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Post by Craig on Nov 17, 2011 21:54:08 GMT
Well I've just been on EBAY and ordered me some VMC circle hooks in size 1 £2.99 for a pack of 20 plus 75p p&p cant grumble at that, though not sure if they're the same as the ones your using Red, looking forward to getting them and tying up a few traces
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Post by red110kev on Nov 17, 2011 23:07:27 GMT
Right chaps... here we go... hope the pics turn out OK. This is the first mod to a circle to stop the hook lying flat against the bait. It's simply a 1cm piece of metal rod soldered to the hook. The second is soldering on a single barbed hook for bait holding img205.imageshack.us/img205/4276/sam02951.jpg [/img] The third is an example of one of my early traces img854.imageshack.us/img854/573/sam02961.jpg [/img] The last is to show how by using bait elastic, the first mod (with the ‘T’ piece) keeps the hook from lying flat against the bait. img694.imageshack.us/img694/2773/sam02971.jpg [/img] As I said in my first post, I’ve developed a sliding trace but I won’t post it yet as it’s still in development (it’s currently at Mk 5!). I know to the purists out there it isn't strictly a single hook trace, but it works for me, and at least they're not trebles. The trace could be modified further so that a single barbed hook (say a size 2 or 4) is used purely for bait holding, then a single circle (with the 'T' piece mod) can be used along the flank of the bait for Pike hooking purposes. I hope these may give some of you chaps out there food for thought, and hopefully get you onto Circle Hooks which can only be good news for the Pike (and Zander). Tight lines.
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Post by penhwyad on Nov 17, 2011 23:31:50 GMT
Certainly got me thinking, red110kev, and I only fish lures!
There's a lot of thought and work gone into those rigs. I hope you don't mind me suggesting two modifications that might save you a bit of time.
(a) Why not have a rig ring in the trace between the swivel and the hook. The bait could then be tagged to the trace via the rig ring. The T piece hook could then be nicked into the bait without using elastic as the strain of the cast would be taken by the tag.
(b) Would a stiff piece of rig tubing threaded onto the hook have the same effect as the welded bar?
............more food for thought!
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spudy
New Member
Posts: 28
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Post by spudy on Nov 18, 2011 22:04:43 GMT
Went out today on local estate lake fished one rod with popped up mackerel and one with popped up lamprey.(both with circle hooks). Twitched them back a yard or two every ten minutes no takes for about first three hours. Then on twitchin the lamprey back thought i had hooked the bottom untill the bottom started moving. Leaned into what felt like a decent fish then nothing, first time this as happend to me using circles. Took the lead of the lamprey rod repaced with ssg shot and lip hooked the lamrpey( half lamprey) with size one circle hook. Time for some wobbling with circle hook (never done this before). Another slow take feels like i had hooked the bottom and again bottom starts to move and again dropped run. Next time i decided to gave some line and wait if i had a take. Did not have to wait long for a gentle knock gave some line and after about 15 second reeled in felt pressure. Two mins later small jack about 4lb lip hooked on the bank. Straight back in with same bait and another take, this time perch to just over two pounds and hooked in the sissors. (my first ever perch to a wobbled bait). So i have come to the conclusion that circle hooks are ok for wobbling baits.
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spudy
New Member
Posts: 28
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Post by spudy on Nov 18, 2011 22:11:54 GMT
Well I've just been on EBAY and ordered me some VMC circle hooks in size 1 £2.99 for a pack of 20 plus 75p p&p cant grumble at that, though not sure if they're the same as the ones your using Red, looking forward to getting them and tying up a few traces Craig they are the same hooks i use (from Sabiki Tackle). They maybe a finer gage than the vmc sport circle but i have had no problems with them and they are sticky sharp. I use size 1 for pike and the size 4 for zander. Hope you do well with them Spudy
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spudy
New Member
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Post by spudy on Nov 18, 2011 22:37:40 GMT
The way i attach my circle hooks if not by the hair rig method is by running a strong thick red rubber band along the tail of the dead bait. To this i wrap around bait elastic really tight to hold the rubber band tight to the tail root leaving a very small loop on the rubber band near to the tail root. Trim off surpus rubber band and you can then thread the hook point through the loop on the rubber band . Sometimes i trim the tail off the dead so it does not mask the hook. This is effectively similar to an hair rig but with the hook much closer to the bait. Suppose you could use any thick rubber band but i like the red ones that post office use to wrap their mail with.(visual effect).
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Post by red110kev on Nov 21, 2011 8:30:16 GMT
penhwyad, I've tried a rig ring on the trace in the past as an anchor point for tying a bait in with thread so yes it would work as an anchor point for the tagging system. As would putting just one Circle hook on the trace via a small split ring/rig ring and lead clip, and using that as an anchor point for a tag. Prior to the metal bar, I've tried biro tubes (minus the ink!) in the past and they do work well but you have to glue them on with araldhite (superglue doesn't last long). The reason I've moved on to soldering a metal bar on is that after a time, even with araldhite, the 'T' pieces began to move around the shank and come loose. Spudy, I think circles are OK for any Piking situation, even possibly spinning (but not tried that yet - you can get circle hook flies for trout so why not?). The main thing is timing and not striking, the former you just have to get right on the day because like all things in fishing, what works one day on a venue will not on another. I've had sessions where at the first indication of a bite you could tighten up and be into a fish. On another day in the same spot, the same tactics ends up in dropped runs and you had to give the fish a little more time with the bait. A similar way I've attached a big Circle to a bait (head upstream) is as follows: 1. Using a baiting/gate latch needle, pull a small elastic band through the eye sockets of the bait so you have a small loop sticking out of each eye socket. 2. put the point of the hook through both loops then twist round a few times until the slack in the elastic is taken up and tightens to the head of the bait. 3. then put the hook point through the tight gap between the elastic and the head of the bait (nose to tail direction) twice and the hook is secured to the head of the bait with the point facing upwards. Like this: (see how to rig a tuna as livebait drawing): www.hotbite.com.au/content/fishing_articles_wa/?artid=311&thePage=3&form_speciesid=||&form_locationid=&form_techid=||&catid=2Tight (Circle rigs) Lines
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spudy
New Member
Posts: 28
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Post by spudy on Nov 21, 2011 13:52:20 GMT
red110kev Thanks for the tip of rigging through eyes with small elastic band. Just seems a perfect way to rig up with circle hooks for wobbling small deads. Will be giving it ago later this week . Many thanks Spudy
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Post by leonroskilly on Nov 21, 2011 14:35:13 GMT
OOOps!! I was lured into posting about circles on another thread (see www.pikewatch.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=protect&thread=210&page=1#2130 ) Incidentally since using circles for lob-worming for perch, I've found that I'm landing a lot of pike that would previously have been 'bite-offs', the circle quickly locating in the scissors with the line outside of the pike's mouth. Providing the fish is played gently (I learned long ago that pike only pull back if they feel the pressure of being pulled), I've guided a lot of (mainly) jacks into my landing net, using light rods and tackle (exciting stuff sometimes, especially when the bigger girls decide to play). It's also made me think seriously about the size of circle hooks that I use when piking, and I'm experimenting with how small I can realistically go when dead-baiting.
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Post by red110kev on Nov 21, 2011 16:17:08 GMT
Leonroskilly,
be careful not to go too small because you've got to remember that the gape on a Circle size 2 for example will be much like a size 6 or 8 J hook in reality. Whereas a normal J hook or even (dare I say it....) a treble can penetrate anywhere inside the mouth so you can get away with size 8 or 10s, a circle hook relies on pivoting on the rim of the mouth so the gape has to be large enough to accomodate the thickness of the rim. A small circle (say size 6) will not have a wide enough gape to pivot and get a hold (believe me... I've tried the smaller sizes).
I personally use sizes 3/0 down to size 1 depending on bait size and whether I'm after Pike or Zander. I caught my PB Zander (9lb 2oz ;D ;D ;D) while out for Pike using size 2/0 Circles and they didn't seem too big for it's gob!
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Post by Craig on Nov 25, 2011 22:17:58 GMT
Well my VMC Circle hooks arrived in the post this morning will get some traces made up asap and test them with tagged baits.
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Post by micksmith on Jan 6, 2013 15:53:31 GMT
Hi, all , im new on here,not new to piking thro, live in the lea valley and have been piking for ever.Pike (and any fish or wildlife) welfare is always top of my list. Been trying to get away from trebles for years. tryed double hooks. and just large singles, have been hear good things about circle hooks on this and other forums. Dont think anyone has a bad word to say about them.Am i right in thinking that they cant be hooked into the bait as normal?From what ive read on here it seems that they have to be free of the bait.I am going to give them a try even thro i cant for the life of me see how they work.The ones i have got are FLADEN size 2/0. any comments on anything i have said?
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Post by micksmith on Jan 7, 2013 16:34:47 GMT
Is there anyone there, is this forum only for pikers north of watford?
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Post by barryc on Jan 7, 2013 22:07:56 GMT
Hi micksmith been quiet on here for ages. Thought things would pick up in the winter but no. I have yet to sereously try circles but I beleive you are right that they work best when free from the bait. I know that for sea game fish the bait is often hooked through the lips and seems to work. Most of the target species do however have very different mouths to pike so may make a difference. All of my piking has been done with singles usually size 2 raptors with the bait mounted on a tag. I do sometimes use small baits, usualy sprats then I put a few turns of elastic round the middle and slip the hook underneath. By the way I'me down in sunny Cornwall.
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Post by micksmith on Jan 7, 2013 22:14:15 GMT
thanks for reply. would/have you used 1x single on whole mack or herring?
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