Circle Hooks and the Snell Knot
2017-01-27Increase hook ups with circle hooks and this knot.
I get a lot of folks on board that ask, "what kind of hook is that?" or "what knot are you tying?". The hook pictured is called a circle hook and is shaped with a sharp bend to decrease the chances of hooking the fish in the gills or stomach. The hook typically sets in the corner (sides) of the fishes mouth. To set the hook you can simply start reeling or lightly pull back to set (but make sure you keep the line tight). There is great benefit here because you can catch sharks without their teeth cutting the monofilament or even wire leader. Large redfish have teeth that can abrade your leader but a circle hook will prevent this.
As for tying it on the line, the snell knot is a perfect match for this hook. Notice how the angle of the line coming out of the eye of the hook is bent, accentuating the magic curve of the circle hook. I also leave a small tag end of leader behind the hook and that will prevent bait from sliding over your hook and onto the leader. This will help reduce break offs.
Try this knot paired with a circle on your next trip and see the difference, you will notice more hookups!
Charleston Fishing (#hooked )
