It's time you join the party!
In today’s day and age, most dedicated anglers practice catch and release techniques because they know the future of our fisheries is on the brink of disaster; not to mention the hefty fines and penalties associated with unethical fishing practices. While there is nothing better than grilling freshly caught fillets after a long day on the water, most of the species we target for table-fare are regulated with closed seasons and tight bag and size limits.
While these regulations may seem too stringent at times, they are highly beneficial. Thanks to new programs designed to improve and conserve our most important fisheries, many of our most prized targets have made huge comebacks. While practicing catch and release is no doubt extremely important to the future of our sport, the practice of releasing your undersized, out of season, or unwanted quarry is only advantageous if the fish you release swims off unscathed with the chance of maturing and possibly reproducing.
Reaching into the mouth of a game fish to remove a hook from the esophagus, gills, or gullet is a slow death sentence and should be avoided at all costs. This is where circle-hooks come into play. Circle-hooks are not a new concept by any means. In Japan, archeologist discovered ancient circle-hooks honed from reindeer horn, and similar designs made of shell have turned up in Polynesia. Recently, marine fisheries management agencies have begun to require the use of circle-hooks in certain applications. On June 1, 2008, the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) passed a law that requires all anglers who fish in Gulf state waters (from shore out to nine-nautical miles) for any reef species to use non-stainless steel circle-hooks when fishing with natural baits. As of January 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) requires the use of non-offset circle-hooks in all billfish tournaments when fishing natural or natural/artificial bait combinations on the East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and U.S. territories in the Caribbean. According to the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, the use of non-offset circle-hooks reduces hooking mortality for released billfish by approximately 66-percent. From a fisheries management perspective, the use of circle-hooks to decrease release mortality is also extremely important when targeting species with tight slot regulations, such as snook and redfish.
Whether you use circle-hooks while bottom fishing, live baiting, or trolling, the benefits are clear and easy to see. Circle-hooks have the perfect anatomical hooking position that decreases the degree of wounding and release mortality, while also increasing the chance of landing your catch once the hook is set.
When rigging circle-hooks for bottom fishing, live baiting and trolling, snelling the hook dramatically improves the chance of a solid hook set. The reason for this is because snelling allows for a consistent directional pull. When fishing live bait with a circle-hook, bridling your offering will enable you the greatest chance for success. If you choose not to bridle your live bait that is ok, but be sure not to bury the hook in or near any bony structure. When bottom fishing with chunk baits the same applies – choose a fleshy part of meat that will easily tear loose when the fish strikes.
When targeting sailfish in South Florida, kite-fishing is by far the preferred method of choice, and most anglers rig their pilchard and goggle-eye with circle-hooks even when they aren’t tournament fishing. For those who target sailfish north of Stuart, trolling is the most efficient and effective method because the edge is not as well defined as it is to the south. In the event that you’ve been living under a rock, the drop-back is a technique used to hook fish on the troll. The problem with the drop-back when fishing bait rigged with a traditional J-hook is that too short of a drop-back and you won’t hook up; too long and you will potentially gut hook your intended target.
It’s a well known fact that ballyhoo are the most popular of all offshore offerings due to the fact that they can be rigged and acquired with great ease. Anglers in Guatemala and Costa Rica have been trolling ballyhoo rigged with circle-hooks for years. The two most effective sailfish rigs that employ circle-hooks are the wire loop rig and stitched rig. A quick Google search will reveal several methods and variations on how to rig ballyhoo with circle-hooks, and no matter which method you choose, the use of a circle-hook will ensure the longevity of Florida’s most popular game fish.
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