By Bill Pino

Walk down the dock during any major billfish release tournament and you will see arsenal after arsenal of Shimano TLD 20 and 25's being serviced, respooled and leadered. If someone were to look closely one would also notice the subtle differences in the rod selection on these tournament boats. I noticed this last summer as I walked "C" at Ocean City's Sunset Marina. Seems that the reel selection was fairly consistent with the Shimano TLD's as well as a growing number of Avets and Shimano Tyrnos. But every boat seemed to have slight differences in the rod size, length and tip speed. The big question I had was if the new circle hook rule would dictate what type of rods would be preferred.

Circle hooks require a slight different approach in hook setting. More to the point, there is no hook setting but rather a deliberate free spool drop back and a slow engagement of the drag to allow the circle hook to catch the corner of the mouth. Would a faster tip aid in this slow deliberate hooking technique? I went to the pros to get clarification on what type of rod they use.

First a little rod terminology lesson is in order. I mean I needed the lesson so I went to a pro rod builder and asked for a vocabulary lesson as well as what has been selling best for this application. Custom rod builder Paul Reyburn of JPR Custom Rods in Ridley, PA was more than happy to help me understand the mechanics of rods and blank options.

Paul said that the majority of requested blanks for billfish dink bait fishing have been the Calstar GF700M. The GF700M is a graphite composite super fast action blank with plenty of low down rigidity. Huh? Now here comes the vocabulary lesson. The graphite composite is what materials are used for the composition of the blank. Graphite is a super strong lightweight material. Many dink bait fishermen prefer the light weight of these rods for ease of handling. Combine this with a slick butt and you really have a lightweight rod with plenty of backbone. Action for the sake of our conversation is simply the amount that a rod will bend under pressure. For our purposes we will use the benchmark of a typical dink bait drag setting of 3lbs. The fast action means that the rod will bend more in the top 8 - 10 inches with 3lbs of drag and stiffen up as it approaches the mid-section and reel seat. Along with the fast action described above also comes the fast recovery. Which simply means how fast the rod will recover to its relaxed position. A moderate action rod will bend deeper into the rod to about 18-20 inches. So the bend under the same pressure will be slower but so will the recovery. Finally a slow action rod will bend slower yet but deep into the rod closer to the reel seat.

Mr. Reyburn questioned the use of a fast action rod while fishing with circle hooks. He suggested that a more moderate action blank would allow for a slower exit of the hook because the rod would bend slightly more consistent throughout the blank and more importantly recover slower if the bait is being jostled around by the fish. His thought was that the Super Seeker Moderate action blank by Seeker might offer a more consistent and smoother hook up. The Super Seeker blank is composed of 120 carbon fiber and "s" Glass. This blank will give moderately further down the blank to allow for a smoother hook set. The Super Seeker does have its drawbacks though. The biggest drawback is its weight compared to the GF700M as well as the higher price tag.

So where do the pros stand on the other side of the gunnels? Captain Tim Hake, owner, angler and captain of his 57 Gillikin Sportfisher Fin-Ness said that a moderate tip would really help compensate for angler error. A moderate tip would be more forgiving when an angler gets excited and tries to set the hook as if it were a J hook. Hake added that he prefers to use a Fin-Ness Custom Rod that he designed that requires a 15-20lb blank. Hake utilized these rods last year as his Finesse Team took first place in the release division of the Mid-Atlantic 500 in 2007. Hake also went on to compete in the WBS Championship in Los Suenos, Costa Rica finishing a very respectable 3rd place.

Many anglers feel that understanding the way a circle hook works is paramount in perfecting the circle hook technique. The goal of the angler is to present the bait to the billfish with as little resistance as possible in order for a billfish to make an unrestricted turn. The fish needs to turn while the line is in free spool and begins the swallowing process. A very slow and deliberate exit is necessary for the hook to gently catch the corner of the mouth of the billfish. Capt Rick Carney of the Cyntinory feels that anything that will lengthen the time it takes to have that circle hook slowly find the corner of the jaw while exiting the billfish will benefit the angler. A moderate tip action rod will give an angler that extra time just by offering a smoother bend in the rod. Captain Carney also feels that a soft tip will be more forgiving when a billfish is jumping. The idea is for the angler to give a little when a fish is jumping. The softer tip will allow for a bit more give when an angler may not predict a jump.

Captain Bob Burnside has a bit of a different view on the rod selection subject. Capt Burnside, captain and owner of the Pescadora in Los Suenos, Costa Rica feels that a rod should really not affect the hook setting process if the bait is presented correctly. Captain Burnside prefers a 30lb stand up custom rod while battling pacific sails, blues and striped marlin. Captain Burnside said that if the line is falling off the rod tip down into the water the fish would not feel any resistance. So a stiff or fast action rod should not make a difference. Continuing on that theory Captain Jon Duffie of the Billfisher stated that the belly in the line is usually enough drag to set a circle hook. In many cases the fish is hooked before the rod bends. Capt Duffie said that he has noticed many of the sailfish come up jumping before the angler has had a chance to engaging the drag. This means that the belly in the line is usually enough pressure to have a circle hook set in the jaw.

Many of top tournament boats have made the change to circle hooks years ago. Now the average recreational tournament fisherman is mandated to make the switch to circle hooks. Today's high tech composites will really help an angler hook more fish but it must be the right composite for your quarry.