Sunday, December 25, 2011

Fishing Hook Styles and Uses

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Fishing Hook Styles and Uses



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Hook Eyes: ("loop" at the forward end of the hook)
The place you tie your line or clip your swivel or leeder. Eyes can be ringed, tapered, looped, open, flatted, swivel or needle.
Eyes can also have alignments which are either straight or ringed, turned up or turned down.
Shank: (section that begins at the first point of the bend to the eye)
Bend: (section of hook that bends around
Gap: (distance (size) from the point to the shank)
Throat: (distance from the bend to the point)

It is important that you realize that gap size and throat length will either help or hinder your hooking of your fish.
Now that we have the definition of a hook done, we can move on to bigger fish.

Hook Styles:
If you took all hook shapes or styles you could probably put them in 3 categories, live bait hooks, artificial bait hooks and manufacturer use hooks. Live bait hooks include Octopus, O'Shaughnessy, Straight and Aberdeen.
Artificial bait includes Aberdeen, Sproat and Kahle. Manufacturer hooks are used for making artificial flies, jigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

Circle Hooks:
Circle hooks are really a must if you practice catch and release. Let's take a look at what happens when your fish strikes. The mouth opens wide and your fish swallows your bait and hook into its stomach or gut and then starts to swim away. Your hook and bait is then pulled back where it penetrates the lip area.

Other style hooks will just penetrate in the gut area and that's where the problem rises. Even if you cut the leeder, there is a good chance the fish will die anyways and it is impossible to get your hook back without damaging and killing the fish. Baiting a Circle Hook is easy, loop your bait into the hook so it enters about half way and make sure the bait does not spin, just once is good enough. Fish the same way you usually do with or without weight, cast or just peel off some line from the reel and set your drag. The idea is to get your bait into your usual strike zone.

Now, comes the fun part. You have to ignore the temptation to "jerk" your line when you get a strike and set the hook. If you do this you defeat the whole purpose of the exercise and the hook will simply pull right out of the fishes mouth. If your line has tension on it from the strike, you already have the hook in a position to set and grab the lip on its way out.

Selecting a Hook
Now that you've become a hook scholar you want to rush right out and buy some, right!
Whoa! Not so fast. Here are a few tips you need before you purchase. Quality has to be a number one concern. Just like anything else you buy, not all hooks are created equal.

- check the hook to see if the eye is closed all the way

(if it's not your knot could slip off at the most inopportune moment)

- check that the eye is smooth and not full of paint.

(otherwise your knot could nick after you're tied on)

- the point for sharpness

(gently, drag the tip across your fingernail, if it starts to dig in its sharp)

- that it is formed properly

(if it is to sharp it will bend on contact)

(barb is proportional to hook size and has the proper shape)

- temper or flexibility

(gently flex the hook and watch that it returns to its original shape if it doesn't it isn't tempered, if it breaks it's over tempered)

Finally, this is the part that really hurts on a hook. Open your wallet and in foresight say to yourself, "if I had just spent a couple of bucks more, I would be mounting that giant bass on the wall".

How to Hook Live Worms For Fishing

The answer to this question seems simple enough, right? I mean putting a worm onto a hook or hooking live worms for fishing isn't brain surgery, it's just putting bait onto a hook. While this is obviously true if you want to catch more fish and hook live worms for fishing in the most effective way possible there are certain simple rules that should be adhered to.

In this quick article I will outline these simple rules, rules that have been learned through more than 50 years of combined experience using live worms for fishing. These ideas were introduced to me by my fishing mentor, a man who used live worms for catching fish for many years, more than twenty years ago and I have been using them ever since. The bottom line is that if you want to know how to hook live worms for fishing this article will show you.

The rules are being listed in no particular order and should all be added to your fishing repertoire.

Always Use Small Hooks - Many fishermen make the mistake of using fishing hooks that are entirely too large when using live worms for fishing and end up hooking the worm over and over again creating what I like to call a worm ball. This is not at all effective, especially for larger and more experienced fish. When using worms for fishing the focus of the offering should be the worm and not the hook, which in why small hooks are a must when using worms for fishing. Hooks that are size 6, 8, or 10 (or even smaller) are ideal for fishing with live worms and any hooks larger than size 6 should be avoided.
Hook The Worm In A Natural Manner - When using a live worm for fishing the worm should appear as much as possible like it does naturally. If large worms such as night crawlers are being employed this probably means that the worm should be pinched in half to that it appears as natural as possible, and not have too much of the worm "hanging" off of the hook. In order to hook live worms in the most natural way possible a set of gang hooks should be used. Gang hooks have two small fishing hooks tied in tandem which is perfect for fishing with live worms and hooking them in a natural manner.
Use Light Line - Many anglers tend to use fishing line that much too heavy when using worms for fishing. Many fish have excellent eyesight and can see the fishing line in the water. If the fish you are attempting to catch can see your line they are less apt to bite. Again, you want the focus of your offering to be the worm itself, nothing else. This is why using light line is very important when using worms for fishing.

Now you know the tips for how to hook worms for fishing. Employ these simple tips and start catching more and bigger fish of all kinds.

When a Fishing Hook Isn't Really A Fishing Hook

This may sound like a stupid title for an article, but it's true. When you think of a fishing hook, what do you think of? Just a plain old fishing hook that you put some bait on and try to catch a fish, right? Well my fishing mentor took the concept of a simple fishing hook and transformed it into the perfect fishing hook for all types of bait fishing. I think the concept was used in saltwater fishing, but he brought the concept to freshwater fishing.

This concept is the gang hook. A gang hook is simply two hooks tied in tandem. Two small hooks, hooks that are smaller than you may be accustomed to using. Using smaller hooks makes the hooks all but undetectable top the fish. It's a beautiful system. Not only is it a beautiful system, but it's a very effective system as well. Although gang hooks are effective for all types of bait fishing, they are the most effective way to present a live worm that I've ever seen.

So how do you get your hands on a set or two of gang hooks? Simple, you can go somewhere like JRWfishing and purchase them or you can do a little research and tie them yourself. Just do a search on the internet for fishing knots to find out how to tie a "Snell knot". Once you can tie a Snell knot, you're good to go. Simply tie two in tandem and you've made yourself a set of gang hooks! Now just devise a great way to carry them, and you're ready to catch some fish.

This is when a fishing hook isn't really a fishing hook. It's simple, easy, and incredibly effective. The bottom line is that once you begin using gang hooks , you won't use any other method for fishing live bait, especially worms. It's as simple as that.

Fishing Tips For Bass - Baiting the Hook For Success!

When it comes to fishing tips for bass, baiting the hook will either make or break you. There are some specific things to remember to make the most of of your day on the water.

1. The sharper the better - When baiting your hook you want the hook sharp. You can either replace your hooks or purchase a hook sharpener. Hooks easily get dulled when hooking random debris or hitting bottom. Just like your favorite pocket knife, the sharper the better.

2. Make it look natural - You want to present the bait as naturally as possible. One of the best ways to do this is by using gang hooks. If your not familiar with gang hooks they will be well worth your time to check into. They will help provide the most natural presentation possible.

3. The bigger the hook doesn't mean, bigger the fish - I think this happens quite often. When I was first learning how to fish i did the same thing myself. You use a giant hook, wrap the worm on and expect to catch a giant fish. You can easily correct this by using gang hooks. you can use much smaller hooks and get a much better effect. Some of the largest fish are caught with the smallest hooks.

4. Are your hands clean? - That could be a bad thing when it comes to fishing. The easiest way to remove any scents that may be on your hands would be, simply rubbing your hands together with a handful of dirt. This will neutralize any scents on your hands and make the bait even more attractive for a potential fish.

These fishing tips for bass can improve your fishing experience. Whether your out with your buddies on a Saturday afternoon, or fishing with the kids on Sunday morning.

Why Gang Hooks Are So Effective As A Fish Catching Tool

Gang Hooks are, by far, the most effective hook set up that I've ever used. They help me catch many more fish (especially trout) than other anglers. You might ask, "How do these hooks help you catch more fish? Isn't a hook a hook?" I can understand how you could be thinking exactly that, so I'm going to try to explain why gang hooks are so effective.

First of all, you probably don't know what a gang hook is. A gang hook is simply a pair of hooks tied in tandem. That's it, that's all they are. In most cases a gang hook also consists of a pair of hooks that are considerably smaller than you're probably accustomed to. I personally use size 10 hooks for my gang hooks, and for those of you who don't know, a size 10 hook is pretty small. So, my personal preference is to tie two size 10 hooks in tandem on four pound test monofilament.

When other anglers see my gang hook setup for the first time, their reaction is usually that of unbelief. They don't believe that a fish of any size could be landed using a gang hook setup that I'm describing. They couldn't be more wrong. I regularly hook and subsequently land twenty inch rainbow and cutthroat trout on gang hooks exactly like I'm describing. Not to mention the fact that I've landed trout in the five pound class and a walleye that was almost eight pounds on the exact setup being described in this article.

The bottom line is that large fish can be hooked and landed on hooks this small and regularly are. Using hooks and line as small as this does require the angler to "play" the fish for a longer period of time, but what angler has a problem with a good fight? Isn't a good fight one of the reasons we choose to fish in the first place? It most certainly is for me.

Using size 10 gang hooks has another deadly advantage. The anglers bait (obviously gang hooks are used for live bait fishing) is presented in a completely natural manner with the hooks being all but invisible. For example, if a half a night crawler is used for bait (my personal favorite) the angler hooks the top of the crawler through the first hook, then stretched the worm out and naturally hooks the second hook into the body of the worm. When the angler holds their bait in the air it is presented as an outstretched worm, the exact same way it will be presented in the water. The deadly thing is that this worm now has two hooks in its body to aid in your fish catching.

This is a totally natural presentation. The worm looks the same as if you just grabbed it and threw it in the water. The factors mentioned above are the reason why gang hooks are so effective. I suggest you give them a try as soon as you can, you won't be disappointed.

Lured to Sport Fishing? Jamaica Hooks More Than Your Attention

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Deep and productive waters only 15 minutes from shore, well-equipped sport fishing boats and scenic views add up to a quality fishing experience in Jamaica. Visiting anglers have a chance at landing blue and white marlin, wahoo, tuna and dolphin (dorado) in deep water that drops to thousands of feet beyond the reefs Blue marlin is the mostprized big game fish and catching your first marlin in Jamaica is well within reach. The Cayman Trench creates conditions of one to two knots of consistent current which helps clump together seaweed to form "weed lines"- these are every offshore angler's dream. Heavy rainfall also erodes riverbanks causing trees and other debris to drift out to sea. This floating matter attracts baitfish and tripletail sea bass seeking shelter from the sun, which in turn attracts bigger fish. Entire ecosystems exist under these weed lines which can spread out for miles and contain all manner of sea life, including large numbers of game fish. During the summer months when the wind is fairly calm and the sea is relatively flat the weed lines get bigger which therefore means more marine activity beneath the surface. On the south coast there are quite a number of banks and cays where you can find a great number of bottom fish, namely snapper and grouper. The largest bank along the south coast is the Pedro Bank. This bank is home to a variety of fish such as yellowtail, mutton and red tail snapper as well as grouper and shellfish. Fishing for wahoo and kingfish is excellent along the south coast due to the presence of these banks. The North coast also has quite a few banks and the three main banks located off the coast of Port Antonio are Henry Holmes, Grappler and Shipwreck. There is also a popular bank located 15 miles off the coast of Montego Bay called the Buckner bank. Strictly speaking there are certain periods of the year when different species of fish are more common. The dolphin (dorado) season runs from January through April, the black fin and yellow fin tuna season run from April to August and the core marlin season runs from August to December. Despite this, you will find that it is quite common for any of these species to be caught in Jamaica's waters year-round. So if you are in Jamaica right now, it's a great time to go fishing. Charter boats can be booked for full-day or half-day trips in most resort areas (see listings in Jam-boree's golocal pages). Prices vary little but be sure to enquire about whether beverages are included and who keeps the catch. Mounting of prize fish is available and some boats will arrange to have a fish cleaned and even cooked to order. A day of fishing in Jamaica is about more than just lines, bait and fighting marlin. It is a unique opportunity to experience the island's topographical beauty and coastline from offshore aboard a comfortable sportfisher with a professional crew that will ensure that whether you catch the "bigone" or not you have a wonderful experience. Listen to some music, enjoy some refreshments and keep an eye out for porpoises and sea turtles that frequent Jamaica's coastal waters.

Fly fishing and light tackle fishing

The river estuaries, flats, lagoons inshore sea grass beds and mangrove forests of Jamaica are home to many popular species of game fish including tarpon, snook and barracuda. Opportunities abound for exciting fly and light tackle fishing charters led by experienced guides. Most fish species are available all year.

Salty Vic provides fishing charters to several areas of the island including river, inshore and deepsea habitats, as well as technical fly-fishing lessons for adults and children. Contact Salty Vic at (876) 863-1599 for information and bookings.

Cayman Trench

Fishing in Jamaica is world-class due in part to the presence of the Cayman Trench that extends from the Windward Passage at the southeastern tip of Cuba toward Guatemala. At about half a mile off the coast of Montego Bay, the drop off begins, starting at about 400 feet and gradually sloping down to 3000 feet further
offshore. The relatively narrow trough trends east-northeast to west-southwest and has a maximum depth of 25,216 feet (7,686 m), the deepest point in the Caribbean Sea. This area is teeming with sea life as nutrients are carried up the wall from the abyss to make the waters uncommonly rich for tropical seas.

Tournaments

Several annual blue marlin tournaments are held in Jamaica, attracting world-wide anglers. The Port Antonio International Billfish Tournament, usually held in October, is one of the most celebrated and prestigious in the Caribbean. Each year this event attracts up to 50 boats, including anglers from the U.S.A. and neighboring Caribbean islands. Other tournaments are held in Montego Bay, Falmouth, Discovery Bay and Treasure Beach.

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