hooks and had problems getting ANY good hook ups. As best I can tell, the barbell eyes interfered with the way circle hooks are made to function.

All that went away when I switched to tube flies for this application. Gettting the circle hook separate from and well behind the eyes where it can rotate seems to work.

I also like circle hooks for those flies where it's hard to detect strikes. Deep fishing applications mostly, but also places where the current can cause you to lose contact wit the fly.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[Kytroutbum]

I heard Lefty Kreh comment that circle hooks on his decievers actually greatly increased the hook ups for Medium Sized and Baby Tarpon.

[pittendrigh]

I have not used circle hooks yet. But I did ( year or two ago ) read a Florida Marine Institute academic study on circle hooks that concluded circle hooks and bait result in less damage to fish than artificials with standard J-hooks. They were no doubt talking about larger J-hooks in the salt water context (not #20 trout hooks). But never-the-less, that is an interesting conclusion.

It does seem (emphasize seem, because I have not used them) that circle hooks might not work so well in the artificial context, because they do (don't they?) rely on having the fish bite down and hang on for a moment. I'll have to buy some and try them out.