[Tony Mig]

Last season I had several gut hooked shorts to contend with, and I have no doubt most of those fish didn't survive. Seems the smaller they got, the deeper they swallowed the hook......

Thinking about re-tying all my flounder rigs with circle hooks, my questions to the group are.....

#1 - What brand and size is the best choice.....?
#2 - Do you snell them like other style hooks, or tie to the leader....?
#3 - Has anyone had any success using them with Gulps.....?
#4 - Has anyone had issues with these hooks loosing a lot of fish....?

Thanks in advance for your help.....

 

[JoeyZac]

Well, I'm sure someone will tell me that I'm wrong, but I really don't like the idea of circles for flounder. Seems to go against the whole theory of "feel for a bite, drop back a bit, then SET the hook".

No? :huh:

 

[missingtwo]

I hold my rod when flounder fishing and don't gut hook fish. I never put my rod in a holder.

 

[native son]

i think that they would work but you would miss alot of fish...i use spearing and try to put them on the hook as strait as possible by hooking them in the mouth then out the gill then up into the belly and that would be impossible with a circle....one sure way to find out...try it... it sure would be nice not to gut hook a nice fat 16 inch fish and have to throw it back after you rip his guts out...

 

[sundance1]

i used them one year and had more gut hooked fluke then i ever had

 

[Blynch]

Sickle hooks, especially those by mustad, have a better hookup ratio and gut hook far, far less fish than standard wide gaps. Plus, they are strong so they dont bend when you are trying to unhook a fish.

 

[stripeman 103]

i used them one year and had more gut hooked fluke then i ever had

Did you use inline or offset?

 

[A Frayed Knot]

i used them one year and had more gut hooked fluke then i ever had

I had the same results several years back and bagged them.

 

[Fillet1]

Circles hook them right in the corner of the ..... gut.

 

[Aquajoe]

it sure would be nice not to gut hook a nice fat 16 inch fish and have to throw it back after you rip his guts out... If you gut hook a fish, cut the line and release the fish. Hooks are cheap.

 

[zar2754]

start bucktailing

 

[WreckinBall]

If you're gut hooking a lot you can... use a larger Kahle Hook, set the hook earlier, hold the rod, use bucktails or jigs, etc.. Obviously some days they're sluggish and they take a long time to eat the bait, but if they're aggressive don't wait so long to set the hook unless you know it's a good fish. On circle hooks, I hate circles for flounder, they just aren't the right shape and don't make a difference with the gut hooks. Wide gap freshwater worm hooks, sickle hooks, and kahle hooks are the best shapes for a flounder's mouth.

 

[Simp]

Why is fluke fishing any different than any other type of fishing? When you feel a bite.....set the hook! It's that simple. I think what most people that experience gut-hooks with fluke do is:

1. Have WAAAAY too much bait on their hook.
I've seen guys with squid strips 8 inches long streaming off their hook with a Killie on there as well! That's a lot of bait for a fluke to swallow. They'll certainly do it though, if you give them enough time. Which brings me to #2....

2. I'll bet that most people give fluke waaaaayyyy too much time when they feel a strike. Fluke are no different than any other fish. When you feel the strike, they have it in their mouth and you need to set the hook.

I mostly use a fishfinder rig, a #4 or #5 in-line circle and 1 Killie, yes, 1 KILLIE, and have no problem with gut-hooked fish or dropped fish. :thumbsup:

 

[BUCKTAIL WILLIE]

bEST HOOK to prevent gut hooking on flounder is the english wide gap hook
summer flounder advisory board has been trying to get this past for last couple of years
New York reps had some excellent data supporting wide gap
BUT BEST way to prevent gut hooking IS NOT TO FISH DEAD RODS
If rod is in your hand and you feel the bite ,low percentage for a gut hooked fish
Actually in my opinion fishing dead rods should be outlawed as that type of "so-called" fishing kills more fish thqan any other

 

[Tony Mig]

bEST HOOK to prevent gut hooking on flounder is the english wide gap hook
summer flounder advisory board has been trying to get this past for last couple of years
New York reps had some excellent data supporting wide gap
BUT BEST way to prevent gut hooking IS NOT TO FISH DEAD RODS
If rod is in your hand and you feel the bite ,low percentage for a gut hooked fish
Actually in my opinion fishing dead rods should be outlawed as that type of "so-called" fishing kills more fish thqan any other

I'll concede to the fact that in the past I have fished for flounder with 2 rods, one in my hands, and one dead stick, and it's usually the dead stick that gut hooks, however I have had a few gut hook on the rod I'm actively fishing, and I'm usually too quick on setting the hook. It seemed that last summer when the bite was on, they were swallowing everything down to their tails, and the only flounder that I landed hooked in the mouth were caught using a jighead and Gulp.
When fishing from a boat I only fish 1 rod, but I'm usually on a bridge, pier, or sod bank, and have often fished a baited rig dead stick, and jigged either a bucktail / squid combo, or jighead / Gulp combo with the other rod. Too often my attention is not on the dead stick, and don't always notice a hit until it's either missed, or gut hooked.
Guess I need to change my fishing habits more than my tackle.....:huh:
Willie....thanks for the tip on the "English Wide Gap Hook", I'll be stopping by TackleDirect today, and will look for them......

And thanks for everyone's advice....Mucho Grassyass......

 

[PalmersTackle]

Don't believe in circle hooks for fluke i think you loose many a fish to them..sickle hooks are good and i like vmc brand or matzuo 2x in size 5/0
i generally use larger hooks and find that i very very rarely gut hook a fish
6/0 octopus or sickle..while i'm sure alot of guys think thats too big, if you've seen the size of the mouth of a 14" fluke you'll agree it's not..you'll loose alot less fish also--i've bent and staightened out 4/0 gammi's plenty..
just my thoughts....
BUCKTAIL MORE!!!!!!!!!!! you'll be happier

 

[chunking]

Bucktail hit it head on. One rod and in your hands. Gold wide gap has always been my hook of choice. The rigs I tie here at the shop are all done with 3/0 gold wide gaps.

Two rods out doesn't double your chances of catching flounder. One rod fished actively will outfish two rods fished incorrectly. Try to think how many other sports you will improve at if you use two of something rather than one. Bag of golf clubs but you can only use one at a time. hunting you can bring every gun you own but only pull one trigger. Tennis, ping pong, darts, bowling and the list goes on. Fishing with a dead stick is just that. It's a stick that will kill.

Work the rod you are using so you know the instant the flounder strikes. Set the hook as quickly as possible because it's better to miss a fish than to take a chance and kill it. Even two seconds will give you a pretty good shot at hooking up. Flounder have a huge mouth and it's designed to grab and pull their target in quickly. If you do miss a fish instantly drop back down and the ill tempered flounder will more than likely return to strike again. We can clean up our act and our flounder fishing by leaving the second rod in the boat as a back up.

 

[Vitalsigns]

Well, I'm sure someone will tell me that I'm wrong, but I really don't like the idea of circles for flounder. Seems to go against the whole theory of "feel for a bite, drop back a bit, then SET the hook".

No? :huh:

Joey how do you hold on to your 8 rods when drifting? You packing some extra arms under those Grundens?

I have used circles on dead sticks with good success but they have to be true circles not offsets, those gamis at wallyworld are not true cicle and guthook just like any other hook. I use an ARC dehooker and it's very difficult to use on fluke because the clamp their mouths shut.

 

[Joseph Lamberty]

I'm a Bucktail believer for fluke, so I agree that dead sticking a rod won't catch you more fish. The second rod is rigged as a backup, so if I get broken off I can continue to fish without having to stop and re-rig. Fluke like their presentation moving . They lay in wait for something to swim or be brought to them by the current. You may catch a fish or two while drifting dead sticking a rod with bait, but thats not as much fun as feeling a Fluke grab your bucktail on the drop as you bounce it along the bottom.


Live 2 Fish
<><
Forced 2 Work

 

[bigal427]

jigs

I tried circles and did not like them. As long as conditions permit all I use are jigs you catch more fish and almost never gut hook