Ohio River guys, discuss circle vs J hooks

[JD7.62]

Lets hear it.

I started using circle hooks fishing for finicky red snapper (tiny hooks buried in a HUGE piece of bait). After cursin the heck out of them for the longest because its hard to break that habit of jerking the hell out of it when you feel a little tap-tap, I have come to love the circle hook while bait fishing.

Smaller fish like bluegill and crappie will still get a J-hook but for cats and bass its circle all the way for me.

I feel, especially in situations where a good current is present, I have a better hook up ratio with circle hooks. In the current, sometimes it is not always possible to keep your line tight to set the hook when you get a bite. With a circle hook, because it doesnt take much pressure to set, Ive found that even the current dragging the line or the fish swimming away is often enough for a good button. Another big plus, especially for the river, they are much less likely to snag too.

What have yall say?

[BASSKING]

the first few times i used them i was very upset. but, after i got the hang of it i realized the fish seemed to never swallow the hook and ya didnt have to perform sugery to get a hook out. the last few years we have fished for cats on the river i just lock the rod in the holder and let the hook do all or most of the work. i dont think i could use another style for fishing with live or cut bait now.

[bob46]

There is an article in In Fisherman about this subject, and a good article on the history of hooks and how they evolved.

[riverrat12]

Jason, I guess it's going to be hard to teach this old dog new tricks. It seems I'm just not comfortable using them with the size bait I use. I purchased some 9\0 circles, and after seeing them thinking , kinda like in Roadhouse after meeting swazye (spell) I thought they would be bigger, but to my surprise nothing compared to my 9 and 10\0 true turn hooks.. I don't even think I tried them...I might try to devote a day to them while I'm using big chunks of cutbait right now for wintering catfish but...I'm still an old dog...good thread made me think.. Chuck

[Boat Bums]

I can vouch about the old dog thing!!!!!

[Boat Bums]

Hey chuck you been doing any good down there?

[SKIPJACK]

I started using J-hooks many years ago, missed a lot of fish. I switched to Gamakatsu circle 8/0, and my hook ups improved. The only part that I didn't like is that you almost always have to let the rod load up. Sometimes cats will pick up the bait and swim with it, without loading the rod then lay it back down. Now I use King Kahle 10/0 exclusively when I am catfishing. If a flathead decides to pick up the bait and swim with it and chew on it, I can cross his eyes!

[fishhound]

im a old dog to lol.. ive been fishin on the ohio river 30yrs plus all this yrs ive used eagle claw it works for me

[JD7.62]

Ive found a smaller hook can be used when you use circle hooks. It probably doesnt matter much for catfish but when the fish are finicky its amazing in the difference. We usually use 1/0 and 2/0 for red snapper. For bait we usually use whole ceiro mackeral (about 10-14") that is a BIG piece of bait for small hooks. When Im fishing farm ponds and want big bass I cheat and use the smallest hook possible to go through the back of a palm sized bluegill. If I use a bigger hook, the bass dont seem to hold it as long.

Are catfish like that? Do you guys think a catfish is likely to drop the bait if they feel a big hook or not?

I'm really looking forward this year to learning how to catch those big cats you guys do! From the very breif experience I had fishing with Chuck, the technique seemed very similiar to bottom fishing in the gulf and perhaps some of the technique Ive learned out there I can apply to cat fishing.

[DJD]

I was impressed with them while fishing with John "fisheater" last year. Every Catfish we caught was hooked in the side of the mouth. All I did was hang on when they hit....the current was rippin' that day so maybe that added resistance helped the hookups?

[riverrat12]

Hey chuck you been doing any good down there?

Been catchin a few mike, Sauger been real slow but the blues are warmin up.

[rickhise]

I fish live bait a lot, and after watching one of the guides test them by just reeling in the fish. With not even a jerk to set the hook its a see to believe moment. Circle hooks:

So I have found with those with less experience they seem to get more fish in on the circle hooks than the normal 1214 eagle claw ........