Swords - Circle or J Hooks

[Fish Dad]

OK you sword hunters. Been using J hooks for a while now while limited success. Considering switching to circles as some have suggested a better hookup ratio. What do you think? (for night drifting)

Also, what is considered the best method for using circles:

(1) keep the drags loose so they can run a bit before tightening the drag or

(2) keep the drag at strike and let em hook themselves.

[Big Jay]

Would LOVE to hear some input on this!

One of the concerns that comes to my mind is that swords love to run at the boat or straight when they take the bait. That might pose a problem setting with circles.

Anxious to hear the experts take on this.

[bigg09]

Mike,coming from the pros down in south florida, they swear not to use them. open gap j-hook matched to the bait. bigger if daytime dropping, you can get away with smaller and a little southern and tuna bend at night time. when using fish match the hook like you would a spanish. they are scavengers and not hook shy. the point of the hook is the most important thing. if that point doesn't dig into you fingernail with little pressure, then it is not sharp enough.

as for the drag, there are two schools of though.

1- less is better to prevent pulled hooks which are going to happen. the longer the fight, the more likely the fish is going to pull the hook.

2- set it high after the initial hookup and if you pull it you are fishing again quicker.

we have been doing the first.

the biggest thing up here vs. florida is current. i think that is somewhat to their advantage. it helps them hook the fish. We have to be on these fish from the get go. That is where we are having differences in hookup ratios vs florida. we just don;t have the drift speed on the daytime drifts. i wish we had had more weight sunday and found the warm water. we could have tried with 2+kt of current, but we only had 7-9 pound and probably needed 12-14 so we didn't give it a go. also the warm water puched out.

[BlueH20Boss]

likewise....open gap j buried in a 12'' or larger squid is how we have rigged and caught swords since i have been able to fish....

[Captain Fred Archer]

Been fishing for and catching day and night fish for over forty years now on the east and west coasts and in Mexico. To me, circle hooks are the way to go for all of the reasons that I have posted here several times already.

Among other things, I don't like snagging swordfish because so many pull hooks when hooked in the flesh or when they get bill wrapped and they slide off. And when fish come up with a bait, they pull both the sinker and a loop in the line, the combined pressure from which will slide a circle hook into the corners of their mouths very nicely, indeed...the same thing that happens when one pulls against a longline and a key reason why longliners use them instead of J-hooks. Pulled hooks are rare for us and them and because of where and how C-hooks hook fish, and we can really put the boots to them, especially the big ones that need to get leaned on heavily in order to catch them in a reasonable amount of time.

Little baits bridled baits and circle hooks do the deed and do it well for me and my swordy fishing buds.

[28 Topaz]

We deploy circles hook size depends on the size of the bait we have. We keep drags light Fish Dad we got one in the Norfolk Saturday night. We always attempt to catch live squid and set them down. The fish hit the livey on a 10/0 circle down about 240'. It was a rat but a keeper

[pitch bait]

I fished with a coule guys in Florida this winter and they are bouy fishermen. Bouy fishing is bacially longlining but the hooks arent atached. The hooks are set 1 hook per bouy and maybe ten to fifteen bouys are in a line. Each bouy is lighted and when one gets out of line they know they have a bite. They were using stainless J hooks. There reason was because of the sharpness of the hook. The rods they had on board were all spooled with power pro and they would put all the rods in the rocket launcher on the back of the chair and watch the tips of the rods. The second one would not bend with the rythem of the others they would start cranking on the the reel until either the bait was at the boat or the fish came tight.

[Captain Fred Archer]

Topaz,

As far as I'm concerned, a keeper sword is a keeper sword, regardless of its size. Each one is a special fish, no matter the size or even how it is caught. Congrats on nailing one!

10/0 is a nice, small circle hook - smaller, in fact, than what we usually use, but obviously it got the job done. Circles are strong as hell and usually go in the right spot for landing 'em.

Again, waytago!

[Fish Dad]

Thanks for the responses. I think I'm going to give it a go with circles on my next trip.

[team bill me]

Circles were first used by Commercial fisherman.
Longliners used them for swordfishing.