Editor's Note: This article is reprinted with permission from American Sportfishing, The official publication of the American Sportfishing Association, Volume 2 No. 1 January 1999. Copyright © American Sportfishing Association. All rights reserved.

By Noel Montrey

To many anglers who prefer bait to artificial lures, the circle hook looks kind of funny. Unlike the traditional "J-shaped" hook, the circle hook has a generally circular shape and a point that turns inward to the shank at about a 90-degree angle.

"When people look at the hook, they say it doesn't look like it will catch fish," said George Large, director of marketing for Denver-based Wright & McGill Co., which makes Eagle Claw Fishing Tackle.

But despite its unusual appearance, the circle hook seems poised to set the sportfishing world abuzz.

• Conservationists are urging their use because the design usually results in a hook through the jaws or lips, increasing the fish's chance of survival after release.
• Manufacturers are reporting an increase in sales and are introducing new sizes geared toward many different species, both saltwater and freshwater.
• And influential sportfishing experts, taking note of those trends, are testing them and enthusiastically touting them in the media, saying that in addition to promoting catch-and-release, they also hook more fish.

Circle hooks are not new. Prehistoric cultures carved fish hooks in circular designs out of bone, shell and other materials. The commercial long-line industry began using circle hooks in the 1960s and '70s because they were more efficient in catching fish and keeping them alive until they could be brought in. But circle hooks were largely unknown among modern recreational anglers until about 25 years ago, when recreational anglers in the Pacific Northwest targeting halibut and anglers in Florida targeting tarpon began to experiment with them.

Growing Popularity

Manufacturers say that circle hooks took off in the halibut and tarpon fisheries about 10 to 15 years ago, and just in the past three to four years have become more popular for such marine species as tunas, striped bass, redfish, fluke and flounders, sea trout and snook.

The National Marine Fisheries Service gave circle hooks a jump start on the West Coast recently by mandating barbless circle hooks in certain areas for recreational anglers targeting some species of ocean salmon using bait.

Now, the circle hook is poised to cross over to freshwater angling, as manufacturers such Eagle Claw, Owner American Corp. of Costa Mesa, Calif., and others have introduced lighter weights aimed at largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye and trout.

Larry Dahlberg, host of "The Hunt for Big Fish" on ESPN, said he was first introduced to the circle hook when fishing for tarpon in the Florida Keys in the early 1980s. Last fall he took time out from his busy schedule to test a variety of circle hooks with live bait on smallmouth bass in a reservoir near his home. As a rule, Dahlberg does not fish with live bait for smallmouth because he considers the existing post-release mortality rates unacceptable, estimated at 90 percent or higher.

"The fall 'live bait' slaughter has bothered me for decades," Dahlberg said. "In order for an angler to build a limit of 15-inch fish, he may need to catch 50 or 60. It's frightening, and has bothered me for many years."

"I'm very excited to report that while using Eagle Claw's #L787 size 12 and 8 with nightcrawlers, I have had a 100 percent lip hook ratio and have only lost a few more fish on the bite than I would have using conventional hooks. I think we need to get the circle hook mandated in all of our smallmouth waters during all seasons for anyone using live bait."

Here's how the circle hook works

The fish grabs the baited hook and starts to swim away. The line tightens slowly and usually pulls the hook out of the throat and to a corner of the mouth, where the point rotates and pierces the jaw hinge or cheek. Once the fish is hooked, it cannot escape.

According to manufacturers, advantages of the circle hook design include:

• Higher catch rate;
• Higher lip-hook rate, which greatly reduces mortality;
• Ease of use because the fish hooks itself;
• Less snagging in certain bottom fishing applications.

Avoid Typical Hook Set

As John Burgi, Western U.S. regional sales manager for Gamakatsu USA Inc., says, "The circle hook rewards you for not being quick on the trigger. The most obvious thing is not to raise the rod in a quick motion, more or less to reel and lift at the same time. If you do the typical hook set, you'll pull the hook right out of the fish's mouth."

Large of Eagle Claw said that the circle hook is one of the best hooks for putting a rod in a dead-stick.

And according to Dahlberg, "Little kids and little old ladies never miss with circle hooks."

Katsuhiro "Kat" Shitanishi, president of Owner American, said he's gotten a lot of requests for samples lately. "We have sent a variety of sizes to different people," Shitanishi said. "Most people consider circle hooks to be of conservation value, but these same people are finding that our Mutu circle hooks are not only good for conservation, they're great for catching fish. The report that we're getting is that the catch ratio is dramatically improved."

While circle hooks are easy to use, it is important to use the appropriate size.

"What hook you use is largely determined by line and bait, as well as targeted species," Shitanishi said. Owner offers Super Mutu's XXX strong series, Mutu's standard 5W series, and new for 1999, the Mutu Light's series for light saltwater and freshwater applications.

But Dahlberg said determining the right size circle hook can be difficult, especially for novice anglers, because sizes are not standard among manufacturers.

In fact, the International Game Fish Association's next edition of its world record book will feature a guideline to circle hook sizes because one company's size 5/0 hook can be dramatically different than another company's size 5/0.

Mike Leech of IGFA, located in Dania Beach, Fla., said the 1999 World Record Game Fishes Book would probably be available April 1.

Re-education

In addition to size differences, another potential disadvantage to circle hooks is that the action of pulling up sharply to set the hook is deeply ingrained among recreational anglers, especially experienced anglers.

"The industry has spent the last 20 years trying to educate the public to pull back on the rod and set the hook," Large said. "Now we are facing a re-education process."

Despite the obstacles, word about circle hooks is spreading, and sales are on the upswing. Large of Eagle Claw said that he had definitely seen an upsurge in circle hook orders and that more distributors are stocking them in their catalogs.

Burgi of Gamakatsu, based in Tacoma, Wash., confirms, "Just about everybody that we have showed them to have placed orders."

Zack Swanson, sales manager at VMC International in St. Paul, Minn., reports that while VMC primarily markets its circle hooks to the commercial industry, the company has noted increasing interest among the recreational community and is in the process of developing a few styles targeted toward sportfishing.

Dennis Unkenholz, fisheries chief of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, said he hasn't had a chance to try circle hooks yet, but finds the idea intriguing.

"I intend to try some ice fishing this winter, and I'm passing them out for other fisheries officials to try," Unkenholz said. "If they truly work as effectively as we've been led to believe, they may minimize deep-hooked fish. They're something that as responsible fisheries professionals we ought to be looking into."

Some circle hook manufacturers include:

Gamakatsu USA, Inc.
P.O. Box 1797
Takoma, WA 98401

O. Mustad & Son (USA) Inc.
P.O. Box 838
Auburn, NY 13021

Owner American Corp.
3199-B Airport Loop Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

VMC International
1901 Oakcrest Ave., #10
St. Paul, MN 55113

Wright & McGill Co.
Eagle Claw Fishing Tackle
4245 East 46th Ave.
Denver, CO 80216-3262