Hooks On Hooks On Hooks

On Friday May 24 I took a drive down early to the bait shop to work for a few hours.  One of the first jobs I did was sort new fluke hooks into bags and put the barcodes on the baggies.  Hooks are an extremely important part to fishing.  If the hook is too small, too large, too bent, not barbed you might lose the fish!  It really depends on what type of fish you are fishing for and what size when it comes to hooks.  Usually right on the bags it will say which type of fish it is used for.  For instance in the picture below, the bags give the size of the hook, quantity, and specifically says 'fluke' hooks.  On these hooks one would place the bait such as squid.

Salt water fishing lures usually have the hooks already attached to them.  These hooks are not usually singular hooks like the fluke ones but instead have three hooks in one as seen below as well.  Furthermore, there can be multiple hooks on each lure to increases the chances of hooking a fish and keeping it there!  Furthermore, one of the most important aspects of a fishing hook is the barbed end which ensures once the hook is set in the mouth of the fish that the hook will stay there and not be ripped out by the fish's jerking and swimming.  However, the barbed hooks can be dangerous at times.  if for some reason you get hooked with a barbed hook in your hand or anywhere else there is no easy way to get it out!  When trying to unhook the fish people often hook themselves if the fish jerks or tries to free itself.  The only way is to continue pushing the hook through the hand until the entire barbed end is sticking out somewhere else.  At this point you can cut off the barbed end and bring out the rest of the hook the same way it went in!  It happens to even the best of fishermen!

Circle hooks are most widely used when fishing for striped bass.  Circle hooks have become extremely popular in salt water fishing recently because of their high effectiveness of bringing in the fish!  This type of hook is designed to catch the fishes lip avoiding false hooks which could potentially hurt the fish and would be hard to get out.  It is important when fishing with these lures to make sure the bait is in the fishes mouth before setting the hook.  When you feel a hit give it a second before you yank the line.  This ensures you will hook the fish where you want to and won't lose the fish!  Furthermore, it is necessary that the hook is showing or protruding from the lure.  The barbed end of the hook is important as it will hook the lip of the striper and ensure the catch.  Below is a picture of a circle hook which comes in many different sizes as well as colors.