First ballyhoo, now lures? OH NO!

[Captain Fred Archer]

TOLD YA SO - AGAIN!

Let me state right from the get-go that I am the sole "crazy" around here (and before here on other sites and in magazine articles and books) who kept saying, then yelling, then murmuring and then finally giving up trying to get people to try circle hooks on lures. I got sick and tired of the crap that got heaved my way and the lack of respect for all of the years I invested in trying and doing something that not a single one of the naysayers ever had, JUST LIKE IT WAS WITH CIRCLES IN BAIT (go back into the archives if you doubt that - they say it all. Or, read one of my books from fourteen years ago.)

If I am still alive when it happens - and make no mistake, it will - you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be standing on the rooftops, yelling "Hey, where the hell did you learn that?! I thought you said and KNEW it wouldn't work?!" to the kind who finally adopt something that they ignored or poo-poo'd previously, but who in the process of finally grasping and doing conveniently forget the past and become suddenly "born again, been doin' it forevers". That is regrettable and doesn't speak well of those who do that sort of thing, but this in no way deters them from doing so. I'd be embarrassed to be like that, but some among us surely aren't. That's just the way things are, I suppose. To each his own.

As it was with the C-hooks with bait, the "common fish" fishermen that some marlin fishermen look down on are going to beat the effete marlin fishermen to the punch again, it seems. I shouldn't say "seems"...heck, it's beyond a doubt. George Poveromo has an article in this month's Salt Water Sportsman entititled "The Next Jig Thing....Amp up the catch on even the best heavy metal". The article is about George's introduction to circle hooks being used on - of all things - hard metal jigs like diamonds and even the new "flutter" jigs with the funky double hooks sets that are being touted as the newest thing in jiggery. (I hasten to add that a few sharpies here are using circles on jigs.)

He and Rick Mola caught a bunch of stripers and blues, the striper a "grab, crush and gulp" type of feeder (same as marlin) and the bluefish a grab and chop variety (much less holding onto the lure than marlin...ahem). George reports, "The circle hooks really came around, hooking nearly every blue in the jaw. What I didn't expect, however, was the dramatic surge ("dramatic surge", got that?) in positive hookups ("positive hookups", got that?)."

George quoted Rick when he said, "When you're jigging for bass (like when trolling for marlin?), you're going to miss some fish. That's just part of the game (most of it, when it comes to marlin fishing with traditional marlin lures fished the traditional way)" says Mola. "But I was very surprised to see how many fish I didn't miss using a jig (trolling lure?) rigged with a circle hook."

Oh my, get this! Later in the article, George writes, "We did not impart the more standard "jerk up, slack line drop" jig action, keeping the line taut so that the circle hook could do its thing". (Kinda like trolling, huh? Hmmm.) "It was as if I couldn't miss a fish, providing I kept winding during the strike and let the circle hook set itself." (Just like trolling! Helloooo, is this starting to perk some ears up out there?)

George went on to write, "I also found that once the circle hook was set, even the wild surface antics of bluefish couldn't dislodge the iron". (Now, THAT doesn't apply to marlin fishing, does it?)

The article goes on to say, "We hardly missed a strike and not one fish was hooked deep." (Ditto for marlin, of course.) And "As more anglers give the setup a try and see how their hookup ratios soar and how difficult it is for fish to shake these jigs free, they will be sold. Factor in the easy de-hooking and reduced release mortality that comes with it and both anglers and gamefish come out as winners."

The bottom line is that he has been blown away about the way C-hooks performed on hard, cast and retrieved lures that most would consider bad candidates for such hooks - just as most marlin fishermen who have never tried them think that the circles wouldn't work - for all kinds of conjured up and imagined reasons - on marlin lures.

And here are the mighty, enviromentally conscious, technically sharp and advanced marlin fishermen...who will be the last to have the cirele hook/lure light go on, just as it was using them for bait fishing. That ain't funny...it's downright embarrassing! Makes me glad that I'm a "catchem all kinda angler"!

You want incredibly high hookup and landing ratios? Then shed your pride if that is what is stopping you, order my new marlin book and find out the secrets...THAT WORK! And yes, circle hooks are part of that game, but a long way from all of it.

To quote a Brit band..."There's gonna be a revo-o-luuu-tion, I knowooo-ooo-ooo..da-da-da-dee-dadda!"

[BoundForGlory]

Hi Capt. Fred,
Sent you a PM in regards to getting your book and catalog.

Thanks