Gut hooks and circles.

[sirwaxxalot 1]

I recently purchased a bunch of circle hooks hearing nothing but good from them, for when the missus wants fish. She usually bait fishes. We went to the Onk this morning and caught about 20 bream with most going just under legal and only 4 going over.To the question! Does anyone have problems with circle hooks not hooking in the mouth but the gut? I was disappointed as at least 50% of fish were gut hooked, degorger got a workout. I really dont want to see these beautiful creatures come afoul because of an injury sustained from us.Cheers MarcPS owner circles

[afishyfish 4]

Gut hooking still happens, tho 50% seems a very high rate !If you were fishing wirh a slack line, the fish may have just been inhaling the baits right down, whereas normally circles for snapper etc are fished with a tighter line, and the rod tip is watched until the fish hooks itself trying to swallow the bait.Thats my understanding anyway SW

[Moggy23 625]

Had a few gutted hooked snapper using 6.0s and now I,m using 8'0s which just about put an end to that problem.So maybe try bigger circles.

[sirwaxxalot 1]

Yeah i didnt think about that. We both were fishing unweighted gar/bottle squid for most of the day, with a bow in the line. Maybe the bow needs to cut out, and bigger circles is a great idea Moggy...though the missus might be adverse to another shopping trip! Oh and beautful day for wetting a line today

[plankton 725]

If you were fishing wirh a slack line' date=' the fish may have just been inhaling the baits right down, whereas normally circles for snapper etc are fished with a tighter line, and the rod tip is watched until the fish hooks itself trying to swallow the bait.[/quote']Yep, when fishing with circles you need to keep tight to the bait, otherwise fish will swallow them before the hook can do its job. When fishing unweighted it can be tough to do, often I'll hold the rod with the tip low and when it feels like something is taking the bait a slow smooth lift is all it takes to set the hook right in the corner of the mouth.

[statesquider 0]

Same experience with myself. If the line is slack and/or the hook is too small i find circles will hook themselves in deep. Can be harder to keep an eye on sometimes..Still... WAY less gut hooks and a lot easier to release fish safely than regular hooks

[aldingabeachfisho 1]

When using circles I will use the next size hook up from what I would in an octopus hook.

[statesquider 0]

Not a bad idea actualy fella. Will give it a crack next time i'm out

[Rollas 2]

Make sure you only pin the bait and dont thread it on the hook. If your using a strip of gar fillet you would put the hook through one end of the fillet and leave the rest hanging. With squid just pin it through the top of the mantle or same as gar if using strips. And fish with the reel in gear on a tight line.if you bunch the bait on the hook and leave it free they swallow the lot and because the bait is covering the hook it cant work the way its supposed to. Fish will inhale the bait and sometimes tear it off the hook but at least you minimise the gut hooking. Also fishing with a running sinker can also be a hit and miss issue as you get the play in the line still.Going up a size on the circle is next thing I would be doing as well. What size and type of circle did you use?

[plankton 725]

Make sure you only pin the bait and dont thread it on the hook. If your using a strip of gar fillet you would put the hook through one end of the fillet and leave the rest hanging. With squid just pin it through the top of the mantle or same as gar if using strips. And fish with the reel in gear on a tight line.if you bunch the bait on the hook and leave it free they swallow the lot and because the bait is covering the hook it cant work the way its supposed to. Fish will inhale the bait and sometimes tear it off the hook but at least you minimise the gut hooking.

In my experience you can thread a bait onto a circle but you need to make sure the hook point is well exposed. I'll usually put the hook through one end of the bait then spin the hook around and put it back through at a distance that allows the bait to sit straight. With softer baits like whole pilchards or fish strips I'll often use some bait mate to keep the bait from sliding down and interfering with the hook point.