Halibut Hooks

Beer Waggin · 04-15-2002, 12:27 PM

Has anyone found any of the big 16/0 circle hooks locally? I had a whole box of them, but can't seem to lacate them.
I know Fisherman's, GI Hoes don't have them. Any of the small local shops have them? I'll be on the east side of town next Saturday if someones got them over there.

Has anyone done a mail order from Englund in Astoria? I'd rather pay a couple bucks in shipping than drive over for hooks.

Pilar · 04-15-2002, 12:34 PM

Dave, talk to Mr. Fisherman he has a hundred from a recent trip to Englund ($23/100) in Astoria. Also the FM in Oregon City had a few 16/0 circles last Friday. To get wire and ferrules check the FM in Delta park. They still had 170# stranded, coated, stainless, American Wire in 30ft spools and ferrules on Friday.

'Puffin' is working on the Alaskan connection for 20/0 circle hooks. These babies are huge! No word on that one yet.

Myles · 04-15-2002, 12:45 PM

If you're rollin in dough check out halibut.net, lots of gizmos for flattie fishing, including a "porch lite" for your bait. Just hold on to your credit card.

Myles

Beer Waggin · 04-15-2002, 02:22 PM

Hmmm, $1.25 per hook plus shipping vs. .23 a piece in the hundred pack from Englund.

Think I might see if Mr. F wants to part with part with some of his life time supply. Thanks for the tip Pilar. Already have the wire and ferrules from last years purchases.

Myles · 04-15-2002, 03:44 PM

I forgot about this one.
http://www.basspro-shops.com/servlet...rTarget=search

VMC circle hooks up tp 16/0 in 10 paks @ $5

Threemuch · 04-15-2002, 03:48 PM

www.go2marine.com has mustad 39965 16/0 for .25 each.

Also, they have 18/0 and 20/0 but they are like a buck a piece.
KB

Mr. Fisherman · 04-15-2002, 09:21 PM

Dave Check youe email.
Kurt, give me a call....

Ray

tailchaser · 04-16-2002, 12:15 PM

I wanted to share a little tidbit of advice on the circle hooks. I spent 10 days in Alaska last year trying different rigs on these suckers and came up with a pretty good setup. Pilar mentioned a good part of the rig on a recent post of the stainless coated leader, but not only use the circle hooks, but offset them slightly to one side. You have to put it in a vice and really pull it to the side, but we found everytime we gave it a good set, the fish never came off. Sometimes with the circle you don't get a solid set because of the small diameter from the tip towards the shank. Happy hooking.
:grin:
tc

Pilar · 04-16-2002, 01:14 PM

Thanks Tailchaser!

My buddy Jon reminded me of 3 common tricks to improve the circle hook when we were making gear the other night.

1) Offset the point. Put the last 1" of the hook in a vice and bend the shank so that the point does not line up with the shank.

2) Crimp the barb partway down. Just bend the sharp edge of the barb enough to round it off. This makes it easier for the hook to penetrate and get past the barb.

3) Open the eye with a punch and thread a barrel swivel on the eye. Then crimp it closed again with the vice. This allows the hook to twist and not pull free. It is also alot easier on your Flemish eye in the end of the leader.

Oh and don't forget to put an edge on that bad boy with the hook file.

[ 04-16-2002, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: Pilar ]

Hummingbird · 04-16-2002, 02:06 PM

Okay Mr. Fisherman ,
What do I have do bring ya to get a few of these rigs?
I am wanting to prove to my friend that they will work better than his set-up when we go out of Garibaldi.
I really don't want to drive clear up to Astoria ,but, if I can't get even one eensie weensie rig from you , I guess I will have to.
If you do have 1 or 2 ,please ,I mean PLeeease Ray let me know how much. I would give you my first born ,butI don't have one. :grin: . Lets see, I sit next to you at work..... what can I do fer ya.

Tom

way

rigs

Beer Waggin · 04-16-2002, 02:39 PM

Good point Tail. I do that with my Siwash hooks, but never thought about the circles. It does make a lot of sense.
I do the swivel on the eye thing as well. A vise is required if your trying this at home.

What do you guys do for attaching lead to your leader or spreader?
I stopped using just a clasp after the first time I snagged up and couldn't break the knot. I ended up cutting the line at the boat because I couldn't thumb the spool and break the knot. Ended up having to re-spool the reel after leaving 400+ feet of line attached to a piece of lead on the bottom. I'm sure someone snagged on that line at some point and time. Not to mention the big flattie that could have chomped the bait and hooked himself to a pointless death. No pun intended!
I know tie the lead on with a very short piece of 40# mono. I can thumb that and not loose a whole rig, just a bit of lead.

tailchaser · 04-16-2002, 02:56 PM

I personally use a spreader in deeper water solely for the reason of keeping my rig from tangling all the way down to 400 ft. However, I'm not a fan of the large spreader because you loose some ability to really rip some lips. At 400' there's a lot of line inbetween you and the fish, throw in a heavy spreader and you're 50/50 on a good hookset. I started making my own spreaders out of some smaller diameter wire and seems to do just fine. In alaska I use a smaller spreader similar to the size of a salmon setup (with heavier wire) and sometimes even a slip weight. I like the slipweight a lot for the fact I have a direct line to the fish's lips from my rod tip. A similar setup like you use for sturgeon. But this doesn't work well with either a heavy drift or deep water due to getting tangled on the way down. My advice is a smaller diameter spreader with a good offset circle hook and really lay into it. That seems to produce the best in the deep hole. I'll try and get a pic of a rig I use and see if I can post it.

tc

tailchaser · 04-16-2002, 02:57 PM

Almost forgot, a 40 lb leader will do just fine for your lead. Just a bit lighter than your mainline so you don't loose the works or a fish if you get hung. Mono is a good choice also because its pretty resistant to the minor scratches down deep.

tc

Pilar · 04-16-2002, 03:45 PM

Well, first off you really don't need a hookset with the circle hooks. When you feel the bite, just start reeling like a banshee. Get that big @$$ flattie up off the bottom, right now! After about 20 cranks on the handle the rod gets a big bow in it and the bend is your friend.

The fish might go back down for the cell phone or car keys he forgot down there but unless you farm it, that fish is yours.

Yep, the circle hook is low maintenance and self hooking.

Spreaders are OK in the shallower water. I personally don't like them out in the big water because they tend to find things on the bottom to snag on. Then there is the whole flexible rig problem Tailchaser is talking about.

This wire 'No excuse' halibut rig we are talking about is the one. Never snarls on itself and it's pretty hard to break on a fish. If the weight slider is the right size it will give way before the line does when you foul the bottom. It only slides about 18" but that is more than enough.

rcl187 · 04-16-2002, 05:13 PM

I've found problems with really big fish and circle hooks. Some of the fish have a tendency to inhale everything and with circle hooks you really need a hard surface like around the jaw for them to be effective. I had 3 big fish last year (all 120+) that swallowed the bait so deeply that I either hooked the stomach lining or got caught up on one of the lower gill rakers. Fortunetely I was using large J hooks as the circle hooks tend to roll out when the fish realizes theirs something attached to their dinner and try to spit it out.

tailchaser · 04-16-2002, 05:50 PM

I agree with the last post in the fact circle hooks tend to fall out when the fish inhales the bait and if you miss the section between his lip and the boney plate towards the back of his mouth he'll spit it out. That's why I set the hook even with a circle hook. Yes, the intent of the circle hooks design is not to have to set a hook in them. However, when you offset the shank it exposes the point, so why not use it. I can agree with Pilar on the slide weight, and it's my preference, but I've had problems in the past with a good drift trying to zip your bait to the bottom and having tangled lines. Nothing more frustrating than pulling up a rig tied in knots around itself and has been down there for an hour. Basically out of all of this, there's a main design that will catch fish. Top it with anything smelly and you have a 'but in the boat.

tc

Troller · 04-17-2002, 06:22 AM

If you are looking for big hooks and supplies check out this site. www.seamar.com they are in seattle and sell to comercial fisherman and recreational in seattle and alaska. Check out the folding crab pots nice. I have 6 of them and use anything else :grin:

tailchaser · 04-18-2002, 12:19 PM

I offset them enough that the point is obviously outside the the main shank. I actually went down the other day and got a few 16/0 from the englunds here in coos bay also. Another 1/4" turn will probably be all it needs. I have to admitt all of this 'but talk is giving me the itch. After catching about 400 of the suckers in Alaska last summer I pretty much cured it for '01, but I sure hope the weather gives us a chance this year. :grin:

tc

Beer Waggin · 04-18-2002, 11:13 PM

Just received my new life time supply of 16/0 circle hooks from Englund this morning. Thanks for the offer anyway Mr. F, we'll still hook up some time.
I found out that Englund has no problem shipping anything you want, apparently they do it every day. Sure is better than taking a day to drive over to the coast for something so simple. Keep them in mind if you can't get what you need locally, it would be a shame to see them have to close one of the Oregon stores because of the economy.

Now where did I leave those swivels at.........

Hey Tail,
How much are you offsetting your hooks? The ones I just received are offset about 1/4" out of the box. Maybe another 1/4"?

Mr. Fisherman · 04-22-2002, 04:12 PM

Johnboy,

Check your email!

I just received 200 double barrel sleeves. Time to rig up more tackle. Give me a call. :grin:

Capin' Dan · 04-23-2002, 02:53 AM

Dear Mr. Fisherman,
I don't want any of your circle hooks UNTIL they are rigged and ready to go. Please make me 5 to 50 rigs and let me know when they are ready to be picked up. Your friend and mentor Dan!

Lots of love man.

Call me we gotta go on Thursday to F-4.1. to the Wind River other wise we are gonna get mighty hungry. Looking forward to it.

Dan!