Islander/ballyhoo with a circle hook

[Makattak]

Does anyone have a rig that they would show using a circle hook/ballyhoo/islander lure? Thanks

[Squidnation]

many have tried but i have not seen a consistantly effective lure. I think eventually someone is gonna try something really simple like use a huge circle hook and find that it works. But I have never tried that one either.

[reel fool]

When I fished from OC, MD, we used oversize circles in ballyhoo, trolling. very effective most of the time. Open the bite of the circle some & they usually don't miss.

[hotshot1]

This is what I was thinking of doing this year just get an oversized circle and rig it like a J hook. I don't understand why this wouldn't work. only a small portion of the hook will show through leaving the point exposed.

[hotshot1]

In the tournaments do they inspect your hooks so that you don't open them up?

[floridadeckie]

This is what I was thinking of doing this year just get an oversized circle and rig it like a J hook. I don't understand why this wouldn't work. only a small portion of the hook will show through leaving the point exposed.

if you rigged it like a J, you would end up jumping off more fish than you would hook. with circles, you have to have as much of the hook exposed as absolutely possible in order to maximize your hook up ratio. thats why the vast majority of the rigs you see have the circle hook in front of the bait.

I dont think they would inspect the hooks in a tournament. the only regs I know of right now are that the hooks have to be non-offset. but I would think stretching the gap of the hook might compromise the integrity of the wire and result in lost fish

[reel fool]

if you rigged it like a J, you would end up jumping off more fish than you would hook. with circles, you have to have as much of the hook exposed as absolutely possible in order to maximize your hook up ratio. thats why the vast majority of the rigs you see have the circle hook in front of the bait.

I dont think they would inspect the hooks in a tournament. the only regs I know of right now are that the hooks have to be non-offset. but I would think stretching the gap of the hook might compromise the integrity of the wire and result in lost fish

good points. I found that about half of the hook is exposed, outside of the bait. did not lose fish to this rig. in fact, missed fewer bites.

as far as tourneys, who knows. with new requirements, your tournaments might get tighter. This would depend on the tourney.

as far as the integrity of the hook, I did not get a big fish to test the rig--nothing over 400 lbs. I use the mustad hooks, don´t remember the hook number, but much thicker steal than the little wire hooks by Eagle Claw.

[reel fool]

OK, just read this thread. check it out. and thanks to Melton Tackle for chiming in & stocking the best tackle.

circle hook suggestions

[offshore]

Back in the mid to late 80s I fished off Islemorada with a gentleman that only used larger circles even back then. We did alot of trolling and still used circle hooks. We had very good success trolling circles with skirts and smaller trolling lures. We would trim the skirts or hair down to about 4"-6" and any inside hair or skirt material we would trim off. In fact I still trim all the inside hair and inside skirt material off to expose the hook a little better. We did catch our share of Sails trolling for Wahoo and Dolphin and this seemed to work pretty good. I dont troll for billfish but it might be worth a try. I will do some drawings when I get a chance.

[WhiteMarlin]

Let em eat for AWHILE