Line snapping at the hook eye.

[Toilor]

I lost a decent Red while lifting the fish into the boat using 30lb mono and a snelled 7/0 in line circle hook, exactly the same setup I have been using for 4 years.  I retied and tested but the knot snapped with roughly 12lbs of pressure.  Stripped off a couple of metres and tried again with the same result.  Ended up convincing myself the eye must have a sharp edge and started tying uni knots which when tested snapped at close to roughly 30lb of pressure.  Problem is I believe that circle hooks work much more efficiently with a snell connection but I've lost confidence in the hooks.  Has anyone encountered this issue?  I would just try another brand except that I have a 100 of these hooks from a very reputable Norwegian company so I'm hoping to keep using them.

[big Neil]

I had a similar experience with a cheaper brand of bulk hooks. The eye was not neatly sealed on a large proportion of them. Have a look at your hooks with a magnifying glass, you may well find that you have a bad batch. Alternatively, you could use them attached to a FASTATCH swivel.

bn

[noelm]

Snell is about the worst knot ever…in my opinion. Lots of hooks do have sharp ends on the eye, making a snell even worse.

Edited June 22, 2023 by noelm

[Green Hornet]

The only advice I can offer to improve the strength of a snell is to ensure the line is wound down the shank going around the back of the hook eye and not where the wire meets up against shank.  
I’ll only use a snell when using a leader at least double the strength of the main line, so haven’t experienced your problem.

[JonD]

You didn't mention how old the line is or if its fluoro or not. If its either old line or fluoro then that's the issue, FC greatly reduces strength at the knot, however there are a few YouTube videos showing how to do what looks like an upside down uni knot. Even though nylon line last for years, uv rays still damage it.

If its neither of the above try running the line twice through the eye of the hook so it doubles around the hook, then do a simply 4 turn uni knot and wet it down as you clinch tight. Do a test to see the difference between double wrapping around the eye to single and you will be surprised how much difference it makes with any line.

[Rebel]

Easy. Just change the brand of hook & line.

Use a net when landing fish into a boat.

I Use Mono all the time. Buy well known brands.

[Toilor]

Someone suggested a small length of whiting tube and this is what I came up with.  Tests very well.  Hopefully the slight change of line angle leaving the eye won't affect the circle hook's action negatively.  The areas I fish Snapper are rocky, snags are inevitable and Port Jackson sharks almost always swallow the hook so for ease and speed of re-rigging the line I use is 30lb Maxima Ultragreen straight through the sinker directly to the hook.  I always use a snell knot with circle hooks as I believe the action of a circle hook is enhanced and have found them to be a very reliable knot until now.  Won't be buying any more of these particular hooks but for now intend to use them as they weren't cheap and have caught plenty of Snapper using them.  Always have discussions with a mate that insists on netting his fish but if I see the fish is well hooked and under 60cm I'm confident in lifting them in.  Losing that fish at the side of the boat helped me realise the flaw in my setup though if I'd netted it I'd be eating a fish dinner. 😪

[big Neil]

4 hours ago, Toilor3000 said:

Someone suggested a small length of whiting tube and this is what I came up with.  Tests very well.  Hopefully the slight change of line angle leaving the eye won't affect the circle hook's action negatively.  The areas I fish Snapper are rocky, snags are inevitable and Port Jackson sharks almost always swallow the hook so for ease and speed of re-rigging the line I use is 30lb Maxima Ultragreen straight through the sinker directly to the hook.  I always use a snell knot with circle hooks as I believe the action of a circle hook is enhanced and have found them to be a very reliable knot until now.  Won't be buying any more of these particular hooks but for now intend to use them as they weren't cheap and have caught plenty of Snapper using them.  Always have discussions with a mate that insists on netting his fish but if I see the fish is well hooked and under 60cm I'm confident in lifting them in.  Losing that fish at the side of the boat helped me realise the flaw in my setup though if I'd netted it I'd be eating a fish dinner. 😪

I hope your solution works well for you Toilor3000, If it doesn't have a go attaching your suspect hooks to a suitable FASTACH swivel. I doubt it would be detrimental to your catch rates. Good luck, keep us all posted with your findings.    bn

[Little_Flatty]

9 hours ago, Toilor3000 said:

Someone suggested a small length of whiting tube and this is what I came up with.  Tests very well.  Hopefully the slight change of line angle leaving the eye won't affect the circle hook's action negatively.  The areas I fish Snapper are rocky, snags are inevitable and Port Jackson sharks almost always swallow the hook so for ease and speed of re-rigging the line I use is 30lb Maxima Ultragreen straight through the sinker directly to the hook.  I always use a snell knot with circle hooks as I believe the action of a circle hook is enhanced and have found them to be a very reliable knot until now.  Won't be buying any more of these particular hooks but for now intend to use them as they weren't cheap and have caught plenty of Snapper using them.  Always have discussions with a mate that insists on netting his fish but if I see the fish is well hooked and under 60cm I'm confident in lifting them in.  Losing that fish at the side of the boat helped me realise the flaw in my setup though if I'd netted it I'd be eating a fish dinner. 😪

Looks good. In my experience I find maxima ultragreen is not the most durable leader in hostile territory. Lovely as a mono mainline though.

Maybe get yourself a tougher formula, like Schneider or similar.

[Rebel]

There is a guy in Melbourne ( dfs ) I use his hooks all the time.

Has a variety. Never had a problem.

Worth a look.

Also try Tortue Mono as a mainline. Tough.

Cheers.

Edited June 24, 2023 by Rebel

[mrsswordfisherman]

1 minute ago, Rebel said:

There is a guy in Melbourne ( dfs ) I use his hooks all the time.

Has a variety. Never had a problem.

Worth a look.

Also try Torture Mono as a mainline. Tough.

Cheers.

Rebel you might mean Tortue Mono 😉🎣

[Rebel]

Thanks  Donna.