Catch & Release With Bait?

[mobluegill]

I've bought size eight red circle hooks at lilley's. I use them to fish for bluegill with red worms, and for trout I've put one floating powerbait ball and one half of night crawler.

YMMV

[Greg]

On a recent trip to FL my sons and I used circle hooks for the first time. It was on an all day deep sea fishing trip out of clearwater. They worked great. They are mandatory for charter fishing boats in FL now - or so I was told.

That's a great idea to use them with power bait or live bait in MO. Whenever I've used power bait in the past I would end up with a gut hooked fish about 90% of the time.

Greg

[Gatorjet]

Circle hooks, not Octopus Circle hooks, but the real ones. You have to let them take the bait seriously, even swallowing it. The hook set is to lower the rod tip to your side and give a reasonable pull. When you pull the hook out with the line coming out the corner of the jaw it will turn and hook.

Just wondering, why not the Octopus Circle hooks?

[rps]

Look closely at pictures. You will see the bend is different and the hook point aims in a different direction.

[perchjerker]

Crimp down your barbs on a #6 baithook and using a medical suture remove hooks carefully and no harm is done. Be sure to keep the rod bent at all times so the pressure will not let the fish throw the hook.I have released hundreds of fish in good health that have lived to bite again..