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Circle hooks have a curved, barbed point that prevents them from penetrating vital organs in a fish’s stomach. They reduce mortality rates and are popular with novice anglers. Circle hooks have been used for centuries and are mainly used with live or dead bait. The cardinal rule is not to set the hook, but to let the fish create tension on the line. The hook will slide into the fish’s mouth and hook. To understand how a circle hook works, tie a piece of monofilament to a circle hook and grip the hook in the palm of your hand.
A circle hook is a fish hook whose barbed point curves perpendicularly towards the shank. In conventional hooks, or J-hooks, the hook point runs parallel to the shank. When a circular hook is swallowed in the stomach of a fish, its circular design prevents the hook from penetrating vital organs until the fish spins, at which point the hook glides towards the point of resistance, the fish’s jaw , and it gets stuck.
A circle hook prevents a caught fish from becoming a throat or throat hook, which commonly occurs with J-hooks. The mortality rate of fish caught with circle hooks is lower than with conventional hooks, an important consideration of catch and release practice, or to release caught fish unharmed. Circle hooks are popular with novice anglers because the fish are hooked by their own momentum, rather than by the angler setting the hook. Although J hooks love more fish, more fish are landed with circle hooks.
Anglers over the centuries have used circle hooks. In Latin America, the pre-Columbian Indians used hooks of a circular shape made of shells; in ancient Japan, fishermen used reindeer antler to fashion curve-shaped hooks; Pacific Coast Native Americans also used hooks that were not unlike the circle hooks used today. In modern times, circle hooks have been a tool of commercial longliners for decades.
Circle hooks are mainly used with live or dead bait. When baiting your hook, avoid burying the hook point in the bait, which will prevent it from catching in the fish’s mouth. The cardinal rule when fishing with a circle hook is not to set the hook. After the fish has swallowed the bait, let the fish swim and create tension on the line. When you feel the fish pull on the line, again, don’t set the hook. Instead, it starts to stagger. When the fish pulls away from the line due to the slight tension you’ve created, the hook will slide into the fish’s mouth and hook. Once you have landed the fish, you can remove the hook with a simple twist using needlenose pliers or a hook unhooking device.
To get a literal idea of how a circle hook works, tie a piece of monofilament to a circle hook and grip the hook in the palm of your hand. When pulled straight up, the hook will slide out of your hand unimpeded. However, when the line is pulled either side of your hand, the hook will slide along your hand and as it comes out of your hand, it will begin hooking it.
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