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sefly.com
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Saltwater Fly Tying Circle Hooks for Saltwater Flies |
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| Big
mistake; there is one big mistake I continually see when saltwater fly
fishermen attempt to use flies tied on circle hooks for larger saltwater
gamefish. Many fly anglers fail to understand exactly how the circle
hook works, or they fail to understand the dimensions and or jaw structure
of the fish they are trying to catch with a circle hook fly. Circle
hooks work by entrapping themselves around the jaw structure of the fish.
If the hook gap of the circle hook is too small to easily fit around the
lip or corner jaw structure of the fish, then you will continually miss
fish hook-up. Circle hooks are given size designations, just like standard J-hooks: 1/0, 2/0, etc.; however, there seem to be a good bit of discrepancies on size designation from one manufacturer to another, additionally trying to correlate a standard J-hook size to a size that a circle hook is labeled, can be confusing. It really dose not mater what size it says on the package. If the gap between the point of the circle hook and the shank is not sufficiently wide to fit the lip and jaw structure of the fish you are pursuing, then you will miss a good many big fish. |
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| Circle
hooks are produced in a wide array of patterns. Gamakatsu Octopus
Circle hooks are available with the option of offset eye, straight eye,
offset point, or in-line point. So, what's the best choice?
For the Gamakatsu Octopus Circle Hooks, I like the offset eye (I think it
keep my tippet and knot out of the way of the hook gap, giving me the
absolute widest unobstructed hook gap possible for a given hook size); and
I like the offset hook point (I thing it is more efficient in rotating the
hook into position around the fish's jaw).
Circle hooks like the Gamakatsu Octopus Circle hooks are almost identical in design as their standard Octopus J-hook. The big exception being the hook point. The beak point of the hook is slightly longer, and the point of the beak curves back toward the hook shank.
Then there are circle hook designs like the Owner Mutu Light Circle Hook - 5314. This hook has a much more radical bend. So What's the Best? I have use both the Gamakatsu Octopus Circle Hook (as described above), and the Owner Mutu Light Circle Hook for both tarpon and striped bass. They both served me well, and I cannot say that I ever observed any differences in hook-up rates between the two different style hooks. |
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| When
to use circle hook flies? There are only two situation where I
continue use circle hook flies on a regular basis. I have
experimented with circle hook in all types of situations, but for me there
are currently only two scenarios where I believe that a circle hook really
benefits my fly fishing catch rate (or loss rate, depending on how you
look at life). When I am fishing in relatively deep water with a heavy sinking line, or in other situations where I do not believe I have "good contact" with the fly at all times. A couple of prime examples include when fishing for tarpon that are down deep under bridges. From an anchored skiff, the only way I can get my fly down into the strike zone is to cast a fast sinking line well up current of the bridge structure, and then strip the fly once it has ample opportunity to sink into the strike zone, sometimes this means waiting for the fly to actually drift back past the boat before starting the retrieve. A circle hook fly has proven time and again to be very productive in this type of situation. The same scenario can play out with striped bass that are down deep in the current under a bridge. Kayak fishing for big striped bass is another situation where I have found circle hook flies to be of benefit. On slick calm mornings a big striped bass hooked out in the ocean would tow my kayak in one direction, and then suddenly make a sharp course change, momentum would keep my kayak moving, sometimes directly toward the fish. Forget the reel, I was not even able to strip the line fast enough to keep slack from the line. I lost a good number of big fat cows in this manner until I switched to circle hook flies. Harry Hall
sefly
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