Hook Research

[Bonefish]

I looked at some results from a research group called Paul's Fishing Kites on "J Type Hooks" versus "Circle Type Hooks" and "Snelling" versus "Tying."


Hook Type- Lip Hooked- Cut Hooked- Total

Circle Hooks Tied 138- 10- 148
Circle Snelled Hooks 198- 12- 210
O'Shaug/Octopus Tied 69- 5- 74
O'Shaug/Octopus Snelled 60- 21- 81

Snelling improved the observed catch rate on the Circle hooks by a 30%, while gut hooking of the catch was about the same.

The snelled O'Shaugnessy hooks caught around 10% more than the tied but observed gut hooking increased from 7% to 26%.

The ultimate fish hook is one which maintains a good catch rate, reduces the catch of undersized fish and prevents gut hooking.