Circle HooksCircle hooks have long been used for salt water angling with live bait. If you've seen the 10/0 hooks that look like they are made out of fence post, you may have laughed at using them. That's the right reaction. No self respecting bass is going to be fooled by that! The good news for bass anglers, and those who want to use circle hooks to protect bass, is the industry has come around to the freshwater angler. Light wire hooks in sizes we bass anglers understand (1/0-4/0 hooks)are now available from the same companies that make the good old offset worm hooks. It's a great thing to take kids and novice fishermen out for a day on the water. Helping others learn the great sport of fishing is helping bass fishing become the most popular outdoor activity around. People without a lot of experience tend not to notice those light little strikes and this could lead to problems. If you want to terrify a little kid, show him a bleeding, gut hooked bass flopping around in the boat. Letting bass swallow the bait doesn't have to end in this bloody mess though. Gamakatsu, Owner, Eagle Claw, Matzuo and Mustad all make proper hooks for bass fishing. There are as many choices as anyone could need. They question you might be asking is “why should I even consider changing what has worked for me all these years?” The answer is in the design of the circle hook. Let me explain... Here are the examples... The standard wide gap worm hooks.
When this baby is swallowed and you set the hook, it penetrates the flesh right where it is sitting. Unfortunately you don't know if you want to keep that fish. You really don't know how big it is either. This creates a problem if the bait and hook are down in the throat. Studies have show that a fish hooked in the throat is basically dead. Even if you cut the line and let it go. Especially if you get messing around and try to retrieve your bait. So if you are just letting them all go that day, you might end up killing fish unintentionally.
Now the circle hooks...
With circle style, you can still have the wide gap, but study the tip. The sharp tip is pointed back toward the bend. This allows the hooks to slide right out of the throat and hook the side of the mouth on it's way out. The difference in the hooking method makes for more catches as well. You normally feel the bite and set the hook with a strong upward swing with normal hooks. Not so with the circle hooks . When you notice the hit, all you do is point the tip of your rod down, and reel up the slack. Just a gentle sideward sweep is all that is needed to set the hook. You really could let the fish swim away and hook itself. That would be best with live bait though. Bass probably won't hold onto artificial baits that long, so a GENTLE hook set is best. It will definitely take some discipline to unlearn the hard hook set, but it can be done. You won't get those false sets where the bait comes rocketing back at your face though! You can use circle hooks with all your favorite soft plastics too. Generally you should go one size bigger than a standard worm hook. So if you use a 2/0 worm hook with a 6” worm, go to a 3/0 in circle hooks to get a good hook up. You can nose hook Gulp minnows and soft swimbaits too. The inward bend on circle hooks make them naturally weedless as well. One of the guaranteed bass catching soft plastics is the wacky rigged stick worm . During the early season aggressive bass just can't resist this presentation. With the right hook, you won't have to worry about mister bucket mouth swallowing your hook down to his tail. Just show a little patience and you'll land him. You may never really get into these funny shaped hooks but you should give them an honest try. It is well worth the short learning curve to save some bass! If you fish with live bait, these hooks are custom made for catching more bass.
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