Thread: Anybody use circle hooks for cats?

I,ve been missing some bites so today i went & bought some of these circle hooks to try.We went out saturday night we were set up with 30# test line i broke two hooks & got broke off four times dad got broke off once. Today i went & got some 50# braid spiderwire will have another go at it monday night:D The way i understand is these circle hooks should pretty much set their self, just let the fish load up on the rod before you jerk That may take some getting use to with these cat like reflexes:D

No need to "jerk". If they are any size to 'em they just pick up the bait and head downtown, unlike the little guys that just jerk on the bait. Theyre already hooked on the circle hooks when you get the rod out of the holder.

Yea, no jerking involved. Let them take off with the bait a ways then just lift your rod tip and start reeling them in. They will set the hook themselves, almost always a perfect hookset too. It took me a several times fishing with circle hooks to finally stop trying to set the hook... old habits die hard!

I bought some a while back, and do not like them at all. I see the rod bouncing, I automatically set the hook, which does not work with circle hooks. I guess it takes some getting used to. The last time out catfishing, I missed 5 or 6 good bites, before I switched back to a regular hook and started catching fish.

Originally Posted by FishinGeek

Yea, no jerking involved. Let them take off with the bait a ways then just lift your rod tip and start reeling them in. They will set the hook themselves, almost always a perfect hookset too. It took me a several times fishing with circle hooks to finally stop trying to set the hook... old habits die hard!

I hear ya on the old habits die hard i,m afraid when i see the rod move i,ll be all over it:D I,ll let you guys know how this works out for me after tonight.:D

We ended up with 17 last night. Nothing real big from 1 to 5 pound range dad let one pull out i guess and i let one run under something while trying to get another rod out of my way As far as the circle hooks go it,ll take me some get,n use to, dad seemed to do just fine with them every fish he caught was hooked right in the corner of the mouth.:D

Well done! The 1-5 pounders are better for eating, but the big boys sure are a lot of fun to catch! Once you finally get yourself retrained to not set the hook with circle hooks you'll love them.

I'm a huge fan of the circle hooks. I have never lost a fish from them just getting off but of course the rare line break does happen. They always seem to be hooked right in the corner of the mouth. 4/0 and 5/0 for me.
Me and the boy went last sunday and he landed a 20lb channel after I landed a 10lb'er that I bragged about till he shut me up with his catch.

I have used them and like the way they fish. One problem is I am having a hard time making myself not jerk to set the hook. If you don't jerk you will get good hook sets and more often.

Originally Posted by Locator79

I bought some a while back, and do not like them at all. I see the rod bouncing, I automatically set the hook, which does not work with circle hooks. I guess it takes some getting used to. The last time out catfishing, I missed 5 or 6 good bites, before I switched back to a regular hook and started catching fish.

Bouncing rods generally mean small (er) fish which doesnt usually just take the bait and try leaving the area. I may be mistaken, but most circle hook fishermen are usually after larger fish. I'd love hearing from the guys about using circle hooks catching the smaller guys...the ones that just jerk the hook and bounce the rods.