Circle Hooks for Sheephead

[bait crasher]

Has anybody found that small circle hooks are better than J hooks for sheephead or am I just trying to convince myself that this is true. My two boys and I will be slinging fiddlers and shrimp the rest of this week and I'm open for any suggestion ya'll may have. Thanks

[WishFish]

Little piece of shrimp on either #1 j or circle will do it. If you jerk the hook as soon as you feel the hit then you need to use circle and relax and wait until sheepshead hooks the hook itself. But if you can manage to wait two second after feeling the hit and then pull, then j hooks will be good. The issue is sheepshead small, boney mouth. I bet the kids will catch more. They learn quicker. No offense intended. Have fun.

[BIGnUGLY]

I use circles and live shrimp for sheepies. I seem to have a better hookup ratio than with J's. Those bait stealers are tough to judge when to set the hook ( about 2 seconds before you feel the bite)

[Skipjack/VA]

I prefer the gamakatsu "semi circle" type octopus hook. Strong, but thin, which provides good hookset on the sheepshead.

[captkenr]

Which hook for which species?

Sheepshead nip, suck, crunch, chew, and spit darn near in one motion.
Add a little piece of plastic tubing to the shank of a Mustad style 3467 Sheepshead hook. Bait with small chunks of peeled, fresh shrimp. They spit out shell and eat the soft stuff. They will spend a little extra time chewing on the plastic tubing without spitting the hook

Circle hooks will catch sheepshead but the 3467s are designed for the way Sheepshead feed. They will outfish circles by a huge margin. I've fished circle hooks for well over 50 years and I'd never consider targeting Sheepshead with them.

Below is a list of the hooks I use for various species. It was taken from an article on my website.


I get this question pretty often. What brand, size and style hook do I prefer and use for various species?
The brand is easy enough--MUSTAD all the way across the board. First they are good hooks from the hooking and holding stand point. Second, their Cad/Tin plating is much superior to other brands, Mustad has the largest variety of hooks, and their price is competitive. I see absolutely no sense in using “Gorilla” hooks on 8# test nor do I see any advantage in paying 4X the price of Mustad hooks for some of the “yuppie” hooks. I have received offers of “freebies” from a couple of manufacturers but I would be compeled to endorse those hooks.(and other stuff) I’d darn sure take freebies of Mustad hooks because I use them and have for lots of years.
Species style size.
Sheepshead 3467 4-3-2 Grouper 39960ST 12/0
Jewfish 39960ST 20/0
Kingfish/Mackerel
live bait hook for
front hook on 9174 Brown 2/0
Stinger rig 9175 Tin/Cad
Trebel for Stinger 3561C 6-4-2 (smaller hooks for Sardines etc.and larger
Mullet, Runners, Ladyfish and Mackerel )
Kingfish trolling 3412 6/0 this is a needle eye hook
3407 6/0 ringed eye hook
Sailfish/White Marlin 3412 7/0-9/0 depending on bait size for strips,
Ballyhoo or small Mullet
Blue Marlin 7691 10/0-12/0
Spadefish 9174 Brown #2
Tarpon 39960ST 12/0 Using cut bait or live bait
Fly tying Salt water 3407 Tin/Cad All round med length shank hook
34011 Tin/Cad long shank
34007 S. S. Same as 3407 but Stainless
Trebles for lures 3592H Tin/Cad Replacement for Stretch series and
other lures where strong hooks are
needed. These are 4X strong.
Hooks for Sabiki 3260B Gold Super sharp--tiny barb.SIZE 8
I have used some of the light wire circles for Trout and Redfish but do not have the style # available.
I also use style 3777 in jerk baits. These are brown wire hooks that rust quick.
I buy many of these hooks in cartons of 1000 hooks. Price is much better this way. I probably have 20,000 hooks in my shop right now.

[bait crasher]

Well that didn't take long - Seek and you shall find. Thanks to all. Capt. I really appreciate all the info, that's great.

[Ice Cream Man]

Gamakatsu # 1 circle hooks are my go to for Sheepies. The thin gauge wire hooks them in the lip everytime...........ICM