Ahi on SuperBars and... Circle Hooks?

[IglooMan]

Just got word of Pro-Staffer Courtland Pang's first Ahi (Yellowfin Tuna over 100lbs) on a SuperBar.
Congrats from Capt Fred and I and the rest of the Pro-Staff! Report below:

Did you think that the JT Special Super RuckusRaiser could only do the Mexican hat dance down Puerto Vallarta way? No sir, the JT Special can do the hula too! It did it well enough to land this Hawaiian ahi!

It’s uncommon to boat an ahi in February since the prime season for them is during the summer but the JT enticed this one to bite on the troll. And once it bit, like Capt. Fred says – squish, nothing but hook! And a circle hook to boot, proving, to me at least, that Capt. Fred knows whereof he speaks in that regard as well. Note the perfect hook placement in the close-up shot.

Thanks Capt. Fred and Chris! I’m shivering just thinking about the upcoming summer season, when the ahi are supposed to be around!

Mahalo nui loa!

[Capt Josh]

AWESOME!!! Congrats guys!!!

[Captain Fred Archer]

My congrats too to Capt Courtland. A nice yellowfin might not be a big deal to some, but they are like The Holy Grail in Hawaii and it is really unusual to catch any at this time of the year, so this was a pretty special fish indeed!

Here is a response to Courtland's post made elsewhere, plus some commentary on circle hooks that is likely to create a stir with some. I see no sense in re-typing it, so here it is...

Super congrats, Cappy Courtland! Yes, an ahi at this time of year is a very unusual catch. Speaks well of the lure (and thank you for the compliment and to Cappy JT for helping us come up with it), but it also speaks highly for the captain who found the fish in the first place...ya can't catch 'em if you ain't around 'em, no matter what kine bait or lure you're using. Your thirty years on the water, catching fish, shone brightly with that fish!

A point...note the location of that circle hook. That's a very strong part of a fish jaw and once that C-hook has wrapped around it, there is no way in hell that it's gonna pull, which can be and is a problem many times with J-hooks, especially on big tunas on heavy trolling gear. You can forget about that with circles. It just ain't gonna happen and the only way you're going to lose a fish hooked on one is by popping him off, which should never happen if you know how to run the boat and your rigging is right...and if the latter is wrong you have no one to blame but yourself and maybe the fool who taught you how to do it wrong in the first place.

The first time that a certain kind of rigging fails on you should be the last time you ever rig that way again! Figure out what you did wrong and fix it and never, ever rig the original way again. Only a fool keeps repeating his mistakes when it comes to rigging. There is simply no excuse for it.

(The following is based on a response from an angler who has had a lot of experience with circle hooks in lures). Thanks for the commentary on how and why C-hooks function on a lure bite, John. I am consistently impressed by your knowledge when it comes to this sort of stuff. Considering the actual bite dynamics of troll fish strikes, I myself am not concerned whatsoever about whether a lure is hard or soft when it comes to hooking fish on either. Hookup ratios on Circles are sky-high in the first place and that "not sticking them thing and the lure turning into a teaser if one does miss it" other thing simply makes them unbeatable in my book(s).

And yes, I'll take a hollow squid over any other lure or even trolled bait when it comes to exceptional hookup AND landing ratios. This is due to the simple expedient that the squids "squish", or collapse, when a fish bites down on them and then there is "nothing left but hook", with the result of that being exactly what it makes sense that it would be...HOOKUP!

Sadly, I won't be around long enough to see the same thing happen with circle hooks on lures that did with circles in bait. I would love that, but it ain't gonna happen, so while I still can, I just gotta say...

Now hear this! The day will come when the vast majority of fishermen are going to see the light and will be trolling their lures - and casting them too - rigged with circle hooks! You watch...it's gonna happen...they are just too damned effective for it not to!

Go ahead, laugh and point fingers and make fun all you want and listen to the ones who mock the C's in lures - but who never tried them. Just do me a favor and remember me when you finally switch and never go back...'cause it's gonna happen, my friends, it's gonna happen!

(Yeah, I know, I'm a crazy old coot! )

And once again, congrats on that C-hook, JT ahi, Courtland. Keep circlin' them wagons and raising a "Ruckus" on 'em!

* RuckusRaisers are very unique, different, one-of-kind lures that many haven't seen yet, so here are some picts of them in action.
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