Last Updated on May 30, 2019
Circle hooks have become very popular for fishing the Florida Shores. They have a much lower percentage of gut hooking fish and they also have a higher hook up ratio when using live bait. In some parts of the state they have even become the only hooks allowed for specific types of fishing.
So when should a circle hook be used?
Anytime live bait is used!
When using live bait a circle hook should be used. The aggressive manner some fish ingest live bait often leads to a fish being gut hooked or hooked in the gills.
Many live bait fishermen fish multiple poles at the same time. Often a fish will have quite a bit of time before the angler reacts to a hit. This extra time often leads to gut hooked fish. Circle hooks not only help eliminate this problem they will also often hook the fish before the angler even touches the fishing pole!
Daniel Hagan has been fishing Florida’s shores since 1985 and writing about it for more than 20 years. As Managing Editor of FloridaShoreFishing.com, he shares firsthand experience covering surf and pier fishing, tackle, techniques, and Florida’s coastal species.
