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A couple of questions about hooks. First, self-setting hooks. I see a trend going to circle hooks (i.e. bama beach bum) for stationary rods (surf fishing, catfishing, etc.), but are they the best? For a long time the kahle hook was very popular. And let me throw out one more possible contender I've used a lot in freshwater and more recently in saltwater (but with a hand held rod), the dropshot or octopus hook. So what is your opinion about self setting hooks? Which is the best?
I've tried Kahle hooks and I haven't had much luck..but it was to my knowledge that it has the functionality of a circle hook and a traditional J-hook.
Owner circle hooks with an offset are deadly. They are little pricey but they are ridiculously sharp and worth every penny, IMO! You just absolutely have to give that fish a few seconds for the hook to set on him. If you're fishing with big bait, you do not want your bait to cover up the gap between the hook point and the shank. Not sure about octopus hooks, looks like a lesser version of a circle hook but with the eye bent backwards a few degrees..:confused:
In theory the 3 styles you mention might have self-setting charistics, but that is a tradeoff with manual setting. A fish must engulf a true circle and you cannot set the hook manually. A fish that nibbles or sucks food in and blows it out without turning to go like tautog or even bass won't drag the hook to the corner of the mouth nearly as often. However, if you see the first taps and are waiting to set the hook, the failure to self-hook is irrelevant, and any automatic hookups are bonus.
To me the other difference is construction; circles are heavy, almost forged. Octopus or beaked hooks for freshwater start to worry me if the saltwater fish is past ground mullet or specks. It's like using a aberdeen cricket or carlyle minnow hook which risks being straightened too easily. Extreme wide gap hooks like kahle are strong enough, but they are actually so wide that the bait can be away from the hook point. In the east coast flounder trolling with a squid strip and minnow "sandwich" bait the flow of current keeps the bait near the point. In that situation, the actual contact area of hook and barb is relatively small but it is hard for a flounder which sucks in the bait to avoid the point. The whole hook doesn't have to be engulfed. In fact there is a hook style called a virginia with a very long shank and an asymmetrical bend that looks like the Aberdeen cricket hook but heavier wire. I find that unhooking is easier if small fish can't swallow the hook entirely.
To directly answer your question, I tie ground fish rigs with the smallest circles that fit the bait, so rigs for red and black drum get Mustad sea circles of 2-4, and pomp and ground mullet would get 4-6 octopus or smaller on a light tipped rod. I would not use bait to fish for flounder from the beach but I'd cast and drag jigs with Gulp! For them while waiting.
Keep in mind that if your fishing for reef fish, new regulations require you to use non stainless circle hooks.
IMHO kahle is THE best self-hooking tool there is.
It's like a hybrid between a conventional J-hook and a circle hook.
Best of both, as it were...
The trick in my opinion is to match the hook size with the smallest quarry you seek.
Thus I usually use a #6 or #4 kahle for bottom fishing from shore to target whiting and pompano.
By definition (and practice) a kahle hook point angles toward the eye of the hook, whereas a J-hook points parallel to the shaft and a circle hook tip points AT the shaft.
The other type you mentioned (octopus) is an opposite variation of a "baitholder eye", but the eye bends away from the point rather than toward it.
I don't believe these last two mentioned are truly "self hooking", in fact no hook is entirely that on its own without at least having pressure applied away from the rod by a 'running' fish.
I like #1 Owner circle hooks for surf fishing targeting pomps and whiting. I believe they hit it and feeling something not right, run. Run the hook right into the corners of their mouths. Pretty much self setting if you are a pole spiker.