Circel hooks and yellows

[bekkerian]

Hey guys, im not a pro at FF so this might seem like a "dof" question.
I see a lot of self tied flies are done on Circle hooks, now my understanding of a circel hook is that the fish swallow the bait/fly/hook, now the angle doesnt strike but only tighten the line and the hook slides out of the fish's throaght and gets set in the corner of the mouth....ok now the questions, when fishing for yellows, using an strike indicator, seeing the indication disappearing, I strike....how will the circel hook set if I strike?

regards
ian

[Michael]

Hey guys, im not a pro at FF so this might seem like a "dof" question.
I see a lot of self tied flies are done on Circle hooks, now my understanding of a circel hook is that the fish swallow the bait/fly/hook, now the angle doesnt strike but only tighten the line and the hook slides out of the fish's throaght and gets set in the corner of the mouth....ok now the questions, when fishing for yellows, using an strike indicator, seeing the indication disappearing, I strike....how will the circel hook set if I strike?

regards
ian

I don't use circle hooks when nymphing for yellows on the Vaal...for the same reason you state. As you strike, most of the time you just pull the hook out of the fish's mouth. Normal scud hooks are way more effective when indicator fishing for yellows.

[Bryan]

That makes sense and that has been my experience as well.

Here's another interesting one...

What about the use of circles (if you can find them small enough) on dry flies?
When a fish turns on a dry would it hook itself?
Has anyone tried this?

[Michael]

That makes sense and that has been my experience as well.

Here's another interesting one...

What about the use of circles (if you can find them small enough) on dry flies?
When a fish turns on a dry would it hook itself?
Has anyone tried this?

Hi Bryan

I've never actually tried...but the theory behind circle hooks are the fish must take the fly in, start swimming away with it, the line tightens up and it hooks itself, in the scissors of the jaw.
The problem with yellows, is they do not keep the fly in their mouths long enough for that to happen, in my opinion. They can reject a fly in a matter of a second or two, and it's over. And, if you use a circle, wait a second or so, then lift the rod up, you will probably still be pulling the fly out of the fish's mouth.

I may be going back to Sterkies soon, will tie up one or two and try it, but I have my doubts.

[smallstreams.co.za]

What about offsetting the hook point a little? I've never used circles, but maybe this can help somewhat??

[chris williams]

I've experimented with circles in most areas of flyfishing and personally find them a waste of time. I know how the various tried/tested hook styles work for me and I don't need to tinker/adjust my already-lousy fishing style to suit circle hooks. I'd personally rather leave them to the other types of fishing for which they were designed.

[sofly]

I dont really agree with this. I have used circle hooks on Vaal Yellows for the past 5 years and feel they are very effective.

Firstly, by the time the indicator has dipped, the fish has probably had the fly in its mouth some time. I do lift/strike the rod when the indicator moves, and have solid connections.

I must say though, I use a truck and trailer rig for nymphing and actually cast, so maby for the boys that czech nymph this would not apply.

Secondly, I have FAR fewer snags on rocks and if it does get stuck, a simple roll cast usually solves the problem

[Andre]

I don't want to get into the indicator debate again, but circle hooks for yellows have a few advantages, in that the upward curved piont, doesn't snag on rocks as much. As far as the hookup goes, I don't think there is a difference. i have certainly not noticed any increses in hookup rates with circles over any other hook. Circles are designed for predatort fish, with mouths designed for baitfish food, such as bass, and leervis and many types of salt water fish, who swim towards their prey, grab it and turn. Yekllows don't feed this way, and nor is their moth designed to turn on the food. largies do, and circle hooks work well for them.
I do use quite few circle hooks on control flies though, but it's more to prevent hookups on the bottom.
Off setting the hook is also an option, but again, I have not noticed any improvemnet on hookup rate over other non offset hooks.
Ok, I don't fish for yellows with an indicator... for reasons that i won't want to discuss on this thread.

[chris williams]

Ja, I should have specified, the bulk of my fishing is Vaal SM's and as such I also don't use an indicator for reasons mentioned on other threads so I react (not 'strike'...) to any visually or physically felt movement or even just on instinct or at the end of the drift. My control flies I weight so they ride upside down and they don't snag up too much in that respect any more than if I used circles. As you say, I also don't think the SM's mouth size/configuration is so circle-hook friendly as those of other fish species

[Gerrit Viljoen]

the fish swallow the bait/fly/hook

There's the answer right there,they don't "swallow" the fly,it's more a case of what I'd call a quick nibble/taste,hardly a swallow. (Korrie sit down )It is in that period where you will strike and loose many fish. On the other hand,when you give the fish some rope i.e. time and it did take a fly tied on a circle you will almost never loose a fish.

Did you spot another problem in the previous sentence?How do you know which hook was taken? If you fish 3 flies at a time it could be rather difficult to gauge which fly was chowd.

My advice would be to tie some flies in sizes 1,2,4,6,8,10,12 and possibly 14 and see for yourself.Experiment with circles and establish a reference.

If and when you toss them don't go any further than a Daiichi 1120 Scud hook.The hook is already off set for your convenience.(1xs and 2x heavy)The perfect hook for Caddis,Mayflies,etc.

Cheers