circle hooks

[NAUTI-NOTIONS]

Beginning to gear up for Halibut season. Going to use circle hooks. So many makers and each maker has three or more types. What do you use and why? Size will be in the 14/0 to 16/0.
Also
Anyone using the Trophy Torch as an attractant?

[Beer Waggin]

BC
Here's one link

http://www.ifish.net/cgi-local/ultim...;f=21;t=000030

Do a search. Enter Halibut, search the Salty Dog forum and include member# 270. This will give you every bit of info you need, except the pictures, they get deleted.

I use 16/0 Mustad circle hooks purchased from Englund Marine, along with the "No Excuses Halibut Rig". Why? Because it was recommened by a bunch of guys who catch a lot of big flat ********.
I've never had Englund be out of anything I needed, but I suppose it could happen. England's has always been at the Sportsman Show at the Expo center in Feb., so you could get a very good look at their tackle at the show. Their show prices are generally pretty good from what I can remember.

Edit: Englunds will also ship you anything you want. I just saw that you were from up north.

[ 01-09-2003, 04:20 PM: Message edited by: NorRivDave ]

[thankful]

Using the trophy torch would be an ideal way of insuring a catch but kind of spendy for me at the moment so I would resort to using a three way set-up which consist of a short leader attach to a weight and a little longer leader attach to a floating 6 inch (glow in the dark) squid skirt on a large circle hook. Don't have to worry about using bait especially in depts of 150 fathoms or more. Four more months to go!

[Pilar]

I restored the graphic to the info post above.

'J' hook or circle? They both work and they each require a different way of fishing.

What I learned last year is that you can use circle hooks in deep water and do well if you let the fish pull the line tight and just reel. Hooksets do not work with circle hooks. Leader color, size and visibility do not seem to matter at the ranch in 500+ ft of water. Or so I thought .......... If you use the circles, buy the heavy 16/0 mustads, offset the point, sharpen the tip and crimp the barb down partway. They work much better that way.

The other thing I learned is that you can fish for Halibut just like you fish for deep water Chinook. This is a 'J' hook rig so a hookset is required. Same techniques, locations (Rockpile), depths, baits, flashers ...... all the same. Leader color, size and visibility matters to a salmon and it seems to matter to Halibut feeding up off the bottom 60 to 100 ft down where the kings are. We caught several really nice 50+ lb fish on 40# salmon leaders off the downrigger, at 100' down with a flasher and a salmon rod. Several of my fishin buddies caught Halibut on a bait check when they stopped reeling on the way back in. The fish followed it up and hit when the bait stopped. They were mooching for kings and lings with a trolling sinker and a salmon leader.

So the thing to find out is if light leaders with J hooks can work in the 100 fathom water. My friend Jon swears that the light gear fishes better. Phil on 'Puffin' did really well using the salmon mooching tech and gear in the 600' water last summer. Maybe it does work but losing a fish to the bottom or sharp teeth seems like a real down side.