Deadsticking Circle Hooks

When In-Fisherman editor Steve Hoffman told me he caught 54 consecutive catfish on circle hooks, I decided to give them a try on walleyes. Hooking and reeling fish in, after all, is one of the most important aspects of fishing. Admittedly, I get a rush from the agony I experience, hoping there’s weight on the end of my line after I set the hook. For me, part of the fun is setting the hook and feeling the weight of a fish.

“Rule number-one with circle hooks, Simpsy,” Hoffman insists, “is no more setting the hook. I mean no more setting the hook at all. Don’t think about it. Don’t do it.

“Circle hooks can’t be set like standard hooks. Due to the design of the hook, the fish actually drives the hook home on its own with steady line pressure. That’s the reason circle hooks work so well on limblines for catfish and longlines for sailfish, halibut, and other saltwater species—no meddling angler to pull the hook away from the fish.

“The most difficult part for everyone is not setting the hook. Typically, once a fish engulfs the baited hook, either it eventually turns and moves away or it keeps moving with the boat. Either way, it causes the hook to move to the front of a fish’s mouth. Once the eye of the hook clears the corner of the mouth, the hook rotates and the point catches and begins to penetrate the corner of the fish’s jaw. The weight of the fish on a tight line continues to drive the hook past the barb. Once this happens, the rod tip can be lifted firmly, but never sharply.”

The fish’s jawbone must be able to fit between the gap and provide enough space for the hook to turn and rotate. The larger the circle hook, the bigger the gap. We suggest using a circle hook two sizes larger than standard livebait hooks. So, if you use a #2 Gamakatsu Octopus livebait hook for livebait rigging a small- to medium-size minnow, try a 1/0 Gamakatsu Circle Octopus circle hook.

I’ve had success deadstick rigging with circle hooks, although I’ve missed a few (which may have been due to my ingrained desire to set the hook) and not all the walleyes I caught were hooked in the corner of the mouth (one was gut hooked). Most, however, were hooked right in the corner of the mouth.

Deadstick rigging, in essence, is setting your rod in a rod holder and watching the rod tip for strikes. Again, there’s no call to set the hook with circle hooks, so they’re ideal for deadsticking. Soft-action rods work best. Long 9- to 10-foot light-action to medium-action spinning or casting steelhead rods work well. When a fish strikes, a soft-action rod tip bends, which keeps light but steady pressure on the hook in the walleye’s mouth and ideally moves the hook forward to penetrate the corner of the mouth. The long soft-action rod makes detecting strikes or snags easier, too.

In some scenarios, you may be able to deadstick a livebait rig in deeper water while pitching a jig or crankbait into the shallows. You’ll especially appreciate using circle hooks in deep water where detecting strikes and getting good hooksets is more difficult. Often with circle hooks in deep water, by the time you detect a bite, the fish is already hooked.