I spent part of today out fishing with my five year old. Gut hooking fish has always been a problem for him. Attempting to solve this I've been trying to get circle hooks that are appropriately sized for panfish for about a year. Recently I got some Mustad # 39951BLN circle hooks from Blue Northern Outfitters. Today I got to test the hooks.
Results: 11 sunfish & 1 bass on worms all hooked in the mouth. No gut hooked fish,:-D or signs of damage to the fish :-D . I have to say that even when bottom fishing with a slack line & a worm the fish were hooked in the mouth. My guess is that the hooking percentage was slightly lower than with a J hook but not much.
Results: 11 sunfish & 1 bass on worms all hooked in the mouth. No gut hooked fish,:-D or signs of damage to the fish :-D . I have to say that even when bottom fishing with a slack line & a worm the fish were hooked in the mouth. My guess is that the hooking percentage was slightly lower than with a J hook but not much.