Circle Hooks for jug fishing`

[spinafish]

Anyone using circle hooks on your jugs or maybe your trotlines?  I have done fairly well on them with jugs..don't like them for rod-n-reel fishing for cats though, can't keep from setting the hook..just ingrained I guess.

[hillbill]

ive been useing circ hooks for a couple years on my jugs along with a couple other kinds of hooks. i love them, they seem to outcatch the other styles and always a positive catch. ill admit im like a lot of guys and cant give up the" hookset" and dont yet use them for rod-n-reel fishing tho.

[spinafish]

HillBill,that's the problem I have with them with rod-n-reel..but I have found the Kahle style hook is the way to go when using conventional tackle..The only problem I have found with Kahles is that with smaller cats they tend to come through an eye almost every time.

[D.C.]

hello guys
     I used the circle hooks in 6/0 & 7/0 mustad, also used the same size in a J hook. The circles always had a solid hold on the rockfish i was after, around the jaw, or in the corner of the mouth. The J's caught fine, if i ran the gear fast, but i had fish come off on the way up, and  on the sureface, a lot of lip hooking i would choose a circle hook for set gear. {But i dont know anything about rivers, or weather this is a good hook for cats. } I am interested as i am going to be moveing to KY . lots of rivers, and i just like long lines. i am going to check the regs and see what i am allowed to use. what size hook are you guys using for cats. only want to set one or two strings and only for a day or two evey now and again for home eating. fish I would be targeting are the  smallish to med channel cats. any suggestions?                thanks guys  D.C.  Don
                                                             

[spinafish]

I fish alot in the Tennessee River, mainly in the tailrace below WilsonDam in north Alabama.  We catch alot of eating size cats (blues and channels)..by drifting chicken livers or cut shad.  I usually use a 1 to 1/0 hook for drifting.  Have used up to a 6/0 while fishing mainly for blues with cut shad or skipjack in the deep holes.
Where to in Kentucky are you moving?  Good striper fishing in some of those rivers also..

[D.C.]

We will be some were outside of lekington.  Looking mostly to the west and south around Hardsburg, have family there. I think the KY and the Green rivers are close to the area as well as numerus small creeks have only been there a few times but am getting antsy to go exploring. always visiting and didnt get to go fishing .ok i guess i will start out with the 1 or 1/0 hooks.  thanks spinafish .    D.C.

[spinafish]

where you moving from?  Should  have some really good fishing and hunting around those parts..the rifle season for deer is just short in Kentucky though..have several friends who hunt there..not on a regular basis though.

[D.C.]

Well i am leaving the  nothern  central part of CA. out by the coast. were the hunting is good on private land .fishing is good, too in the ocean for Salmon, halibut, rockfish,I use to fish commercialy but got out about 7 years ago.  I liked long lines, and vertical gear for rockfish but the rules changed about 10 years ago or so.and the areas i liked to fish became off limits. so i havent done that kind of fishing for some time now. mostly only do some rod and reel fishing close in when i can. and the same in some of the local lakes. Trot lines and jug gear is not allowed in the places i have been fishing lately. I am looking forward to my move.
                                                                                                                                       D.C.

[spinafish]

I could understand why..we have had a Cal. invasion of sorts around my place..my wife's four cousins have moved here from Chino and built homes on old family land. 
It had reached a point where they couldn't afford to live there anymore.taxed and regulated to death!

[jrlinz]

I use 5/0 circle hooks on my flagging jugs.  Mostly 2-10 lb. blues, with an occasional 20+ lb. monster.

[spinafish]

what's a flagging jug?  inquiring minds want to know!

[kyelkhunter3006]

I like the circle hooks for rods....I use the Gamakatsu Octopus circle hooks for all of my bait fishing, whether cats, bass, whatever.  I always take my young boys, so I just toss my poles out, set the baitrunner, or lock them in a holder, then don't worry about them until the rod starts to bounce.   

[jtrew]

Many folks don't realize that while a catfish will usually give several good pulls when it gets hooked, it's not unusual for them to stop pulling and simply swim along under the jug.  Thus, a plain, unmodified jug won't show any sign that there's a fish on it.  A 'flagging' jug has been modified so that once a cat bites and tips the jug, it stays in that tipped, or 'flagged' position, giving a visual indication that you need to check that jug.  The foam noodles with pvc pipe running down the center generally has a 3 ounce weight that can slide down to the end when the jug is tipped; a soda jug generally has 3 or 4 ounces of gravel, scrap lead, or something like that which will slide down into the neck of the jug when it is tipped by a bite.  With the soda jugs, the added weight will also help keep the jugs from blowing around in the wind so much.

[catfishfiend]

i use circle hooks for all my fishing except toothy fish like walleye.  7/0 vmc vanadium octopus circles are ticket for flatties, and 4/0 for channels and small blues.  work great on striper and sand bass too.  the fish hook themselves, usually in the corner of the mouth, so they are also a great hook for kids.  set the hook yourself though, and 9 out of 10 times the fish will be lost.