Little Circle Hooks?

[denduke]

Watched a couple of bait fishermen haul in rainbow trout on the Spring River last year, pull the deep/gut hooks out, toss'em back, till they got 5 bigger fish, and then leave. I asked them did they think those released were gonna survive; yeh, they'd be awright... Was wondering if the new circle hook deal would work on small hooks even though the fish were large size compared to the hooks. I.e. will the rolling effect and side jaw hook up characteristic of the typical circle hook also work on smaller versions. Seems like a good way maybe for baiters to not destroy the resource!

My wife cannot grasp the flyfishing concept so she uses salmon eggs, shrimp, meal worms, etc. on her Zebco 33. She's an old catfish, bream killer. So, on our upcoming trip I bent some hooks to maybe allow her to catch more fish instead of stopping at the first 5 gut hookers... Not all hooks are "bendable". Was asking if anybody has tried this and what da ya think? Thanks, DL

[jjtroutbum]

Looks like a good idea! Might want to use a size or so larger than normal when creating your own. Every time I have used em they work. (ie catfish) Corner every time even with large live bait for flats. Make sure she is clear about the pull verses the traditional set. And please report back with your/her results.

[pdoshier]

If you can find them, try size 10 or 12 bait hooks. The smaller the better. If she likes to use power bait you can hide a size 12 almost completely with just one piece. When I've used them, I catch them in the lip almost every time. You will probably lose more than if you use a size 6 with 3 or more pieces of bait but you don't have to keep the small ones because they have swallowed the entire rig. I can't get my wife to use them much, she has to have multiple colors of power bait, and because they are small a little harder to tie on. But give it a try.

I got this tip from an old gentleman on White River several years ago, and it really works.

Another idea is to fly fish with that zebco 33 setup. You tie on a clear torpedo float that is about 2" long to your line with the tapered end to your line. Then tie on 2-4 lb trout line or a fly leader. Just make sure that it is clear or green. Length depends on the depth of the water, but I'd try 6-8 feet? On that you can tie a fly like a bead head woolly bugger. I camped next to a guy last year from texas at the White River State Park and he caught his limit every day. Never used anything else, he told me he had been coming to the White for years and that is the only way he fishes here. His rig was a spin cast but his rod was bigger than you normally see on a zebco 33 rig. He had never fly fished but tied his own buggers to save money. Of course you can use other fly patterns as well. I've tried it and caught a few that way myself.

[mobluegill]

Hello,

I would like to know the difference between circle hooks and octopus hooks. I get size 8 circle hooks and have great hookups on bluegills and when I use octopus hooks, it seems that they take down the whole hook.

Thanks,

Marion

[shadman]

  mobluegill said:

Hello,

I would like to know the difference between circle hooks and octopus hooks. I get size 8 circle hooks and have great hookups on bluegills and when I use octopus hooks, it seems that they take down the whole hook.

Thanks,

Marion

circle hooks work great, i even have some 5 o barbless circle hooks that work great.. they hook in corner o mouth every time and then when u grab the hook it slides right out.... dont be surprised if 10 years from now, circle hooks are required by state law.