Circle Hook data winter 2008
We’d like to publish our Winter 2007/2008 circle hook data. We are now on our 5th year of actual angler data, tracking the circle hook’s ability to produce “instant conservation” for those anglers who will switch over.
We again used very conservative criteria and definition for our data collection activites. We classify a “lip” hookup as one where the eye of the hook is outside the mouth, and a “non-lip” hookup as one where the eye of the hook is inside the mouth. We assume, without any proof, that a “non-lip” hookup has some measure of lethality associated with it, and that a “lip” hookup has virtually no lethality associated with that event. Even with this tough criteria the data is fantastic news for conservationists and anglers who realize the role catch and immediate live release plays in sustaining healthy fisheries.
The bait used was typically large shiner or sucker minnows, the circle hook used was typically a 1/0 or 2/0 non-offset circle hook. Here’s the data:
Northern Pike
Total Caught: 33
lip hookup: 31, non-lip hookup: 2
lip hookup percent: 94%, non-lip hookup percent: 6%.
Largemouth Bass (Note: Bass are legal to catch until December 31, AND are frequently “bycatch” for anglers with tip-ups after Northern Pike all winter).
Total Caught: 34
lip hookup: 33, non-lip hookup: 1
lip hookup percent: 97.1%, non-lip hookup percent: 2.9%
A hearty thank you to all anglers using circle hooks for ice fishing, and all practical fishing applications for that matter. Due to your willingness to try new concepts there are more fish alive in our local lakes, and more importantly more large predators which have been caught and released….alive.
Please, everyone, continue to tell your friends that Golden Drake Outdoors remains a source for free circle hooks and advice on how to use them.
Stay tuned for our upcoming Spring Data, which will feature data from outings where baited circle hooks, and flies tied on “J” hooks will be used side by side, data recorded using the same criteria above, for the entire spring season, and summarized at the end.
