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Post by piker on Jan 30, 2011 23:33:41 GMT
The more I fish/ see/read the more confidence I have in these hooks Just waiting for someone to do a post Soon, But seriously the circles have been performing really well And I think I am going to give them more attention I don't like leaving runs and I hit them straight away to prevent The chance of deep hooking which with singles the chances are greatly reduced it is still possible and will inevitably happen somewhere if runs are left too long But with the circles the chances are reduced even further Which can only be a good thing,
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Post by penhwyad on Jan 31, 2011 15:51:45 GMT
Do you actually strike when you're using circles? I use them for sea trout fishing and found that if I struck, my hook up rate was about 20%. If, however, I just reeled down on the fish, my hook up rate was 100%, with all of them being scissor hooked.
They were originally developed for japanese commercial longline fisherman so that the fish would hook themselves.
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Post by piker on Jan 31, 2011 22:50:32 GMT
No I don't strike either ,same as you Pen just point rod towards fish and tighten down then lean into it and the hook up rate is good ,the only time it's a struggle to set the hook would be if the fish is facing you and has its mouth wide open ,and lets face it any hook would struggle in that scenario. I would like to do a bit for the sea trout haven't caught a good one for years only want it to smile for a pic and then I would let it carry on about it's business
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Post by gazjon5 on Feb 1, 2011 8:47:37 GMT
I have finally started to do OK on the singles, (circles), been using them for two seasons now, only this season have I been happy with the rig. Last season I probably only averaged around 50/60% hook up rate, despite changes to the rigs / hook size etc etc. Start of this season started using Gamakatsu 4/0 circles, bait hooked cleanly through the snout or tail root, soft baits same but supported with a bit of bait elastic. Hook up rate now around 80%, couple of the lost fish I have seen when margin fishing and have only been pencil pike (Jacks) definatly similar to when I used trebles, but without the hassle of unhooking on a freezing cold night / day. Not had any swallow the hook, odd one getting hooked inside mouth but most in scissors, hopefully photo of rig below, Gaz i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/gazjon5/DSC00130.jpg
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Post by piker on Feb 1, 2011 19:33:25 GMT
Nice one Gaz good to know that hook up ratio is the same as trebles. I like the rig ,also important to note that the sizes of circles are smaller than a J hook And they don't pose the same problems of a big J hook as the point looks towards the shank so the worry people have of damage to internal organs is almost eliminated. Cheers for posting pics
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Post by irrich on Apr 11, 2011 10:48:18 GMT
Hi y'aaaall... well all went t**s up last week...again... so me goin t do some o that fishin stuff this week...wed/thurs..overnight...oh yesss ;D my mate catches a bigun again i'm gettin a deevorce...still he's gonna try singles this time...progress... any hoo got me some circle hooks t try....see i am on the right thready....so i'll let ya know how they do...assumin i gets anythin other than a cold.....
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Post by Craig on Apr 23, 2011 18:45:01 GMT
How did ya get on mate?
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spudy
New Member
Posts: 28
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Post by spudy on Nov 11, 2011 20:08:54 GMT
Second season using single hooks for my pred fishing and this season moved onto circle hooks. I am using vmc sure set circle size 1 tied on no knot style and shrink tubed for my pike rigs and size 4 for zander rigs. Early days yet but have had four pike to 13lb and two zander to 9lb out of only six takes.(100%). Like i say early days yet but all either lip or sissor hooked. Anyone trying circle hooks it is important you don,t strike (like as mentioned in previous posts)or you will miss the fish. Just slowly reel in untill presure is felt and then gently lean into the fish. Also because of how the circle hook works the fish will not come off. I also crush the barb down as this makes rolling the hook out of the sissors a doddle. Spudy
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Post by Craig on Nov 11, 2011 21:50:37 GMT
Hi Spudy welcome back mate, well done on your 100% hook up rate with circle hooks, always nice to hear how members are getting along with their single hooks and what they're using, it just goes to show that if you take the time to learn the skills required to hook fish with a single/circle hook its every bit as, if not more effective than using treble hooks. Please keep us updated of your progress
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Post by red110kev on Nov 15, 2011 9:57:14 GMT
Good day chaps. Newbie here and first post. Got to say this is a pretty good forum and being a massive fan of Circle hooks I thought I’d give my two penn’orth. I used to use trebles years ago and was very fortunate not to have experienced a really deep hooked Pike. However, I soon got fed up of taking one treble out only to find the other getting caught either in the Pike’s mouth or in the landing net. After watching one of those Australian fishing shows a few years ago, they were using Circle hooks for Marlin and after explaining how they worked, particularly the bit about not striking but tightening down, it got me thinking about using them for Pike. So, on my first trip using Circles, first Pike hooked cleanly in the scissors. Next few trips more Pike hooked in the scissors. In fact ALL of the Pike I’ve hooked have been in the scissors. I’ve even had Zander and Chub hooked cleanly in the edge of the mouth. …..Result! I’ve been experimenting with rigs over the years as initially the main problem I had was the bottom Circle ending up flat against the bait, and you do need the hooks to stand proud of the bait to be effective. To combat this I’ve ended up soldering a 1cm piece of steel rod a few mm away from the eye to create a ‘T’ piece which lays flat against the bait to stop the hook rolling over and laying flat but you do need to bind the hook on to the bait though with bait elastic (a wonderful product and only 99p for 200m of the Fladen stuff from Boyes). The next improvement was to solder a size 2-6 ‘J’ hook (minus the eye) on the top Circle to use as a bait holder (when casting) thus leaving the Circle free to do it’s job. (No pics yet I’m afraid as I’m on my work PC). My latest rig incorporates the above 2 hook mods on a sliding rig so that you don’t have to make up numerous rigs with different hook spacings. I’ve tried several different brands of Circles and have settled on VMC Sport Circles (from UK Hooks) in sizes 3/0 through to 1 depending on bait size and whether I’m going for Pike or Zander. My fishing buddy has only started serious predator fishing this season and he’s already converted to Circle hooks. I knocked him up a few hook modifications and he’s even tying his own traces now! He's even got involved in developing my sliding trace and come up with an improvement! My own conclusions after using Circles exclusively for the past few years are: • There’s no place in Piking for Trebles (even on Lures). They should go the way of the Gaff and the Gag. • You need to use a couple of sizes larger than you would for trebles/singles to take into account the narrower gape due to the inturned point. • The hooks need to stand proud of the bait and I (personally) think it’s rubbish to assume the Pike will drop the bait because it feels the hooks. Just think about all the rubbish/twigs etc it must pick up when picking a bait up off the bottom anyway. • With Circles, deep hooking is a thing of the past. Although I accept a minority of Circle users may experience the odd deeper hooking, the design of the hooks makes this highly unlikely. • Another bonus from the design is that if for whatever reason you cannot react instantly to a take (as you must with trebles), you do have a little more time to ‘set’ the hooks. All in all, I’m pretty chuffed with Circle hooks and will never go back to using trebles! Tight Lines.
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Post by Craig on Nov 15, 2011 21:45:47 GMT
Good Day Red Glad you like our forum and thanks for sharing your views about circle hooks and explaining how you make up your rigs I read your post with great interest If you get the chance to post a pic of your rig please do. You've convinced me to try the VMC circles myself as you probably already know I use ESP T6 Raptors which have an inward curved point not unlike a circle hook but not quite so severe and have had such successful hook up rates that I've not felt the need to change. What is really interesting me about the circle hook though is that even if the hook is swallowed by the pike it is unlikely to be deep hooked due to the inturned point which should slide out of the stomach and catch on the lip or scissors of the fish when you tighten up to it, sounds perfect to me.
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Post by red110kev on Nov 15, 2011 22:20:26 GMT
Believe me craig, the Circle hook is so effective at preventing deep hooking (checkout some of the sea fishing forums) that I can NEVER see me reverting back to trebles.
I can see a point for using normal J hook singles for bait holding and even on 'normal' snap tackle but the downside is that you MUST strike early. Using circles gives you that bit more of a leeway with reaction time.
I've even been chatting to my mate on the bank when he's spotted my rod tip bouncing with a fish on, and when I've connected it's the same old story..... hooked in the scissors or on the edge of the mouth. If I'd been using trebles or even normal J hooks I'd more likeley be spending time with the long nosed disgorger probing around in the throat area.
On the subject of Circle brands, there's not a lot out there. I've tried Sakuma 440s (mainly for the free postage) but the bend of the hook seems too inturned for my liking. I prefer the VMC Sport Circles because they're a better shape and are much heavier in the wire. UK Hooks is the only place in the UK I've found them so far and although the postage might seem a bit steep, if you put in a big enough order and maybe include some other bits like swivels, split rings etc, it's not too bad.
I'll post some pics when I've got a bit more time.
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Post by irrich on Nov 16, 2011 11:10:14 GMT
Hello peeps...... welcome to the forum Red. I remember postin a post a bit back askin if any members are using circles and if so how they found em. I was thinkin about givin em a try, which I did and am now hooked on em. It's interesting to read these recent posts and it seems once you try em you find how good they are at hooking up the fish safely and that they really are good for preventing deep hooking as well. Like craig I'd like some pics of Reds rigs, and i totally like the conclusions at the bottom of your post Red although some will not agree with you on the removal of trebles from lures, i have my lures loaded with singles and don't find it a problem. after all if a pike grabs it with a couple of singles on it's gonna be hooked, why on earth wouldn't it?? spinner baits have been around a while and they have a big single on, and i've had a fair few pike on those babies over the years. I've been a bit lax lately.. cos i normally like to welcome new members when they join the forum, so for any new members i have missed...Welcome it's always interesting this time of year cos nowt much appens on here during summer but come october/ nov time the forum comes to life, new members join and bring with them some new ideas and thoughts and i'm a happy bunny although we don't have thousands of members (127 as of today) the forum grows each year, we get a lot of guests (132 in the past 24 hrs) having a look and there'll be many out there using singles who haven't joined, it's enough to put a smile on any pikes face. And while i'm on a roll happy birthday to gazjon5 and piker911... Ian..
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Post by Craig on Nov 17, 2011 0:11:43 GMT
Ha Ha welcome back to the chat Ian, I cant wait to try the circles out myself now, I'm gonna order some on line, just dont know when I'm gonna get to the water as on 7 day shifts for a fair few weeks!!! aaarghh!
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Post by penhwyad on Nov 17, 2011 21:35:16 GMT
I've had problems getting onto the forum in the last few months, but the problem seems to have rectified itself!
All my smaller Mepps on my ultralite set up, for trout and perch, have been replaced with size 12 circles. Result has been a vastly improved hook up rate.
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