Choosing the Right Bait Hook 1

Are you tired of wondering if you still have bait after every microscopic bite or even worse, losing fish after fish because your may have selected the wrong bait hook. Check out these hook designs for a little help on selecting the correct bait hook the next time you go fishing.

Circle Hook
Circle hooks nearly always hook fish in the corner of the mouth, which is exactly what they’re designed to do.  The key to hooking fish with a circle hook is to let the fish eat the bait and as they swim away they hook themselves.  The circle hook lends itself well to both bait fishing on the bottom or suspended baits.  The best hookset with a circle hook is to not set the hook at all.

Baitholder
Baitholder hooks work great for night crawlers and have small barbs on the shaft of the hook to hold slippery baits on the hook.  These hooks are strong and once set into a fish’s mouth they won’t shake out easily.

Ringed
Ringed hooks have been used for fishing live baits in the saltwater for years and they have recently become popular with freshwater anglers using live bait.  The welded ring attached to the eye of these hooks allows bait to swing freely.

Kahle
The Kahle’s wide gap and long shank puts the hook far back in a fish’s mouth when it takes a bait.  With a wide gap and an offset it typically won’t shake loose once set.   These hooks work great for live baiting minnows, chubs, worms and leeches.

Aberdeen
These hooks are typically made of light wire and will bend before they break.  They work great for fishing minnows and their long shank makes this hook a great choice for stacking nightcrawlers.  The light wire construction of the Aberdeen makesfor excellent hook penetration.

Octopus
Octopus hooks are used widely by salmon, steelhead, and walleye fisherman.  These hooks are sharp and strong and will usually break before they bend.  The short shank of the octopus hook makes it easy to conceal within salmon roe, single eggs, herring, and small leeches.

Live Bait
This hook has a very short shank and is very strong.  It used widely in the saltwater for live bait because its small size makes it easy to conceal.  This hook is used throughout the world by big game anglers using live bait.

Capt. Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com