Thread: Small Circle Hooks for Bluegill

I've never seen any I thought were small enough for bluegill. It might be easiest to bend some regular hooks into that shape.

Why are you looking for circle hooks for gills, anyway?

I did a quick search and found these threads:

http://crappie.com/crappie/showthrea...t=circle+hooks

http://crappie.com/crappie/showthrea...t=circle+hooks

http://crappie.com/crappie/showthrea...t=circle+hooks

Originally Posted by Rangersedge

What is the best size circle hooks for Bluegill and where can I find them?

I use owner mosquito hooks and gamakatsu octopus hooks. Both in red. I like size 8 most of the time. I will drop down to a 10 depending on bait. Gander Mtn has the gama's, Cabelas and BPS have both. I use these hooks 90+ percent of the time. You will need hemostats or small pliers handy, but they are good hooks.

Chris

Originally Posted by bluegilln

You will need hemostats or small pliers handy, but they are good hooks.

Do they take these hooks deep? Circle hooks are supposed to give you a nice, clean hook in the lip.

Originally Posted by deathb4disco

Do they take these hooks deep? Circle hooks are supposed to give you a nice, clean hook in the lip.

They don't really get them all that deep, but there is no shank to hold on to. Their mouth is so small I can't get my finger in there even if it's just inside. Not sure the octopus and mosquito hooks are a true circle hook, but they are pretty close.

Originally Posted by bluegilln

They don't really get them all that deep, but there is no shank to hold on to. Their mouth is so small I can't get my finger in there even if it's just inside.

I started using disgorgers 10 or 12 years ago instead of pliers. See here:

http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com/ta...ring=disgorger

They are worth their weight in gold as far as I'm concerned -- much better than pliers for removing deep hooks. There's a little bit of a trick to using them, but once you've mastered it, you'll never go back.

Is there an advantage to using small circle hooks for bluegill?

I think there would be an advantage IF you could find one small enough for gills, but as bluegilln said above, you might still have deep-hooking issues.

I have found that a very sensitive float teamed with a disgorger takes care of about 95% of my deep-hooking problems.

I like disgorgers too. Before I new there was such a thing I would use a stick with a groove cut in the end which works about as well.

You can also try using Tru-Turn Hooks. The "crook" in the shank of the hook seems to create a motion that always hooks the fish in the upper part of the mouth. In general if I can see the top of the hook, I can alway get it out because I know which way the rest of the hook is turned. I.E. I can use my little finger to apply pressure in the right place to make the hook pop out.

Oscar