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I was just told that the Stripe marlin fishing reports I've been posting on Galapagos Islands out of San Cristobal Island were all caught on "J" hooks. With advancements towards conservation efforts, shouldn't they learn how to use circle hooks especailly in conservation protected Galapagos? Sorry
They keep gut hooking these fish they come up jumping with blood coming out of there gills. My hook ups were just as good as the J hook and no blood with the circle.
They keep gut hooking these fish they come up jumping with blood coming out of there gills. My hook ups were just as good as the J hook and no blood with the circle.
Are the long liners still working that area?
All the top marlin fishermen worldwide are still fishing J's ... ask Roddy Hays or any of the great marlin fishermen..
I was just told that the Stripe marlin fishing reports I've been posting on Galapagos Islands out of San Cristobal Island were all caught on "J" hooks. With advancements towards conservation efforts, shouldn't they learn how to use circle hooks especailly in conservation protected Galapagos? Sorry
Makes all to much sense. But... I guess people don't want to fix what ain't broke in their eyes..
All the top marlin fishermen worldwide are still fishing J's ... ask Roddy Hays or any of the great marlin fishermen..
I have to disagree with this for one simple reason. It is illegal to use a J-hook(in a natural bait) in any tournament that includes billfish. And most "top marlin fishermen" fish these tournaments. Makes no sense that they would use j-hooks when fun fishing and switch to circles for tournaments.
To clarify, we are talking about natural baits, not plastic.
I have never gut hooked a marlin using J hooks in lures. I use circles to pitch bait and live bait with. Even when pitch baiting I believe that the incidence of gut hooking using J's could be relatively low if managed right, but towing live baits where the strike may not be seen does have that risk. The question is how long does the angler let the fish run before putting up the drag. This will help determine how many gut hooks you get. With circles we can let them run for much longer without any significant risk of a gut hook, so the hook up rate doesn't really suffer.
Lures = J's
Baits = C's
I have to agree with you on the lures with J hooks but on the natural bait for bait and switch for sure circle hooks. The charter boat The Blue in Galapagos uses only J hooks for there natural bait they tell the clients let them eat for a long time that where the problem starts.
I use all of Roddy's hooks and lures for trolling. But for switch baiting Circle hook all the way.
SMA - Out of interest, where do you source your Legend lures and Hayes hooks from? I believe Roddy has only 2 or 3 distribution points globally and 1 of them is part of my regular crew. We have great fun trying out various lure types to see how they all work in different situations, and putting together skirt combinations that we feel might 'match the hatch' for the area we are in. He is a very creative guy Roddy.
For the pros and experienced anglers, Circle hooks are certainly better for conservation and are legally required in some areas (gulf) and for all tournaments. So if you plan to compete, practice with circle hooks. I use circles for live bait and free-line fishing for everything but mahi... for whatever reason they seem to shake circles with ease. Not everyone has the patience or skill to use circle hooks and when I take friends from out of town fishing, I almost always use J's because they will rip the circle hooks out trying to 'set' the hook.
To answer your question... if you have enough skill to target billfish and HMS, just use a circle unless you plan to harvest the fish. If you 'let them eat' a J, they may die anyway.
I was just told that the Stripe marlin fishing reports I've been posting on Galapagos Islands out of San Cristobal Island were all caught on "J" hooks. With advancements towards conservation efforts, shouldn't they learn how to use circle hooks especailly in conservation protected Galapagos? Sorry
If you disagree with the methods your friends (?) are using, you're in the best position to try to get them to change - and if they refuse, well...just stop posting about them.
Patudo, I see this bunk and im sure you do all over the place on the net about J hooks, it is utter BS with regards to trolling lures and usually is a hidden agenda by a "greenie".
Any species can swallow ANY hook, circle or J, in the right circumstances to try and state that Circle Hooks are the end all of gut hooking fish on trolling lures is a ridicuculous notion.
By the By, the reason we use 7761Z's they are the are less likely to cause damage to any fish, based on their shape versus a 7732 or Hays hook shape. A 7761Z is basically a 7691S but hand forged and double the thickness of a 7691 for strength, they are the closest hook to a circle hook while still maintaining the open barb concept. That is why, we upsize the hook to the next size based on the lure and gamefish sought. A 7761Z is also known as as "Super Marlin" hook made by Mustad, they are not cheap, short of that hook I would choose a 7691Z steel hook for tournaments vs a stainless hook.
I learned along time ago, to never go cheap on hooks, as they are the ONLY thing between you and the fish, then follow your gear up the chain of rigging to the mainline. Good hooks are without a doubt THE BEST investment you can make.
Circle Hooks or J Hooks 
