Best Type of Hooks for Kingies, Salmon & Bonitos

[Big Berg]

Hi Guys,

I am looking to get some advise from fellow fishos.

I will be throwing out pillies and some livies under a float and I just wanted to know what type hook was best for Kingies, Jewies, Salmon and Bonitos.

I usually stick to my bait holders or gang hooks but I heard that circle hooks would be good for this type of fishing.

Would it also be best to use a rubber band to connect the live yakka to the hook (via the nasal opening) or is it better to just run the hook just before the dorsal fin?

I will mainly rock fishing with mono.

Also I would like to know what size hooks will be best.

The circle hooks seem to be a wider gape than the normal bait holders and gang hooks.

Any advise will be greatly appreciated

thanks

[steze]

Gamagatsu Live Bait hooks Size 9 for your livies. Depending on what sort of rig you are using. For me I usually use Mustad Penetrators or Big Red's snelled.

[Catchin Jack]

Circle hooks are great BUT you need to make sure you don't strike, let the hook set itself. A lot of people still strike when they get a hit and these hooks weren't designed for that.

[tunastrike]

Circle hooks are the best thing for live baiting just make sure there razer sharp and dont strike just take the weight up on rod slowly and you can let go little kings etc easy because there nearly always mouth hooked.

[Big Berg]

thanks for the reply guys...would it be best to run a rubber band through the nasal cavity (for livies) or just in front of the dorsal fin?

thanks

[Evets]

Pin the live bait through the shoulder near their head - but make sure that when you pin the bait that the kirb of the hook points up when the shank of the hook lies flat against the back of the livie. Otherwise the point of the hook will dig into the back of the livie and decrease your hook up rate. Huh??? put your hook on a flat surface like a table. Carefully look at it. For the hook to be pointing in the right direction, the point of the hook should either be flat against the table or pointing up (and not pointing down). So Before you pin the livie, check to see if the hook is pointing up when you lie the hook against the back of the fish. If it is its pointing down its the wrong way so you will need to turn the hook over.

Rubber bands through the eye socket is best suited for trolling.

Evets

[Big Berg]

Pin the live bait through the shoulder near their head - but make sure that when you pin the bait that the kirb of the hook points up when the shank of the hook lies flat against the back of the livie. Otherwise the point of the hook will dig into the back of the livie and decrease your hook up rate. Huh??? put your hook on a flat surface like a table. Carefully look at it. For the hook to be pointing in the right direction, the point of the hook should either be flat against the table or pointing up (and not pointing down). So Before you pin the livie, check to see if the hook is pointing up when you lie the hook against the back of the fish. If it is its pointing down its the wrong way so you will need to turn the hook over.

Rubber bands through the eye socket is best suited for trolling.

Evets

Hi Evets,

Sorry I am a little bit confused. Are you referring to a normal live bait hook or a circle hook?

I usually hook the fish between the head and the dorsal fin (towards the top) but find that the livie doesn't last that long.

So you also would not recommend using a rubber band for fishing off the rocks? Will using a rubber band or hooking the livie through the nasal cavity affect the hook up rate?

thanks

[smoked1]

Forget about circles. Especially if you're chasing kings.

You need to load the rod up slowly for the circle to 'engage'. Rarely would you want to give a king a chance to put their nose down.

Make sure they've got the bait/hook in their mouth then hit them as hard as you can. They're not going to be nice about the fight neither, so nor should you.

[Jewhunter]

Whether using circles normal hooks there is only one way to hook a livie.

Straight through the nose!

They live longer in a current, swim more naturally & most predatory fish hit a live bait head first.

Forget pinning them in the shoulder or anywhere else.

Cheers,

Grant.