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Circle hooks on Tarpon Flies

2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  Swalt 
#1 ·
Does anyone have any experience using circle hooks on Tarpon flies? Do they hook up fish any better than the standard tarpon hooks? Any pros or cons for using them? Is there any benefit in using them on school/baby tarpon? I have been told that you have to let the Tarpon set the hook, rather than using the regular strip-strike method.

The circle hooks I have seen (Daiichi 3847 2/0) have a relatively short shank. Are there any longer shank circle hooks for flies? I have tied up a few bunny black deaths to take along to Belize in January - the circle hook is quite different from the regular saltwater hooks I normally use. I am not certain if it's worth the time to tie up a few other patterns on circle hooks.
 
#2 ·
I have used the Daiichi and the Gamakatsu SC16. 1/0 and 1 circle hooks for small tarpon up to 30lbs and had very good success with them. Last trip I had much more success using them than my partner did with the usual tarpon hooks. No more hook ups, I just had to fight a lot more fish to the boat. You do not have to set the hook as hard as the point will just dig into openings. If you can see the fish you will get a better hook ups waiting for them to turn after they take the fly. You do kind of let them set the hook but I still hit them with a solid strip strike.
 
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