Circle Hooks for Cats

I’m liking them so far
Things that I have noticed while using them, I have a better hook up ratio with my softer tipped rod. Not sure why other than the idea the softer rod loads with a little more forgiveness, giving the hook a better chance to do its thing.
I total love a circle hook while drifting for Channel Cats. Slam, drop the rod back a bit and wait for the train

After talking with Brian the other night in the boat he had a good point. With the size mouth a large Flathead is sporting, does the hook have a chance to catch anything without pulling straight through the middle of that large pie hole? I would say no, if the cat is coming at me, but if going away from me there should not be a problem.

I’m using an 8/0 Gomakatso, anyone using something bigger or what is your thought on hook size. 8/0 seems to work well with the size bait I am using. I have had troubles with too large of a hook for my bait. It seems with to much hook the bait foul hooks themselves a lot or, the hook tangles in the line while the bait is swimming around.
Just a couple things I have noticed with the circle hook.

Anyone else care to share your thoughts on a circle hook?
What do you like or dislike?
Anything helping you put together a higher hook up ratio using the circle hook?

I know these questions have been asked before but I need a refresher course
Hope someone else can use a refresher also

Bret

I used 8/0 circle hooks exclusively for flats until this year. I still use them for channels (smaller hook size).

I’ve now switched over the Gami Octopus hooks for flats. With the more time I was spending on the water this year, I was getting a lot more action and seeing first hand the downfalls of circles. Too many times they were picking up the bait and coming right at the boat. Other times when they did turn nice, I’d give the fish pressure only to have the hook “circle” back into the bait and said goodbye to the hook point. At least if that happens with an octopus hooks there’s still a chance to rip it clean and be able to hook up.

Circles work very good under the right circumstances and also once a circle is hooked up, you can fight that fish all day and it ain’t coming off, but right now I prefer non-circles for flats.

My buddy gave circles a try for about three trips for flats – he lost two fish during the fight, as in after they should’ve been hooked. That’s extremely rare – or should be – with flatheads. He threw the rest of those hooks away.

I’ve had similar experiences with circles for channel cats using cut bait. I have too large a percentage of fish on for about thirty seconds then gone. Part of it is probably operator error – but I’ve tried about every approach possible and keep losing fish.

So my own limited experience with circles is negative.

Then there’s the one that my buddy did bring all the way to the boat, hooked right square in the top of the head – how does ANY hook do that?!

To hook a Flathead in the bean like that, I would guess he was hooked up, rolled in the line and the hook came out and found its mark.

Either that or your bait flat out attacked that fish

Bret, I have had the same annoyances from time to time. One day it is a problem and the next day it is not? They must clamp down real hard after picking up the bait. I set the drag light and if they run without getting hooked, the bait is scaled so they must be clamped down pretty good. When they are running, I try to turn the drag up or thumb the spool before I pick the rod up but it just ain’t workin 100%. This is with a big gill with the tail cut off and I don’t think the fish are monsters. I began trimming tails off when I noticed that when I hook in my favorite spot, the hook point was pointed right at the tail. This has been with big bait for me, 7-8″ gills that I’m just using because they are easily available.

I tried little greenies that I could buy that are 3″ long but the channels eat them and that is it for them.

Perhaps when the fish run they are clamped down too hard for the bait to shift and the hook to set with a big bait? If they get hooked it seems to be when the rod is bending but before they really run. I just went and caught some smaller bait so i will see if that helps.

Quote:

---

Circles work very good under the right circumstances and also once a circle is hooked up, you can fight that fish all day and it ain’t coming off…

---

Do you (or anyone else) notice that you are losing more, even if negligible, fish bringing them into the boat with octopus hooks? What I am getting at is there a difference in % of fish landed between the 2?

I’ve never had an issue with the circles, so I don’t see a need to change. That may change at some point, but until then I am sticking with circles.

My problem when using circle fooks for flatheads is when the rod bends way over and then pops back up and the fish and your bait are gone. Maybe they are channels, northerns or gar but man I hate that.

I least when I set the hook and miss, I can find some kind of fault of mine to blame it on.

Once the rod loads up you should not let up on the fish. Like I mentioned above, I found my lighter rod is working great with the circle hooks. I also put 3 Northern in the boat Friday night caught in the corner of the mouth. Normally I would have been bit off.

Quote:

---

I least when I set the hook and miss, I can find some kind of fault of mine to blame it on.

---

Agree!

To date, I’ve lost two fish after the hook set using the Gamakatzu 10/0’s. Both this year…one last night. We also missed more fish last night than I have in a long time. I blame it on a fast swirling eddie that we were fishing in.

Back to the theory of circles…just seems that with a large mouth of a flat, a circle has more of a chance to miss the corners on the way out…if the point is facing the opposite side of the corner of the mouth…it’s a missed fish, if the fish is facing the boat..it could be a missed fish. If the bait is in the way of the point…it’s a missed fish….too many if’s.

With the hook set (hard) using the Gami’s, it clears the bait off the hook and the full gap of the hook is exposed and there’s a higher chance of catching on something on it’s way out.

Last night we had two fish that were almost gut hooked. Much closer to being gut hooked than any other fish hooked out of my boat this year. I blame that again on the lack of bite detection fishing the fast eddie.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

PS For channels and sturgeon…circles are fantastic!

Brian-

Have had 4 fish come unbottoned on the way back to the boat this year including a freighttrian on Saturday night. 10/0 Gamakatsu Octopus. Every fish that I’ve lost has swam at the boat fast after the hookset.

I had my dad out for his first flathead trip on Saturday night. Got a small 5lb flat at 8:00pm, ‘nother daytime fish and dad’s first flathead. WooHoo! Then nothing until 11:00-11:30 or so when the right rod got run over! Rod tip was swaying side to side and the clicker zipped all in an instant. I asked dad if he kicked the rod but I knew what happened, old flatty wanted to eat! Nothing happened after that so I picked the rod up to see if he was sitting there with it. Nothing. About 15 seconds later, thump, thump, thump, thump, and line started burning off the spool under my thumb. What a great feeling. I bet I let him run 20’ and I set hard. We both (the fish & myself) stopped dead in our tracks. I think I grunted “oooof!”. I was going to hand dad the rod at this point but seriously thought I was snagged as neither one of us were winning the battle. I finally felt thump, thump again as the fish pulled drag off my 7000, then he turned and swam at the boat. I cranked as fast as I could to keep pressure on him when the hook came out.

What do ya do? Next time!

Quote:

---

What do ya do?

---

Try not to swear….

Quote:

---

Once the rod loads up you should not let up on the fish.

---

Nice call Bret. That is absolutely the best piece of advice to give a guy using circles, besides loading up, instead of setting the hook. I try to never let up on the pressure at all costs. Luckily, I have yet to have one steamroll towards the boat. You never know with a circle when it has embedded itself into the fish. Keeping pressure will help work the hook into the fish at some point when fighting it.

I’ve caught litteraly hundred of cats on circle hooks over the past 5 years or so. Blues, channels and flatheads. The best application I have found for them is under a float. With traditional hooks, I’ve had trouble with getting the hook set because of the bow in the line as the float drifts. With circle hooks you just reel it tight and usually the fish is hooked.

What I am complaining about is a rod bending over and popping back up just about the time you get to it. Maybe 2 or 3 seconds. I think Brian might be right about the hook finding its way out of that big mouth.

2 or 3 seconds of steady clicker pull with very little resistance felt by the flathead gives you enough time to get your hands on the rod and screw up the hookset yourself.

I may try a circle on my softest rod this weekend since I went 0 for 2 last Saturday night. Although one of my misses was because the fish swam straight sideways and got in the wood and I had to break the line. The rod never bent, I just saw the line moving sideways.