Rigs for circle hooks?
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Hints,Tips and How To's
Forum Description: Rigs, tackle, baits, angling techniques, tips and hints & your DIY projects here
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=136098
Printed Date: 29 May 2026 at 6:33am
Topic: Rigs for circle hooks?
Posted By: JollyRaja
Subject: Rigs for circle hooks?
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2021 at 10:10am
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Hey all, To avoid gut hooking fish I have moved to circle hooks, but find the hookup rate not that good. Are there any go to rigs or other hints (apart from don't jerk the rod when you get a bite) that would help? Thanks in advance.
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Replies:
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2021 at 11:00am
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Good question there JR. I use circle hooks almost exclusively for bait fishing. There are three important things to remember: 1: the bait shouldn't fill the gape of the hook. Also if you put the hook through the middle of the bait you run the risk of it folding over and covering the point. The point needs to be well exposed. I only hook the bait once near the end of the bait so it hangs off the hook. 2: tie the hook with the trace entering the eye from the point side of the hook 3: give the fish time to take the bait, then lift and wind. Crank the reel a few revolutions before you stop winding,. Don't do a half hearted tug or half a wind of the handle. On the other hand don't do a swift strike either. Circle hooks work extremely well once you're using them correctly - especially in deep water. I'll try and get some pics for you ------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: JollyRaja
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2021 at 1:23pm
| Thanks for that smudge.. |
Posted By: kaveman
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2021 at 2:37pm
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https://www.ultimatefishing.tv/home/video/448/circle-hook-knot---the-snell-knot" rel="nofollow - https://www.ultimatefishing.tv/home/video/448/circle-hook-knot---the-snell-knot This is one of the best circle hook knots and a great video of howto tie it -------------  www.kavemantackle.co.nz
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Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2021 at 5:57pm
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great advice, right there - to Smudge's points i'd add that the way I think of it when using a biggish bait such as most of a jack mackerel, you "scoop" to embed the hook, say in the shoulder, then kind of "roll" it in place. When you do the scoop, the hook point is angled away from you (towards the rear of the bait).
That way you end up, as Smudge emphasised, the hook point should be well clear of the bait and the shank lies flat against the body (with the hook point, and the eye, pointing back towards the head of the mackie). For a half jack mackerel I use a two hook rig - as above, one scooped well back, and the other up through the chin. The one at the rear is usually about a 6/0 and a 4/0 in the front.
If you can find a copy, I'd highly recommend one of Mark Kitteridge's older snapper fishing books, which have excellent sketches of suggested circle hook rigs with various baits. Or you might find one of his NZ Fishing News articles on this site. He's a big fan of circle hooks. I essentially copied his methods and they work well for snapper straylining. Kev's points re the way to tie them on is critical if you ledger/flasher rig for bottom bouncing or surfcasting, ditto Smudge's point about hooking just once through a smallish bait on those kinds of rigs.
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Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2021 at 7:22pm
Yeah agree entirely TKK ------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
The Tamure Kid wrote:Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2021 at 8:37pm
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I like the longline knot as well, similar knot. Long strip baits work better than chunks and I find the hooks must be sharp because your relying on the fish hooking itself. |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 21 Oct 2021 at 9:18am
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Yep like all the above.. Sharp hooks.. applies to all hooks. When tied look to be hanging the wrong/ illogical way Barbs well clear of bait. Hang the baits rather than chunked. Its not just "big baits big fish" Its more match your hooks to your baits and visa versa. We have using circles from around the very early 60s.. maybe late 50s. |
Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 21 Oct 2021 at 2:02pm
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Was a fan of circle hooks as the story goes,lip hooked fish.Found most were getting down to gill area. Have gone back "J" hooks and having better success on hooking lip. Comes down to technique,
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Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 22 Oct 2021 at 7:30am
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I have a 'lazy' style of bait snapper fishing with circle hooks. Mostly use 8/0 and either steamed mussel or squid and I have a rod holder with goes into a vertical rod holder and keeps the rod at a near horizontal plane to the sea. Drop to the bottom and leave rod in holder and keep hands off until rod starts bouncing, indicating a fish is hooked. No striking, just let the fish hook themselves - simple, eh? ------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 22 Oct 2021 at 9:37am
A technique that works very well for sliders and gurnard  ------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: JollyRaja
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2021 at 8:15am
| Great stuff TTK thx a lot.. |
Posted By: JollyRaja
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2021 at 8:17am
| Thx Fishb8, what setting on the drag do you use for this? i have tried doing the same by chucking the line way back of the boat into the burley trail but nil hookups. |
Posted By: JollyRaja
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2021 at 8:19am
| Thx a lot for your help all.. cant wait for this weather to clear up and get out there. Wed 27Oct next week looks good for now for East coast Auckland.. will let you know how it goes if I do venture out. |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2021 at 9:32am
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With circles, I put this 'picture ' in my head.. as describe to the grandchildren. U sitting on the shore with the children eating chips.. the seagulls come in, The smaller ones jump in fight nibble over the small chips thrown.. Couple bigger birds just stand back Then 1 or both decide on a juicy chip jump in push the other birds aside, And this is the important part.. The pick up the chip and skip/ fly out way from the crowd, THEN proceed to eat the chip in peace. So apply thias in principle.. Use the lightest sinker , just enough to drop and hold on the bottom.. I like shamano baitrunners for this... main drag set to about 1 to 1.5kg direct straight line, off the end of the rod. Baitrunner drag set to just, no more, to hold the sinker/ bait in positon or just very slowly 'roll out the back at most. The bigger fish comes along picks up the bait/ hook, Just like the seagull above, and swims away, let him go, maybe 10 or even 20m (depending on water temp and season.) Then slowly lift the rod, you will feel the load go on..There is a piont you can sort of see the hook start to roll and point start to sink in...then a turn, load up the rod, and sink the hook in the rest of the way. I use braid on all rods except one...and this is why I use braid, can actually feel everything, mono is more judgement than feel. Other Very very important thing is how you hang the bait... must be tidy... if you bring line up (no fish on) and there are twists in the trace, how the bait is hooked on is spining the hook and bait like a propeller....and the fish just get dizzy trying to follow it round and round in big circles. Catching is getting all the little detail bits all lined up...like most things.. eg a golf swing, get stance, back swing, grip, head down, .. then weight transfer , power to leading hand etc all right... u hit the green.. get one wrong and hit the rough, or straight up and down. |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2021 at 11:18am
As Steps said a baitrunner type reel is good, leave it on the bait runner handle and count to 3 or more depending on size of bait then engage the main drag. Having said that I often just leave my reel on it's usually drag setting, especially with small baits ------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 9:23am
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It is a combo of sinker weight and drag.. As I said above only just enough weight to drop and hold on the bottom.. no more. Combine that with just enough drag so the trace/ hooks can bounce out along the bottom back into the burley trail. So a non bait runner, just back off the main drag...so just holds the trace in the current where you want... "......into the burley trail but nil hookups." Which the burly maybe the issue (???) This brings another very common issue, where you hang the burley and how deep. Draw a pick of the boat, the anchor position, how the boat hangs on the anchor with a little breeze not in same direction of the current.. So say the burley is on the anchor or even on the bow...the trail goes out to the side and your lines , once out the back not even close to the trail.. Then there is depth you hang the burley.. This depends on what targeting and at what depth... Again draw a side profile of boat/ water column... If fishing the sea bed, and burely at the surface... bait and burley trail now different places on the vertical plane. Now throw in that the current down at the sea bed are very often in different direction to at the surface or even up in the column. Now throw in what burley rope you use.. bigger the rope the more it gets dragged out the back due to drag.. further back the less control have the actual trail and actually fishing in the burley. I have one of those round plastic hand line reels ( a suggestion made to me in these forms.. previously was a bulky electric cable extension reel ) The burley rope we use id 3 (or 3.5mm cant rem) haberdashery braid (about $45 for 100m) Every meter there is a small loop tied so can hang off the stern at any depth I like. It hangs near vertical in all but big currents. I hang it on my cnr.. It is me who hast to pull it in etc, it is me who everyso often pull up with jerks then jerk it back down a few meters...therefore it is my rod(s) off that cnr that is directly down the burley trail. Sounds good, but over the yrs I still havnt found this an actual advantage. When stray lining, even dropper sometimes, on the east coast, be it 2m water or 30m we never anchor up, just drift over reefs bouncing the sinkers, thru bays etc and burley abut 1 m off the bottom. This is the thing with fishing, it is getting every detail you have control over, knots, traces, drag every detail right as possible. I will add our stray line traces are different.. sort of go back to the old school 50s early 60s. Mainline (braid), to bimmini loop. A cats pawed swivel with clip. Trace with small surgeons loop and finish knot at top. Reef sinker and trace are clipped onto the clip at the end of the main line. Must have very tidy baits so no spin up As current/ depth changes its a very quick easy sinker weight change.. Stray line trace with fixed keeper (J or circle) and end hook. (circle) |
Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 10:36am
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Drifting with berley, berley drifts back from the boat while the boat drifts away from the berley how do you know if your baits are in the berley trail. On the odd time during the winter when I do go stray linning I anchor up, berley shiploads out sometimes even 2 berley bombs from the surface so I can see which way the berley is drifting, then I can cast back into it. I prefer overhead reels leave them out of gear, control the line with your thumb and click it into gear when the fish picks it up. I don’t tend to let them run to long, always a chance they will drop the bait. I prefer to use mono instead of braid but it I am using a reel loaded with braid I will top load it with about 3 to 4 metres of mono, nothing fancy from there, I like about a metre long loop tied with a spiders hitch, easy to tie. Couple of ball sinkers and 2 hooks, 1 hook tied on with the old uni knot and the other hook just free running as a keeper. 2 pillies ganged together and give the gut bags a good squeeze to let a bit of blood out. Cast back and wait. |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 11:17am
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Drifting with berley, berley drifts back from the boat while the boat
drifts away from the berley Yes.. the burly drifts a little fast than the boat.. picks up the fish going to go over and holds them, also the bigger chunks drop and leave a trail behind, which the traces are in.. Its about drawing ones self a picture. how do you know if your baits are in the berley trail. Because we catch far more fish doing so than not doing so.. We may not catch the big show off fish, as we do not target as such. Our fishing is out for good company and a feed, with big fish a common bonus, and the logs show we are damn good at it...being doing ity since the late 1950s. |
Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 11:56am
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Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 12:25pm
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Posted By: BananaBoat
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 12:44pm
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Switched over to circle hooks for straylined baits about 10yr ago for either land based or kayak fishing. No more gut hooking & very rare to gill hook Using a 2 circle hook trace with the longline knot for both hooks.... 7/0 & 5/0 knotted Longline knot.... video shows using J hooks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5oHhzcHVN0" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5oHhzcHVN0 If the fish are super shy & easily spooked in shallow water on a clear day, will just use single 5/0 circle hook straight to 4kg doubled mainline... has saved me a few times instead of a no fish sesh 
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Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 12:54pm
| Thank BB must give it a try as I am thumbs/fingers seems simple |
Posted By: Skoti
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 1:25pm
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Well I'll be ! The snell I've been tying all these years is actually called a long-line knot . In fact I even called it just that in this video @ 3min 14 sec . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRrYibjSqVk&t=21s" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRrYibjSqVk&t=21s ------------- COVID is no joke ! One former patient was so brain damaged after , he thought he won an election he lost by 7 million votes . |
Posted By: BananaBoat
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 1:41pm
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First video I saw with the longline knot was Geoff Thomas Snapper secrets from the early 90s... still got the video... off youtube Both Bill Hohepa & Terry Beale on that video demonstrated the longline knot.... have used it pretty much ever since, now switched over to circle hooks |
Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 2:05pm
Hoping to get out Monday .
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Posted By: MB
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 2:26pm
| I don't do much bait fishing, but remember the BAF guys saying mono with circle hooks and braid with J hooks when straylining. That makes some sense to me. Thoughts? |
Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 3:32pm
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Totally, MB. The stretch in mono is ideal for the slow weight coming on strategy with circle hooks - at least with straylining.
I reckon braid's ability to tangle is also real pain in that situation - particularly with multiple rods out the back. As is the braid's fragility around any rocks. When I do bait missions with the kids in late summer over the mud flats, I always use mono and circle hooks. So much more practical when we have two rods with baits cast out a moderate distance, and one with the big livie/wriggler way out the back. Rod Holder is often our best mate - the rod (something soft like an Ugly Stik) slowly bends over and bingo. Fish on. I can see why people might still prefer to use braid with a ledger rig system in the deep, though, mainly to stop the line going like a sail in the current - and also to stop the bungy cord effect where struggle to feel any bites. Another interesting point not so far discussed is the use of circle hooks for live baiting for kingies. Guys like Tony Orton swear by them to stop gut hooking - in his case, tied on with a loop knot to give the livie more movement. There's no need to let the kingie run and allow the bait to turn, he just slowly turns up the drag and the hook slides into position.
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Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 4:25pm
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Long line knot.. that goes way back into the 50s at least.. been my go to... Careful thu... With circle hooks have to go back up the opposite side to a J hook, otherwise doesnt sit looking 'wrong' Also if when go back up, make sure you go around to the main eye on the opposite side to where the hook eye goes back down of the shaft... If you go the wrong side you will find you will right off quite a few fish because the trace rubs against the join of eye to hook shaft... I wind down, then do 3 winds around as go back up to put thru the hook eye. Burley will disperse in tidal current while boat,depending on which is stronger current or wind,vessel drift away from burley so burley be of no use. It works after many decades doing so and not doing so , it works... very noticeably, unlike many other things that do one not the next in fishing, and not conclusive even over yrs of doing stuff. Think about it rather than a "oh Steps is posting again lets just go opposite for the sake of it..again.. The boat is moving, dropping a trail.. that trail regardless of direction of the boat current or wind always eventually leads back to the stern.. Not only that the larger bits that drop to the bottom leave a trail back to the stern....even if a curve. And unlike anchoring putting out a burley trail, one doesnt feed out a heap of line out the back. And will add another little trick is have the wobbly 1/2 drag, and hang on the sea bed. This throws up all assorts stuff the keeps the fish that have followed the curving trail , following along behind the boat. |
Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 4:32pm
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What I was getting at "steps" was if you use a drone/sea anchor holds bow in to wind,slows drift if tide going against wind then burley will go towards bow while lines are off stern,normally straight down. |
Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 4:37pm
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Yep agree, straylinning for me is more about fishing shallow water under 10mtr. Couple of small ball sinkers running free on the trace, not clipped on so they can run down and sit against the bait. I have a plastic berley pot mounted on my swimstep, holds a 4kg bomb and I can get a nice wide berley trail running off it. MB interesting what you say about J hooks on braid, makes sense. I do own a bait runner but I find the dray can be just a bit to much sometimes when the fish are very light on the bite, just mouthing the bait. That’s why I like the overhead. TK circle hooks for kings are a must and the livebait hooks are awesome to which I suppose are a type of circle hook as well. |
Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 4:47pm
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Posted By: MB
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2021 at 5:46pm
I've flirted with the idea of doing a bit of bait fishing when we get a boat, mainly to keep my boy entertained. I think this is the way I will do it. Seen too many tangles with braid in this situation. I've had braid on all my rods for many years, so it will be a bit weird. Also thought about trying to source some old school Fireline in a high breaking strain as an alternative. Being a fused line rather than a braid, it's stiffer and much less likely to tangle, but floats and has minimal stretch (so J hooks for this conversation).
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Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2021 at 7:52am
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was if you use a drone/sea anchor holds bow in to wind,slows drift if
tide going against wind then burley will go towards bow while lines are
off stern,normally straight down. Used to use a sea anchor , havnt for yrs..which is why I have not mentioned one. I wouldn’t want to drag a berley pot along the sea floor what’s happens if you snag a rock or log, good by berley pot. When one does a lot, 25/ 35 trips a yr over a decade or so, then one gets to know where one can and cant drag the bottom.. In saying that its commonsence rather than drag out the back as is inferred, its more a bounce along the bottom on a thin line pretty much vertical, Even then it obvious you dont use a wobble, or my case a BMW 145m diam car spring with heavy net.. bot a string onion bag. Ands when do hit a rock or snag going thru a shallow bay drift, the rocks roll over, exposing crabs etc with fish following it. Lost 2 pot because forgot to bring up before taking off, and another a shark, repaired a few net holes with cable ties, a couple from shark attacks. Bottom line its actual practical trial and error, experience, not keyboard BS. Its like most things I experiment with, and find works, if want try it it do so , if think will not work dont bother. But if has been done, successfully, ask questions but, why pull it apart out of ignorance. Technics are born out of somene giving something ago, not think that will not work so it there fore dont give it a go. |
Posted By: JollyRaja
Date Posted: 27 Oct 2021 at 8:36am
| Thanks so much for all the input guys.. so much knowledge here. |
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 27 Oct 2021 at 10:16am
Minimum of 8 oz and use both a spinning and lever drag reels (always take 2 rigs, both 30 lb Tasline braid). Drag would be about 3 or 4 kg. Use leger rigs. One trip we got a big tangle and used my spare rod, only to find I'd brought the wrong spinning reel loaded with 6lb mono. Flung my rig out and left it. Was in 65 metres. Got no bites after a while and wound it in. To my surprise, there were 2 nice snaps on it. So much stretch on 6 lb mono with 80 metres of line out!
------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Posted By: RockCrashing
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2021 at 7:30am
 Hi guys, does anyone recognize this brand?
Running low, I don't remember when or where I got those. Have ask tackle shops about them with no luck.     |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2021 at 8:44am
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Trokar I think
------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: RockCrashing
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2021 at 9:16am
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Thanks smudge, yep, that looks 100% like the profile
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Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2021 at 9:42am
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Very strong and sharp hooks, quite a heavy gauge wire so there may be better options for light tackle fishing but they are good with a welded eye too
------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2021 at 10:35am
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Yep Trokar Still got a few floating around in the bottom of the draw of the tackle bench in the shed. Tried them around 10yrs back for around 6months then on and off for another 1/2 yr. Ended up going back to Gamakatsu and Owner. |
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 04 Nov 2021 at 9:06am
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Those hooks would be good for powerful fish like kingies & marlin. I prefer Gamakatsu for snapper, as well.
------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |