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Most fishermen prefer to use more than one hook on their line when handlining. We will now show you how to prepare a line with one hook and also with several hooks. First let us look at the hook itself and then at different types (Figures 3 and 4).
Ten different kinds of hooks are shown in Figure 4. Hooks Nos. 1 and 6 are double hooks with average bend and short shanks.
Hook No. 2 has a wide gap and short throat.
Hook No. 3 has a short shank and wide bend, but still a narrow throat because of its long, bent point.
Figure 3. Hooks all of the same size but of different types
Hook No. 4 is different from the others as it has two slice and an inwardly bent eye, whereas hook 5 has an eye that is bent outward.
Hook No. 7 has a wide gap and long throat, with a rather short shank.
Hook No. 8 is characterized by its long, sharply inward bent shank.
Hook No. 9 has a wide gap but short throat and an outwardly bent shank.
Hook No. 10 has an old-style normal bend and throat with a long shank.
Figure 4. Hooks of various sizes and shapes (double and single)
When selecting a hook for your handline, several factors have to be kept in mind, i.e. shape, size and material.
Shape
As the jigging, jerking action gives a constant movement to the baited hook, the fish has little chance to sniff at it, but bites or swallows it immediately. Thus the shape of the hook should mainly be related to the size of the fish to be caught and the bait used.
Look at Figure 4. In some fisheries the most common hook shapes for handlining are Nos. 9 and 10, while hook No. 8 is widely used in others. Still other fisheries use No. 3.
All the other hooks have been used for handlining, but little is known of their catching efficiency in comparison with the more commonly used ones. However, it is advisable to use a hook with the point bent a little to either side, left or right (reversed or offset). The reason for this is simply that if the hook happens to become flat in the mouth of the fish at first snatch, then it is possible that it will be pulled or jerked out of the fish's mouth before the fish has had time to chew on it or swallow it. If there are other handliners in the area, it would be advisable to look at their results.
Size
It is important to use not too big a hook and to cover most of the hook with the bait, whether artificial or fresh bait is used. As a very general rule the gap of the hook should never exceed half the width of the mouth of the fish that you want to catch, and most often it should be much narrower (Figure 5).
Material
Hooks are generally made from ordinary steel (sometimes stainless steel). To stop them from rusting they are coated or plated with bronze, tin, nickel or even gold. Large hooks are galvanized or even tarred to prevent corrosion.
Figure 5. Relation between the size of the hook and the fish's mouth
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Originated by: Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
http://www.fao.org/
Text: B. A. Bjarnason
Illustrations: M. Carlesi
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
David Lubin Memorial Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Bjarnason. B.A.
Handlining and squid jigging
(FAO Training Series, no. 23 )
ISBN 92-5-103100-2