Catch and Release More Bluegills With Circle Hooks (you will never go back!) 

Excellent! They really work well. Just remember to simply reel down and DONT SET THE HOOK!

We tried circle hooks today and wow night and day difference will never go back to J hooks for panfish great tip and thank you!!

Thanks, yes, they work incredibly well on many different species.

Awesome! Thanks for checking it out. I also have another video using circle hooks for crappies here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iArZmVt90sk.html

That’s awesome! Great to hear it worked for you.

You bet! No issue leaving a little dangling. Makes it appear more natural.

That’s crazy! Cool!

Perfect setup!

What size hook?

What size hook you using on the kid rig?

Thanks! I was using a size 8 with the crawlers.

Thanks, I was pretty happy with it. I’m hoping to get more this summer but it’s a lot harder when the fish aren’t so anchored!!

Thanks! And I’ll be danged. I do kind of look like him. 😂

Yeah. I’ve used them with Senkos before and they work for bass.

I’m guessing you are using offset circle hooks. If you are using offset circle hooks there will still be some fish that get hooked deep, although not as many as with j hooks. If you use a true in-line circle hook it is very rare to hook one deep.

@@calebwistad I’m using the gamigatsu (Or whatever they’re called) brand. I was running a small pencil type bobber and no weight.

@@LifewithJames The true inline circles are hard to find in smaller sizes. Most of the Gamakatsus you see in the store are offset. Here is a link to some inline circles that you can get down to size #4 which should work for panfish. amzn.to/4faj1e1

They make size 8 but that’s as small as they make them. Here is a link for the size 8s. amzn.to/346orqo

@@calebwistad Thanks for the link, hookedupwi

Owner makes a size 10 . I think the owner 8s are bigger than the gamagatsu 8.

@@mikewest712 is it a circle hook?

Thanks!

I have quite a few shore fishing videos my man! I love fishing from the bank. Check this one out: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dVaJe_ttr-0.html

Gotta try them out!

I bet! They work great for me too.

Yes, they work great with bobbers. I typically set the hook with a circle hook by just keeping my rod tip up and reeling down on the fish. Some of those hooksets might be a little fast but it’s hard to break the old habits of setting the hook with J hooks. Lol. Yes you can let the fish take the bait longer but if I can see the fish and it’s totally gone in it’s mouth I don’t see the need to wait any longer.

@@calebwistad ok because ive tried using them on bobber and i let the fish take it a while then slowly set but it either get spit out or it hooks deep in the mouth like the roof or palate instead of the lip and other times it works if i set it sooner so idk anymore about these things but yeah sometimes i vertical visual fish for perch, damn things eat so quiet sometimes and you do not feel a bite even if line is tight so i juts set when i see it take the bait

@@ARCSTREAMS when the fish takes it hold the rod tip up and just start reeling. Your hookup ratio will go way up

@@dylanclay2741 well as i said ive tried using them on bobber and i let the fish take it a while then slowly set but it either get spit out or it hooks deep in the mouth like the roof or palate instead of the lip and other times it works if i set it sooner so idk anymore

@@ARCSTREAMS if you're fishing for bluegill or other panfish try Owner mosquito circle size 4 that's what i use and they work great , always hook in corner of mouth or lips. Generally give them about a second or so then start reeling . If you wait too long then yes they will spit it.

Thanks! That’s a great compliment. No, I don’t have anyone helping. Virtually everything you see on my channel has been self filmed and self edited. It is a lot of work to get all the angles and underwater footage but super rewarding! Thanks again.

No, I leave the barb on.

The smallest circle hook I’ve been able to find is #8. I’m guessing that would work for some flies.

Just tie them as you would for the other hooks,they make them down to #10. I have tied my own in #6 an 8 and made many into poppers that work great and I don't fly fish.

I fillet them. Here is my favorite recipe! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-v9-9qAvlYpo.html

Thanks! Always appreciated.

@@calebwistad No problem. I will be starting a channel soon, focusing mainly on panfishing and bass in SE Tennessee.

It’s hard to beat a half crawler. Small leeches work really well too.

Yes, you just have to make sure the plastic is something the fish is going to hold onto and take all the way in it’s mouth. Something small and scented/flavored.

I use #6 for bluegills and #4 for crappies. I believe that rod is a 5’6” ultralight Cabelas brand.

Wow. That’s a big gill! No minimum size here.

Absolutely man! It takes some getting used to but works magic.

I usually keep around 10

#6….6/0 would be very large.

6s or 8s if I can find them.

I usually go with a 4 to an 8. Depends on the bait size.

@@calebwistad are those smaller than a 2?

@@calebwistad hello?

@@ARCSTREAMS hey, for hook size, single digit numbers are arranged 1 being the biggest and 8 being the smallest. If it's a backslash, (1/0) then it's arranged the opposite, with 1/0 being the smallest and 8/0 and up being the biggest. The backslash numbers are always sizing for the larger hooks where the single digits are for medium to super small hooks. So the size arrangement from smallest to largest would look like this: 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, 5/0, 6/0, 7/0, 8/0, 9/0. Hope this helps. I use a 6 J hook for pan fishing but they always get gut hooked so I'm looking to switch to circle hooks.

@@l.r.s.4580 thanks for some reason i got a bit confused but yeah i remember now but also i never dealt with odd size hooks till recently ,i usually use size 8 and size 4 octopus but i been experimenting with size 2 and 2/0 circle hooks which are not always working the way they should be despite my using them properly i still sometimes get deep sets instead of on the lip

The best knot to use with and octopus circle hook is probably the snell knot but I’ve used uni-knots with great success as well.

#6

I’m using #8 Gamakatsu octopus hooks for these bluegills.

@@calebwistad thanks!

Definitely in-line if you are planning on catch and release. Offset will work if you don’t mind a couple deep hooked fish here and there. Still better than a J hook though.

@@calebwistad Thanks! I'm having trouble finding smaller in-line circles. Yes, it's catch and release with my 3 yr old.

@@kalamity273 Just bend the offset hook back inline. I bend a lot of inline hooks so they're offset because I can get the inline a lil cheaper.

I would say just to make sure the gap is buried well and the hook is parallel to the bait with the hook point facing backward, if that makes sense. I can send you a pic if you DM me on Instagram or Facebook (same name) also, yes, exactly, circle hooks are very hard for fish to shake once they are hooked!

Works for me! Sorry it hasn’t for you.

Dude. You are probably the 10th person to say that now. 😂

That’s where the info is. 😆

@@calebwistad lol yep

I do a little of both!