+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 24

Thread: Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida

  1. #1
    Jer
    Jer is offline
    Administrator

    BOAT LOANS
    Jer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
    Posts
    5,946
    Occupation
    SportFishermen.com 24/7/365

    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida

    Palm Beach, Florida
    January 25-28, 2008
    Boat: Billfisher - Capt Joe Duffie

    Article by Bill Pino




    Our goal for this trip was to learn the proper way to rig live goggle eyes on circle hooks. The morning conditions allowed for the crew to deploy two kites and 3 baits per kite. The light winds of the afternoon forced us to abandon the kites and run the live goggle eyes out of the riggers. The crew made slight adjustments to the baits with each method of fishing.

    Our crew members were Capt Jon Duffie and mate John Prather. John first showed us the method of rigging the eagle claw L2004 8/0 circle hooks for the kites. Our hooks were snelled on to 40lb fluorocarbon leaders. Next a small black rubber band was cinched to the hook at the bottom of the bend. We used a modified rigging needle to pass the rubber band through the baitfish. John used a pair of dikes to snip one side of the eye of the needle to allow for the rubber band to hook on to the modified needle eye. The needle was then passed through the back of the goggle eye. We then passed the hook through the rubber band and made three full twists on the rubber band to tighten the band snug to the back of the fish. Lastly we pull the hook slightly away from the fish to expose the area before the first twist in the band and passed the hook through.

    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-b1_a.jpg
    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-b2_a.jpg
    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-b3_a.jpg

    The purpose of the kite is to raise the leader out of the water and present a struggling baitfish on top of the water or slightly below the surface. We placed a red float above the swivel. The float is used as an indicator. Kite fishing is not a pitch and watch activity. The rod must be manned at all times. The goggle eye must be positioned directly under the kite but not out of the water or allowed to swim too deep in the water. Constant release and retrieve of the line is necessary to keep the bait in the optimal position.

    We managed a double and a single off the kites. The circle hooks preformed flawlessly hooking each fish right in the corner of the mouth. The method of hook setting is rather simple with the circle hooks. When a fish grabbed the bait we were instructed to turn off the clicker and maintain total free spool.


    The captain suggested that all fish react different so a standard count was not necessary but rather wait for a slight change in the speed of the line coming off the reel before engaging the drag. We then slowly reeled until the fish was tight and the kite clip popped. Once the clip popped we would reel quickly taking the slack from the line. Now with the fish tight the angler would make sure the rod was low and on the opposite side that the fish was swimming. The other method was actually easier. Sails would some times eat but not move away from the baits but rather continue searching for more to eat. Sometimes the sail’s slight movement was enough to allow the hook to find the corner of the sail’s mouth. The sailfish would then come up jumping indicating that the fish was already hooked.


    3773

    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-a6_a.jpgCircle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-a7_a.jpgCircle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-a15_a.jpg

    The angler would then just crank up the slack, pop the clip and reel until tight. We even had a sailfish come in and eat two baits. The true benefit of circle hooks became apparent when it was noticed that even though the sail ate two baits, both of the baits were in each corner of the mouth.

    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-a10_a.jpgCircle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-a18_a.jpg

    The mantra that the captain and mate kept reiterating was to keep the rod low to the water, keep constant pressure and always have the rod on the opposite side of your body from the direction the fish is swimming.

    Later in the day we had to switch to fishing the baits from the riggers. The bait rigging was the same except for the hook placement. We would put the needle just in front of the nostrils in a natural soft spot on the fish. This would allow the fish to swim better and dig a bit deeper when being fished from the riggers. We fished a bait off of each long rigger set back about 150 feet. The boat was bumped in and out of gear to maintain position. The hook up method was similar to the kites. We kept the rod tip low and on free spool and allowed the fish to take the bait. As the fish changed speed or we saw the fish actually come up jumping we would push up the drag and reel until it came tight. We managed to catch 2 for 2 on the rigger bites.


    On the second day we had two different weather conditions. When we arrived at the fishing grounds we were welcomed with slight wind and flat conditions. The fishing was a bit slow but we did manage two out of five sails on the kites.

    Two of the sails were missed on the hook up and one pulled off 10 feet from the official release. Conditions deteriorated rapidly and we were soon struggling to keep the boat in the proper position in the 20-25 mph northwest winds. When the winds reached close to 30 mph it was time to put the baits back in the riggers. We managed a single bite and released one sailfish.

    Capt. Jon Duffie and mate John Prather of the Billfisher are two top notch fishermen who love to fish for sailfish. Their attention to detail and willingness to teach had us busy all day. They knew that we were there to learn how to correctly use circle hooks and allowed us to be involved with all the rigging, hook setting, angling and leadering. With the exception of a couple miscues and train wrecks we managed to escape any catastrophes. There are many ways to learn how to fish but there is no substitute for actual hands-on experience.

    Next stop on the World Circle Hook Tour is Isla Mujeres on February 7th






    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-a11_a.jpg
    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-a14_a.jpg
    Last edited by Jer; 01-31-2008 at 12:54 AM.



  2. #2
    Team Canada Rocks! Squidnation's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Tyaskin, Maryland, United States
    Posts
    8,009
    Boat
    Squidnation
    Home Port
    Ocean City, MD
    Occupation
    Team Canada Wannabe!
    thanks Jer - We learned quite a bit on this trip. I also have a few small clips on how and why to bank a kite that I plan on getting up soon as well as a bunch of additional pics from the trip.

    I should be posting them today.

  3. #3
    I think Admin is going to let me have this space Bert Rodgers's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Phoenix MD
    Posts
    3,114
    Home Port
    OCMD
    Thanks Bill, great stuff.

    Bert

  4. #4
    Nappy Haired Tackle Ho gradywhite273's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    on the putting green
    Posts
    6,127
    Boat
    hijacked by somali pirate
    Home Port
    the pond on the 4th hole
    Best Catch
    " marlin" my dog
    Occupation
    getting even
    wow, this is outstanding stuff bill, thanks for bringing to sfc. so cool.

  5. #5
    Crab mustard is good OCcaptain's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    OC Maryland
    Posts
    700
    Boat
    What boat? You call that thing a boat?
    Home Port
    Ocean City, MD
    Best Catch
    The little guy in the pic!
    Occupation
    That's a good question?
    Bill,
    It was a great trip. Jon and John were very patient with us (or should I say me!). I learned more in two days than I ever expected. They were both willing answer any question we asked or to bust our butts when we screwed up. I'm looking forward to fishing with them again sometime in the future.

    Thanks,

  6. #6
    BANNED HOLWACHAGOT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    5,460
    Boat
    REEL WAKE

    Great write up and pictures!

    Very nice Bill! I can't wait for the next installment of the circle hook world tour. Sorry to hear about the knee problems...Hope it heals quick. Thanks to Jer as well.
    Holwachagot

  7. #7
    I think Admin is going to let me have this space John Rogers's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Elkton, MD
    Posts
    2,680
    Boat
    08 25' Contender
    Best Catch
    Micaela
    Awesome write up Bill. Had an awesome time. Hope to do it get out there again sometime. Thanks John Duffy and Jon Prather for such a great trip. These guys were top notch and great to fish with.

  8. #8
    Crab mustard is good Satans_Chariot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    875
    Just want to say thanks again. Bill, hope the knee is still being well "medicated." Gotta say thanks to Duffie and Prather as well. You guys are the shit. You managed to defeat "the Bubble" even in those 20-25mph winds. When in doubt, come tight on everything.

  9. #9
    Team Canada Rocks! Squidnation's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Tyaskin, Maryland, United States
    Posts
    8,009
    Boat
    Squidnation
    Home Port
    Ocean City, MD
    Occupation
    Team Canada Wannabe!
    here are a few more shots from Day. We were 5 for 5 on day one with some really hungry fish. A couple times we had a fish eat more then one bait. Most of our action was in the morning on Day 1.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-christmas1.jpg  

    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-christmas2.jpg  

    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-christmas3.jpg  

    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-christmas4.jpg  

    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-christmas5.jpg  

    Circle Hooks in Palm Beach, Florida-christmas6.jpg  


  10. #10
    Hide- My Wifes Logged On
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    1200 fathoms, 4682 miles southeast of Dutch harbor
    Posts
    143
    Boat
    BILLFISHER
    Best Catch
    I dont ever get to catch anything.
    Occupation
    damage control

    Palm bch fishing

    Hey fellas, just wanted to say thank you for coming down and fishing with us. We had a great time with you all, and look forward to fishing with you guys again.

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast
Buy GoPro HERO Camera at GoPro.com


Tags for this Thread


Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2