kahle hooks?

[rcbbracing]

Seems to me either you love em or hate em not many people in between...to me they seem to work better when you are at an elevated position...there's a bridge we fish off of for flatheads and ya never seem to Miss a hookset but I always have problems in any other situation...anyone else ever had this problem or observe anything else with them? I feel there is a situation for any piece of tackle and don't wanna get set in my ways only using one type of hook and what not...any other situations you see kahle hooks working in?

[bobbybobber]

broom stick rod,i got some 6'6'' beefsticks there really too stiff for catfishing,no tip action what i have seen the faster the action the least effective khales are ,i also like khales used as a stinger hook with my front hook being a circle

[catace]

I like to use 2/0 for channels and the 7/0 for flats. I usually have a 99% hook up ratio for channels from shore or boat with mono and braid. The flats ratio dropped down this year to maybe 50/50 with mono doing better. I just couldnt get good hook sets this year from the boat but did good from the shore.
Allot of smaller flats this year might of had something to do with it as I use bigger baits from the boat?
Was thinking of trying circles for flats this year from the boat don't know how they will work? I had way to many misses this year and need to change something?

[bassmassey]

i used to use khale hooks alot a few years ago.......I still gotta 50ct box of king khales........I used them mostly with the reel locked down circle hook style.

I had problems with the hook turning back into the bait and lost several fi sh due to this issue and never wanted to use them again. May have been due to poor hook placement, I'm not sure as that was several years ago.......I know now when using cirlce hooks the importance of leaving the gap as clean as possible, and I like to hook most my baits through the mouth which also helps eliminate this issue of the hook turning back into the bait

I do like the suggestion above about using them as a stinger hook on big baits......

[Catfishrollo]

I quit using Kahles for flatheads years ago. I ran into the problem of them hooking back into the baits on hooksets. Esp. using bigger baits. I went back to J-styles, and have been using them since. Been using circles also for certain situations. Alot has to do with the way you fish to make what you use work for you. And... what might work for you, may not be the best setup for the next guy. I've learned alot over the years fishing with others. It's always fun to fish with someone different and see how they go about pursuing trophy fish. Every catman has his own style in my opinion, and that makes it unique keeping us all wondering if we can better ourselves by doing something alittle different! rollo

[Seanstone]

I've learned alot over the years fishing with others. It's always fun to fish with someone different and see how they go about pursuing trophy fish. Every catman has his own style in my opinion, and that makes it unique keeping us all wondering if we can better ourselves by doing something alittle different! rollo

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Well said. This year when fishing with Kip and Jordan I noticed that they both ran circle hooks. At that point in time I absolutely hated circles, since then I have re-learned how to use them and became more efficient with them. I now run circle's hooks 75% of the time. It has definitely increased my hook up rate, and added another fishing application to my arsenal.

[catace]

Usually don't have any problems with the hook turning back into the bait. With the 7/0 on big baits I either bridal them through the mouth/back/ or tail. Another way I like to run them is I use a 2/0 salmon hook (think thats what they are called only inch long) And run the 7/0 through the eye of the 2/0 and just hook the 2/0 into the bait. I have been experimenting with circle hooks on channel cats and the best way for me to run them. What I have found is that I get better hook ups if I bridal all my cuts,chunks and live baits. Is this what others do? And is this the best way to use circles?

[Seanstone]

Try to leave the hook exposed as much as possible. My experience shows that hook up percentage increases with smaller baits. However I do use larger baits on the River, I simply find a piece of flesh thats hard enough to hold the bait on the hook without burying the hook to deeply. So that its easy for the point of the hook to find flesh even with the slightest bend in the rod. From there its really all about patience, and knowing when a specific rod is loaded. Each rod is different....therefore a limp rod will look like its loaded with smaller amounts of pressure when compared to a stiff rod. Once the rod loads I pick it up out of the rod holder and before I even start reeling, I apply more pressure to bury the hook deeper. The idea here is that the fish is already hooked, but if its not you may pull the hook out of the fishes mouth. Once again its all about knowing when your rod is loaded.

We have ran circle hooks in almost all settings; rivers, small creeks, lakes, from the boat and from the bank. I guess the only way we haven't is from a float.....which might work but I don't think I'll every try it.

We use 6/0 gama octopus circles primarily for most all fish. Only when we know we are going to target flats or blues do we jump up to the 8/0. And the opposite can be said for fishing for small channels, occasionally we will use a 4/0.

I'm not going to lie, after losing countless fish to circles previously, I was hesitant to give it a try again. I started out small, I went to a local bait store and bought some circles ranging from size 4 to a 2/0 and fished for smaller fish with night crawlers and shrimp. I used a 7' shimano voltaeus rod paired with a abu Garcia cardinal spinning reel and put it in a PVC sand spike rod holder. More or less, I just left it sit and went bait fishing. Within an hour or so my girlfriend thought she had crossed my line and I went over to help her untangle things, and my drag was screaming. We shortly figured out that she hadn't crossed the line and that instead I had my first circle hook fish. I believe it was like a 6 pound buffalo. Later that day I caught a dozen or so small channels and blues. I then had the confidence to use a full size set up for cats.

Hope that helps.

[Smoothkip]

I too had the same problem of hooking back into baits when I used khales. I run 10/0 bottom dwellers circles and 10/0 j hooks. Fishing from the bank or in open water I use circles. While I'm fishing for flats from the boat targeting structure on the bank I use J hooks. Also when the water cools down in the fall I go to j hooks.

[Smoothkip]

I truly believe for a circle hook to work to it's full capabilty it has to be locked down in a rod holder of some type. Running the clicker with circles just don't do it's intended job.

[katfish]

I use both circles and kahle hooks. I use circle hooks when fishing current of rivers and the reels are locked and the cats hook themselves.

I use Kahles for flathead in lakes. The reels are in freespool and I decide when to set the hook. My hookup rate on flathead is quite high but when other fish grab my baits they are not large enough to get them down.

I have special hook files and sharpen the points on every trip before baiting the hooks.

It seems that preference should be on your type of fishing and the waters you fish.

I fish in lakes and hooking behind the dorsal fin with Kahles works out for me. If I fished current I would hook baits in the nose to keep them alive longer and keep them from fouling.

[rcbbracing]

Robbie have you noticed a difference in hookup rate from nose to behind the fin? I noticed when I started hooking larger baits in the nose my hookup rate raised dramatically... always assumed it was because flatheads prefer take baits headfirst thus putting your hook In their mouth the majority of the time if they don't engulf the whole bait...obviously not on sunfish...I'm talking larger suckers and Carp or whatever twelve inches and up...probably shouldve just started a new thread for this as its getting off topic but any thoughts Robbie?

[bassmassey]

that's a good looking bait in the top pic.......robbie, what is the advantage of not using a mono leader?? just curious....

[katfish]

what is the advantage of not using a mono leader?? just curious

When fishing in lakes no leader is necessary to prevent the current from pinning baits to the sinker. I consider every connection (knot) to be a possible problem. Each fishing trip I check the snell when I sharpen my hooks. If I have any doubts I retie the snells.I snell the hooks directly to main line and let baits have 6 inches or so of slack so they can get upright and move a little bit.

I not only believe the flathead do not see the line but I think they rarely see the baits clearly. They mostly hone in on the vibrations of the struggling bait and then get a flash of the bait as they flare their gills to engulf it.

[bassmassey]

that's cool, i appreciate the explanation.....so with just a snell to the hook ( which technically isn't a knot) gives ya about 100% line strength.....