Gut Hooking And Kl Black Magic Hooks

[Anti-Carp]

After hearing that circle hooks reduce gut hooking of fish, I decided to buy some KL Black Magic hooks to try them out.

While trying them out I've gut hooked a flattie, couple of bream and a rat kingie and have only lip hooked one bream ) 4 out of 5 fish gut hooked). I have had numerous takes and the hook up conversion rate seems alot poorer in comparison to a single suicide hook that I fish on another rig.

The way i'm fishing is 10 lb braid main line with a 2 metre 10 lb flurocarbon trace with a little split shot to a single 1/0 KL hook baited with a finger strip squid, mullet or pilchard. I fish the reel with the bail arm closed and drag set to a kilo. What am I doing wrong here?

Just to add also I'm snelling the hook and i'm letting the fish hook themselves up so i'm not striking at all.

[jewgaffer]

Hi Anti Carp Circle hooks are designed to mouth hook a fish to make for easier release. I believe they were designed for the catch and release of Tuna and somehow have become available in smaller sizes. To my mind that would be propaganda development at it's best, as circle hooks are definately not suitable for getting good hook up rates on all species. Just try hooking up a live squid or even a fish fillet and try to penetrate the flesh of the bait with the turned in barb, you almost have to turn your elbow into your mouth to get the right angle to push the barb all the way thru . .......you certainly don't have to wonder what went wrong when you finally get a solid run on a big bait at a beach and when you start to play the fish your line goes limp. That's big brother's catch and release philosophy working at it's fastest.

Cheers

jewgaffer

[slinkymalinky]

For once I have to put an alternative view to Jewgaffer (although he is right in that circle hooks certainly don't suit all circumstances or fish). Fast feeding 'slash and run' fish like mackerel or tailor are an example where circles don't work well.

Circle hooks were designed for long line fishing where lines are set and the fish have to hook themselves and stay hooked so the fishermen can get paid (not that I'm any fan of long line fishing!!). If they didn't work better in those circumstances the pros wouldn't use them

I use circles now for 95% of my bait fishing and don't remember the last time I hooked a fish anywhere but in the mouth. The last bait session I did was in the Gold Coast Seaway and every one of the half dozen or so good fish we caught was pinned in the same spot... right in the corner of the mouth. We also hooked up solid to practically every bite.

I'd certainly recommend that you DON'T snell them... to be able to turn back in, the pull on the hook needs to be on the end of the eye, not slightly lower down as is the case with a snelled hook. A snell will also stiffen up the connection, further reducing the ability of the hook to turn freely.

Don't crowd the hook with bait... pin it once and leave as much of the hook free as possible.

Try doing your drag up... I'd have thought 1kg of drag was enough but I always fish with my full drag when using circles. As Jewgaffer will tell you, fishing with your reel in freespool or minimal drag is often a recipe for missed fish no matter what sort of hooks you use.

Lastly, a 1/0 KL is a very small hook. I usually use 3/0s for bream and flathead in the seaway. Maybe the tiny hooks are part of the problem?? Not sure but try a bigger hook.

Cheers, Slinky

[Anti-Carp]

Thanks for the responses, that makes sense I'll try them with a uni knot rather then a snell.