Circle Hook Conservation Group
Why are circle hooks so important to us? A simple internet search on circle hooks will demonstrate that our saltwater angling friends and scientists worldwide have proven that the proper use of circle hooks can almost eliminate the number of killed or injured fish from gut, throat, gill, or inner mouth soft tissue hooking. Hundreds of tropical regions have outlawed the use of the old fashioned “J” hook for live or dead bait use, mandating circle hooks.
Since 2004, we have used circle hooks on all live and dead bait fishing applications. We have even run successful experiments on their use with plastic worms, tubes, flukes, etc., and are currently experimenting with flies. See the tremendous results our clients and us had using them for ice fishing (see circle hook category). We believe this to be the first data collecting experiment using circle hooks for ice fishing.
We have also discovered some unexpected benefits:
Circle hooks are safer. They snag less people (especially kids) and things.
No need to yell at kids to “set the hook”. Children naturally have the best circle hook set…they just start reeling.
Older anglers use circle hooks more effectively. Their reactions have slowed, and setting the hook is not as quick or powerful as it used to be. Neither of these are necessary with circle hooks…they are a perfect fit for seniors.
On the rare ocassion they hook in the throat, many times it’s just a tag of flesh that tears when you pull the line…with no bleeding. “J” hooks grapple together huge portions of throat/stomach tissue on deep hooks.
It’s almost impossible for a fish to jump and throw a circle hook.
If you miss a hookup with a circle hook, stop and drop your offering. The fish will pick it back up. It felt no hookpoint on the first take.
Golden Drake Outdoors has dedicated significant resources to ensuring the spread of circle hooks to freshwater fishing. We put our money where our mouth is. We have given free circle hooks to our customers for 3 years, with instructions on how to use them, helped them when they ran into hookset difficulties, etc., and only asked in return that they give us the fresh water use data.
From the summary of all 3 years of data, we have been able to directly link our saltwater friends circle hook data to our freshwater data. This is absolutely key, in that we now can rely on a vast amount of research to justify our recommendations and initiatives.
Late in 2006, we formed the Circle Hook Conservation Group, a lightly organized group of folks with one mission: to spread the use of circle hooks for freshwater angling. The ultimate goal of our mission is the widespread direct and immediate reduction in fish mortality due to freshwater sportfishing. From returning customer’s reports, we believe we are making significant progress toward this mission.
