Best Hook for Swords

[Fish Dad]

What is considered the best hook for targeting swords, mainly night fishing, circle or J?

Mike

[B Cartlidge]

Circles on balloon rods and J's on our tip rods

Circles- Super Mutu and sometimes LP

J's- Jobu Big Game

Brian
Pez Machine Sportfishing
www.pezmachine.com

[Captain Fred Archer]

Circles only and on all rigs for us.

We sell and use commercial grade, longliner quality circle hooks. We like them the best. And a hint...contrary to the way that it is with all other hooks, a sharp circle hook is NOT a good circle hook. They are not meant to pierce meat, but instead to wrap around jaw hinges. Sharp circles can impede that process if they stick meat, instead of the hinges. The commercial grade hooks that we prefer are not sharp in the first place and we actually file off some of the point on top of that in order to further reduce any piercing and/or snagging.

Circle hooks are flat out deadly on swords.

[Fish Dad]

Circles on balloon rods and J's on our tip rods

Circles- Super Mutu and sometimes LP

J's- Jobu Big Game

Brian
Pez Machine Sportfishing
www.pezmachine.com

I had never thought about using different hooks but this makes perfect sense. The float rig has a huge bow in the line with the float so setting the hook doesn't happen until you get that bow out of the line.

Circles only and on all rigs for us.

We sell and use commercial grade, longliner quality circle hooks. We like them the best. And a hint...contrary to the way that it is with all other hooks, a sharp circle hook is NOT a good circle hook. They are not meant to pierce meat, but instead to wrap around jaw hinges. Sharp circles can impede that process if they stick meat, instead of the hinges. The commercial grade hooks that we prefer are not sharp in the first place and we actually file off some of the point on top of that in order to further reduce any piercing and/or snagging.

Circle hooks are flat out deadly on swords.

Interesting....I have never intentionally fished with a dull hook before. I love to experiment and am going to have to give this one a try.

[JFT]

Check out www.swordfishingcentral.com . You will find many very, very good sword guys on there willing to share advice.

[Captain Fred Archer]

Something worth consideration on C-hooks on float or tip rigs is that in both cases, when a sword takes a bait and swims off with it, the water pressure on the line, plus that caused by the weight itself if it is still attached, puts gradual, easy pressure on the hook. That gradual and slowly increasing pressure just happens to be THE very best way to set a circle hook according to most who are familiar with them. Sudden hooksets and jerks, the banes of setting a circle hook, are eliminated from the equation. All that's left is to take the slack out and proceed to kick ass on a fish that is almost always hooked in the jaw hinge, a place where it is very difficult to pull hooks.

The results that myself and others have had bear that out. And if anyone doubts what I have experienced, they need look no further than Capt Michael, who started swordy fishing not long ago and if I remember correctly, went seven for eight on bites and caught fish, with the missed one being a fish that they had up to the boat that busted the leader and didn't pull the hook.

Circle hooks rule!

Little baits, big circles...

[Captain Michael Buffington]

16/0 circles snelled

Mike