circle hooks

finbully

Has anybody experimented tying flies using circle hooks? Any increase in hookups if you have?

I fish So Cal based long range sportfishers and we have had increased hook ups and successful landings using circle hooks with bait.

I'm a rookie at SW fly fishing but I would surely want to try flies with circle hooks to see if the success rate transfers to fly fishing.

lemaymiami

Like you I love circles for bait fishing -particularly giant tarpon.... That said, I see no particular advantage using them for flies. As far as that goes circle hooks for flies is a solution in search of a problem (that doesn't exist...). I've been tying commercially since the late seventies, have tried to come up with something on circle hooks - but long ago gave it up as something that just doesn't work well for me... Good luck, if you learn differently please let us know....

Zhunter

Circle hooks are like bananas, they get thrown off the boat before it leaves the dock. For different reasons of course, one is rumored to be bad luck, the second does not work, which can be construed to equate to the first.

finbully

Zhunter wrote: »

Circle hooks are like bananas, they get thrown off the boat before it leaves the dock. For different reasons of course, one is rumored to be bad luck, the second does not work, which can be construed to equate to the first.

Are you saying they don't work when used to tie flys? I was wondering if I should experiment or not.

cpr

I love circle hooks and that's all I use with cut or live bait and have seen a few on jigs but have never heard of people have much luck putting them on lures.

saltybum

I don't know about the circle hooks but don't believe the banana crap. They are just stupidstitious.

kahmad

The idea with a circle hook is that you wait for the line to tighten up, as opposed to a regular hook where you are trying to "set" it into the fish. If you're stripping a fly, a circle hook wouldn't work well because you would simply pull it out of the fish's mouth with every extra strip of line. If you are fishing for grass carp or something like that, where the fly is stationary, a circle might work. The active nature of fly fishing just isn't conducive to the use of circle hooks. You really want to be able to get a good hook set.

Prhea36

kahmad wrote: »

The idea with a circle hook is that you wait for the line to tighten up, as opposed to a regular hook where you are trying to "set" it into the fish. If you're stripping a fly, a circle hook wouldn't work well because you would simply pull it out of the fish's mouth with every extra strip of line. If you are fishing for grass carp or something like that, where the fly is stationary, a circle might work. The active nature of fly fishing just isn't conducive to the use of circle hooks. You really want to be able to get a good hook set.

well said!

salty limey

"The idea with a circle hook is that you wait for the line to tighten up, as opposed to a regular hook where you are trying to "set" it into the fish. If you're stripping a fly, a circle hook wouldn't work well because you would simply pull it out of the fish's mouth with every extra strip of line. If you are fishing for grass carp or something like that, where the fly is stationary, a circle might work. The active nature of fly fishing just isn't conducive to the use of circle hooks. You really want to be able to get a good hook set."

Yep, that's your answer right there.

Also, there are circle hooks and there are "circle" hooks - many people who are fishing bait with so-called circle hooks are actually just using a hook with with a bigger hook gape and curve to the point. Not really a true circle hook.

idlerick

Tyers keep trying to incorporate circle hooks into flies, but, as Bob L. above and others have said, repeatedly, it's a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Circle hooks were developed to prevent deep-hooking fish and killing them. That's rarely a problem with flies, and unless you can develop the reflexes to wait for a fish to turn with the fly and slowly tighten on him (which goes against all logic and reaction), all you'll do is lose fish at the strike.