[Opry99er]

I found a pack of these Lazer Sharp (R) size 4 circle hooks in my tackle drawer... They were given to me by my buddy Roger.

They are super small, and the smallest circle hook I've ever used was a 2/0. I started thinking about what I could use them for...

Seems to me the natural application would be carp... My 5/0 I typically use for catfish haven't been getting hit by carp, probably because of their soft, sensitive mouths. If it doesn't look or feel natural (or whether there's too much metal there) they typically won't mess with it. So... throw 2-3 kernels of corn on this guy and toss it out in front of the cat tails? I might give this a shot tomorrow, as my son seems to be getting better (from being sick) and we will have an hour or two after 5:00 PM to get out and fish. Not enough time to go out to Lakewood for sportfish, not enough time to go up to Evergreen for trout...

Anyone ever tried circles out on carp before? I tried em once... A good friend of mine caught a couple on 5/0 circle hooks in my presence, but they were super hungry and probably not acting normally.

 

[bobys]

I don't see why they wouldn't work, although at big mac I have caught almost all my carp on 5 and 6 size circle hooks

 

[Opry99er]

I wonder if a circle hook under a bobber would work? They have been ignoring my bottom offerings lately, but are always dinking and dunking my bobber with the bait suspended a foot off the bottom.... Would seem odd to have a circle hook under a float, but I wonder if it would work....

 

[Opry99er]

Here's some info on the circle under bobber question.

http://www.coloradofisherman.com/forum/3-colorado-fishing/58426-circle-hooks-bobbers.html

 

[bobys]

I also use them under bobbers atleast 50% of the time, usually cats hit it hard enough it doesn't matter. And as for carp I always catch them when I fish for cats whether I am using a bobber or no bobber and almost always large circle hooks

 

[Opry99er]

You know, I would think that the buoyancy of the bobber attempting to reach the surface would greatly enhance the chance for a hookup... Think about it.

1) fish takes bait
2) fish dives
3) bobber goes down
4) bobber naturally attempts to rise to the surface
5) pressure is applied to the circle hook, thereby applying pressure to the fish's lip
6) bobber starts the hookset for you


That may be crazy, but it makes sense, logically...

 

[Opry99er]

Here's my normal catfish rig (using 5/0 Eagle Claw circle hook) next to this small size 4.

Quite a bit of difference there

 

[bobys]

Ohyeah definitely, at big mac I almost NEVER set the hook on cats or carp I usually have two poles going and I sit back and wait (not for long). I use to use large bobbers for that reason but then I realized it really didn't matter cause the cats out there take the bait hard! Sometimes I lose them if I don't actually set the hook for good when I get to the pole but it usually gets them just enough by itself

 

[rvinson]

Shouldnt need to set the hook with circle hooks... Just start reeling and it'll pull to the corner of the mouth.

 

[Opry99er]

^^correct.

The fish "sets itself"... But that always entails angle and pressure. My only point was that if the fish takes care of the angle, the bobber will help with the pressure, once the hookpoint is in position.

Wanna go carpin tomorrow, Ricky?

 

[rvinson]

^^correct.

The fish "sets itself"... But that always entails angle and pressure. My only point was that if the fish takes care of the angle, the bobber will help with the pressure, once the hookpoint is in position.

Wanna go carpin tomorrow, Ricky?

Wish i could Actually got the last couple parts for my lower unit so I'll be getting the boat back together tomorrow.... i hope

 

[Opry99er]

Good luck with that!!

For anyone interested, we'll be fishing at Huston Lake in South Denver. Probably from 5:45-7:45. Should be okay weather... I don't think the bad **** is supposed to move in until after nightfall.

 

[gettin bit]

The small circle hooks should work if the hook gap is bigger than the carp's lip. I have had my best success hooking carp on what is called a hair rig which is fished off the bottom. Plenty of videos on YouTube showing how to setup the rig. Goodlluck

 

[Opry99er]

Yea I've read up on the hair rig... seems like alot of work for a carp. LOL

Maybe I'm just stubborn... but it DOES seem to be the most effective way of catching these fish...

 

[Opry99er]

Well, I went ahead and did it. I made my first two hair rigs and fashioned a little threading tool for the corn/breadballs/whatever. It's just a pin needle that's been bent over 180 degrees.

What you guys think?

 

[Opry99er]

This is my third attempt. This one is a bit more refined, as I was able to make the hair loop longer and hide the loop knot beneath the snell.

 

[Opry99er]

Hair rig in action (video)


Corn as bait:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SqfccahqvU


Pop Up rig as bait:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDu1bhjfCZQ

 

[bobys]

How come you have time to tie these rigs and post but your not out fishing!!!

 

[Opry99er]

A little demo of threading the bait on my hair rigs.

(Yes, the bread ball is too big for this setup, but this is just for demonstration purposes)



1) Make a breadball

2) Put breadball on the threading tool (in my case, the pin)

3) Hook the tool to your braided loop

4) Slide breadball down onto hair, then put a piece of toothpick in the loop to stop the ball from coming off the hair

 

[Opry99er]

bobys, it's tough to have my 10 month old girl out fishing along with my boy. He and I have a rhythm when we go out fishing, but with her, its basically like just going to the lake and taking care of her ... Last time I tried, we had two diaper changes, a bottle incident (fell in the dirt) and 4 missed strikes...

Basically no bueno.

BUT... while I am watching the kids at home, I can rig up, learn new knots, post on here, etc. If I can't have a line in the water, at least I can do fishing related things...