04-22-2019, 09:11 PM
[#0000ff]Good report. Glad you found some playful kitties. I
[/#0000ff] [#0000ff]suspect that a lot of the larger fish are seeking out rock piles and/or flooded vegetation to start making their nests.
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[#0000ff]About the circle hook thing. I was first exposed to them many years ago while commercial fishing for rockfish with long baited lines in southern California. There was a definite improvement in the numbers of fish that got hooked and stayed on the line. And I have since used them for fishing big halibut. But I have not had your degree of success for ANY freshwater fishing I have done.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The only place I have done well with circle hooks was fishing set lines for flatheads...leaving them out all night. They did what they were supposed to do. However, for some reason I have missed a lot of fish while using circle hooks on a rod. Yeah, I know, you ain't supposed to try to cross their eyes...and I don't. As instructed, I let the fish move off against the pull of the rod to set the hook in itself. Problem is that even with properly exposed points and the right hook size to bait size ratio the hooks simply pulled out of the fishes' mouths without catching. And I have tried several brands and sizes of quality circle hooks in my testing process.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]On my last outing to Lindon, I caught somewhere north of 20 cats...up to 27". I had two pop and drop bites...probably bullheads or white bass. Otherwise, I had a 100% hookup rate and only lost one fish on the way to the net. Furthermore, there were only two fish that had the hook deeper than in the corner of their mouths...and I was able to remove both of those without injury to the fish or myself.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just sayin'...I would really have to go some to improve on those odds with a circle hook. What hooks do I use? Eagle Claw 084 ring eye hooks, in sizes 1/0, 3/0, 5/0 and 7/0. Very strong, offset bend, very sharp, stainless steel.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][inline EC-084.jpg]
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[#0000ff]Of course I also catch plenty of fish on fligs. And those all have regular jig hooks...not circles. And I miss very few strikes.
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[#0000ff]I really think there are a lot of factors in play when an individual angler decides what hooks they prefer. There is the species pursued, size anticipated, type and size of bait, method of hooking and presentation of bait, length of line from rod to fish, strength of rod and line, mood and activity level of the fish, water temps and clarity, etc. I know that most of these things influence the approach I use on any given day.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Good on ya for initiating some new cataholics.[/#0000ff]
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[/#0000ff] [#0000ff]suspect that a lot of the larger fish are seeking out rock piles and/or flooded vegetation to start making their nests.
[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]About the circle hook thing. I was first exposed to them many years ago while commercial fishing for rockfish with long baited lines in southern California. There was a definite improvement in the numbers of fish that got hooked and stayed on the line. And I have since used them for fishing big halibut. But I have not had your degree of success for ANY freshwater fishing I have done.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The only place I have done well with circle hooks was fishing set lines for flatheads...leaving them out all night. They did what they were supposed to do. However, for some reason I have missed a lot of fish while using circle hooks on a rod. Yeah, I know, you ain't supposed to try to cross their eyes...and I don't. As instructed, I let the fish move off against the pull of the rod to set the hook in itself. Problem is that even with properly exposed points and the right hook size to bait size ratio the hooks simply pulled out of the fishes' mouths without catching. And I have tried several brands and sizes of quality circle hooks in my testing process.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]On my last outing to Lindon, I caught somewhere north of 20 cats...up to 27". I had two pop and drop bites...probably bullheads or white bass. Otherwise, I had a 100% hookup rate and only lost one fish on the way to the net. Furthermore, there were only two fish that had the hook deeper than in the corner of their mouths...and I was able to remove both of those without injury to the fish or myself.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just sayin'...I would really have to go some to improve on those odds with a circle hook. What hooks do I use? Eagle Claw 084 ring eye hooks, in sizes 1/0, 3/0, 5/0 and 7/0. Very strong, offset bend, very sharp, stainless steel.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][inline EC-084.jpg]
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[#0000ff]Of course I also catch plenty of fish on fligs. And those all have regular jig hooks...not circles. And I miss very few strikes.
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[#0000ff]I really think there are a lot of factors in play when an individual angler decides what hooks they prefer. There is the species pursued, size anticipated, type and size of bait, method of hooking and presentation of bait, length of line from rod to fish, strength of rod and line, mood and activity level of the fish, water temps and clarity, etc. I know that most of these things influence the approach I use on any given day.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Good on ya for initiating some new cataholics.[/#0000ff]
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