# Circle or Khale ?



## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

Which to you use for Cats? Size's will vary I know. I'll will be throwing a 7/0 or 8/0 Circle Hook this weekend at the Cabela's King Kat Tourney up at West Lake Tawakoni east of Dallas this weekend. I saw on line that one outfitter sells this size hook and are "Chemically Sharpened". Can someone tell me about this sharpening process? thanx


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

I like circle for trot lines but on rod and reel I like to set the hook so I use a regular old J hook.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

Kahle hooks for rod and reel, circle for trot lines and jug lines. I use 5/0 on my jugs and it catches alot fo fish.


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## Wett'n my Hooks (Mar 26, 2011)

Fishin' Soldier said:


> Kahle hooks for rod and reel, circle for trot lines and jug lines. I use 5/0 on my jugs and it catches alot fo fish.


X2


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## seber (Aug 11, 2014)

Chemically sharpened is an erosion process by acid or alkili. It reduces the OD by one two two thousandths. The effectiveness is highly dependent on the profile of the point before dipping. Best case, super sharp, worst case blunts the point.


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## lonepinecountryclub (Jul 18, 2010)

Circle. When you feel the bite, don't set the hook. Steady firm pull. It will set itself.


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## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

*Thanx.....*



lonepinecountryclub said:


> Circle. When you feel the bite, don't set the hook. Steady firm pull. It will set itself.


 ^^^^^ is what I have seen on various videos and the fact that circle hooks w/ a slight offset were the "go to" hooks....7/0 - 9/0 . Got some 8/0 ones at WM, 50# Fluro Leader material, and some 2" cigar floats to keep the bait up off the bottom.


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## cva34 (Dec 22, 2008)

Fishin' Soldier said:


> Kahle hooks for rod and reel, circle for trot lines and jug lines. I use 5/0 on my jugs and it catches alot fo fish.


Agree X2


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

lonepinecountryclub said:


> Circle. When you feel the bite, don't set the hook. Steady firm pull. It will set itself.





V-Bottom said:


> ^^^^^ is what I have seen on various videos and the fact that circle hooks w/ a slight offset were the "go to" hooks....7/0 - 9/0 . Got some 8/0 ones at WM, 50# Fluro Leader material, and some 2" cigar floats to keep the bait up off the bottom.


When a fish hits the bait and is a steady pull then SET the hook. A circle hook is made for certain applications and requires the proper bait and proper hooking of that bait. Tip has to be exposed always.


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## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

Ya'll may want to visit www.monsterrodholders.com
All about cat fishing. I will meet Steve this Sat. at the tourney.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

Good luck. Are you tight lining or Drifting? If you are drifting then you most definitley need to use Circle. With Offset cirlces you will sometimes hook em deep in the gut.


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## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

*Don't really know.....*



Fishin' Soldier said:


> Good luck. Are you tight lining or Drifting? If you are drifting then you most definitley need to use Circle. With Offset cirlces you will sometimes hook em deep in the gut.


 I'll be w/ with my SIL and his his rich friend, and soon to be my rich friend...They are on the lake now. Been pre-fishing for a week or so. I don't know their plans. I'm going w/ the flow you might say. The website I posted has a lot of videos to watch. From some that I have watched, ole' Steve uses big circle hooks while sitting still. He's supposed to be the Guru...lol
I just rigged my ole' Wonder Glass Rod and working on a back-up rod now. Either way....it'll be good to get on the Lake.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

I like a 9/0 wide gap when drift fishing for big cats.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## whsalum (Mar 4, 2013)

When fishing strictly for eating fish I use a 2/0 SS Kahle on my noodles with a 18" line and an 1/4 oz sinker. Almost every fish you catch on this rig will be hooked in the tough corner of the mouth. I was skeptical about the small Kahle hooks but they have made a believer out of me. Good luck.


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## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

What kind of hook do you use for NON eating fish?


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## whsalum (Mar 4, 2013)

A much bigger one  When I use the 2/0 I am afer hi fins that weigh about 1 to 2 lbs. Can't beat them to eat.I love to catch the big Ops but I'm not that crazy about eating them. I once traded an 89 pounder for a Miller Genuine Draft


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## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

I plan on checking out the tackle setups at the Tournament. It will be my first "rodeo" ...fishing a Cat Fish Tourney!! Competition, Fun, and a Learning Experience sums it up for Sat. Thanx for everyone's input.


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## dbullard (Feb 13, 2008)

I like kahle on rod reel unless i am drift fishing or I have too many rods out!! Bad habit.
I like 3/0 stainless long shank streamer hooks on drifting jugs.
7/0-9/0 circle for drift fishing .


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Looking back I see I left off that I use circle hooks, 9/0 wide gap circle hooks when i"m fishing for big blues. I have used with success circle hooks from 14/0 (just like I surf fish with) down to 9/0. Like it was said by FS the bait has to be cut right and the gap between the point of the hook and the hook shank has to open for a good hook set. So you just bite the bait a little with the hook, maybe 1/2" or less depending on the bait. I like the 9/0 wide gap circle hooks I have now, but they seem big for a 9/0 rating to me. 
I off set them a little with channel lock pliers before I use them. 
It seems every manufacturer has a different set of ?/0s for their hooks.
Choice of hook can vary day to day hour to hour when I drift for big cats.

I have some 11/0s that seem smaller than the 9/0s and are almost closed they are so tight, and some days they are the ones that work best.
On light bite, high pressure days. 
On those days you have to leave the rod alone until the fish is hooked and drag has been peeling off the reel before you get a good hook set. 
On most days with a fair bite you can snatch it up after the fish has made a hard run and line is just disappearing, but high pressure and light bites test your discipline for waiting for the hook up.

When I fish for eating size cats I use 2/0 to 4/0 circle hooks, which with a rod holder is a combo that is kind to arthritic shoulders.


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

As most of you probably know, I'm 99.9% a saltwater fisherman, but I do fish with Shadslinger for the big cats. I decided several years ago to go 100% to circle hooks for all my fishing. It took a while to transition from setting the hook with J hooks (and Kahle hooks are just another variation of a J hook) to simply tightening up on the fish with circles. However, somewhere along the way, I got it, and my hookup ratio is very good now.

If you're meat fishing, it really doesn't matter, except that with J hooks, you're nearly always going to deep hook a fish, which means sometimes having to cut a leader rather than digging a hook out. When catch and release fishing, however, there's no comparison. When baited properly, and with a proper hookset, the fish is almost always hooked in the corner of the mouth, or in the lips, making for a very easy release.

Take the time to learn how to hook your bait on a circle hook, and how to set the hook. I think you'll never go back to any other kind of hook.


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