F
fish_4_all
Have you noticed a difference in the number of snags you hook up on when using a split ring and/or the sickle hook?
Circle hooks on spinners
D
DirectDrive
I don't think that the split ring has an effect on snagging up.fish_4_all said:
The Sickle hook has a "beak point" where the point is turned inward. I don't have any scientific data, but I would think that this design would be a little less prone to snagging as compared to a straight point design.
The beak point design also protects the point sharpness.
For new hardware fisherman......
One maneuver that is very important to learn in regards to freeing snags is this :
If you're in rock and the snag occurs in the latter stages of your swing or on the retrieve....stop....don't tug and make it worse.
Roll out about 15 or 20 feet of line and with the rod parallel to the water and pointed at the snag, lift fast. I would describe it as "pop-pop" with the rod finishing directly overhead. I do it in two pumps, hence, pop-pop.
0-45 degrees on the first pump and then quickly 45-90 degrees on the second. It's almost all one motion.
Most of the time you will pop it free because for an instant you are pulling from the downstream side due to all of the line you rolled out.
If you don't know that maneuver you are losing easily twice as much brass as you should be.
Exceptions, if you're in wood, you're toast unless you can bend your hook, which with my system I can't. If you can bend your hook on a snag, Mr. Big can bend it too.
If you get slammed into a rock at the start of your swing, you're toast, usually.
If you get slammed into grass (weeds) you can usually get out if you're geared up correctly (line test).
If you can learn the "pop-pop" technique, you can take it to the bank.
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fish_4_all
When I lose spinners it is in the piling in the river. If I really fish it hard, and right I will lose 8-12 a day on pilings. I get a few back at low tide but it wastes a lot of time retying, putting a hook on a new spinner and all that. Rarely do I ever lose a spinner on anything else being I can walk 30 feet in both directions anmd get any angle I want almost to try and get it loose.
Oh well, I found an inexpensive source for the hooks so I will try them. No chance of finding sickle siwash localy, no one has even heard of them around here. Is this a good prioce for them? $5.36/50 and $9.22/100 for 3/0 siwash Matzuo Sickle.
Oh well, I found an inexpensive source for the hooks so I will try them. No chance of finding sickle siwash localy, no one has even heard of them around here. Is this a good prioce for them? $5.36/50 and $9.22/100 for 3/0 siwash Matzuo Sickle.
D
DirectDrive
That's an awesome price !
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fish_4_all
Well since it is a good price what are the right sizes to use for Coho and Chinook for both hooks?
I normaly use a 1/0 Octopus for baitcasting and corkies and a 3/0 Siwash, do the sizes still match pretty close? Is the gap on them smaller or equal to 3/4 inch from point to shaft? Yes it matters a lot here, no hook over 3/4 inch gap is allowed for salmon during selective gear rules.
I normaly use a 1/0 Octopus for baitcasting and corkies and a 3/0 Siwash, do the sizes still match pretty close? Is the gap on them smaller or equal to 3/4 inch from point to shaft? Yes it matters a lot here, no hook over 3/4 inch gap is allowed for salmon during selective gear rules.
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fish_4_all
Well after researching the company I found I have a sneaky feeling it is direct order company from overseas like so many that have been set up in California. no inventory, no stock, and only paypal or money order and no shipping from this "company" outside USA. Not comlaining because the price is perfect but I also don't want to be ripped off by them like so many get from these China/Japan companies with USA "store fronts".
D
DirectDrive
I see, first it was a big secret, now you're lookin' for guinea pigs !
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fish_4_all
lol, no, I juast wanted to make sure if anyone else found that they knew how I felt about the company. No phone number either, I would say fishy but this is beyond fishy. I hate to question my own find and the great prices but I have been ripped off by companies a couple times and this one has a certain odor to it. Who knows, could be a great and legitimate company but if it looks like a fish, smells like a .........
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fish_4_all
Thanks for the replies everyone. I decided to get with rvrfshr and get some sickle type hooks to try out. I still may try some circle hooks when I get bored and have a fish already just to see if it is even possible to hook a fish with them on a spinner.
R
rwregg
circle hook spinners
circle hook spinners
I live in MI and have been making my own spinners with circle hooks for about 3 years. I'll admit that I haven't caught any salmon or steelhead on my spinners, but have taken many trout, bass and pike on them. I give a lot of my spinners away to friends for their feedback, but many don't try them because they look at them and are convinced they don't work and never give them a second look.
I have had very good results, as well as a few pics of the hook in the fish on stream trout, and bass. As a rule IF the circle hook hooks up, I don't lose them. I don't set the hook, but just continue to reel in when I get a strike, although this is very difficult to learn. Also I learned the hard way that the circle hook must come out the same way it went in, meaning when you stick it in your finger, or a fish, it must come out in the same circular route that it went in.
I use the offset hooks though and attach them directly to the spinner...then use heat shrink tubing to keep hook straight. For the ones I use in weeds, I put a small bead in front of the clevis to keeps weeds out of the inside of the clevis.
The hooks work great in heavy weeds, timber, and rocks. I had a neighbor tell me that he caught so many pike on a double bladed spinner I made for him that the rubber skirt was chewed off! He said he was able to fish this spinner in water so weedy they weren't able to fish a Johnson's Silver Minnow spoon there, but was able to crawl the spinner to open pockets in the weeds, and then activate the blades.
I can actually bounce these off the river bottom without fear of hooking bottom. In fact I don't think I have lost a single spinner to any snags since using them. I can hold these with my hand closed around them , gently pull the spinner out of my hand without engaging the hook point. I'm convinced they work, but just haven't spent enough time on the water to be sure.
I fished them last fall for salmon, but our run was so bad that I never had any strikes in the times I fished...thats why I give some away to friends, so that I could get their feedback.
Hope this helps??
circle hook spinners
I live in MI and have been making my own spinners with circle hooks for about 3 years. I'll admit that I haven't caught any salmon or steelhead on my spinners, but have taken many trout, bass and pike on them. I give a lot of my spinners away to friends for their feedback, but many don't try them because they look at them and are convinced they don't work and never give them a second look.
I have had very good results, as well as a few pics of the hook in the fish on stream trout, and bass. As a rule IF the circle hook hooks up, I don't lose them. I don't set the hook, but just continue to reel in when I get a strike, although this is very difficult to learn. Also I learned the hard way that the circle hook must come out the same way it went in, meaning when you stick it in your finger, or a fish, it must come out in the same circular route that it went in.
I use the offset hooks though and attach them directly to the spinner...then use heat shrink tubing to keep hook straight. For the ones I use in weeds, I put a small bead in front of the clevis to keeps weeds out of the inside of the clevis.
The hooks work great in heavy weeds, timber, and rocks. I had a neighbor tell me that he caught so many pike on a double bladed spinner I made for him that the rubber skirt was chewed off! He said he was able to fish this spinner in water so weedy they weren't able to fish a Johnson's Silver Minnow spoon there, but was able to crawl the spinner to open pockets in the weeds, and then activate the blades.
I can actually bounce these off the river bottom without fear of hooking bottom. In fact I don't think I have lost a single spinner to any snags since using them. I can hold these with my hand closed around them , gently pull the spinner out of my hand without engaging the hook point. I'm convinced they work, but just haven't spent enough time on the water to be sure.
I fished them last fall for salmon, but our run was so bad that I never had any strikes in the times I fished...thats why I give some away to friends, so that I could get their feedback.
Hope this helps??
F
fish_4_all
It does help a lot. You are only the 3rd person I have found that has ever used them and all 3 of you say the same thing. They work and work really well. Originaly I was never concerned about hooking fish, I wanted to quit losing spinners.
Sounds like I will have to do what I intended on doing in the first place, try them when I have caught a fish already or when I have plenty of fish that I don't have to worry if they work or not.
Do you have a size, model, company or any other information on what you use on your spinners?
Sounds like I will have to do what I intended on doing in the first place, try them when I have caught a fish already or when I have plenty of fish that I don't have to worry if they work or not.
Do you have a size, model, company or any other information on what you use on your spinners?
R
rwregg
The best thing that I can tell you is to experiment. You won't find a secret hole by following the worn footpath along the river.
Just follow whatever ideas you can come up with. Some will work...and some won't. Also try to read every little article or book on spinner fishing you can find. Two of the best I've found are SPINNER FISHING FOR STEELHEAD,SALMON AND TROUT by Jed Davis and a newly released book SPINNER MAGIC by Michigan writer Jim Bedford. Both books should be available through Amato books.
First off, if you have a favorite size of lure or brand now, then look for components that are close to whats working for you now. Be careful, all sizes are not the same from one company to another. As far as spinner blades go, Pen-Tac is a favorite of mine, and the owners , Sarah and Bobby Killingsworth are very friendly and will help you in any way they can. I have used R and B blades and Rivrfisher too. They are all very good blades and companies.
For stream trout here in MI, I start with size #2 and work up to about a #4 blade, for Steelhead I use #3 - #5 blades, and the same for Kings. I also go to a heavier gauge wire than you will buy commercially. I buy the solid clevises and not the folded ones. I want my blades to spin as easy as possible. I play around with the body weights also. It really depends on the water I'm fishing. If it's faster or deeper water I will go with a heavier weight, and a lighter one for calmer stretches.
The two component companies I deal with are Janns Netcraft from Toledo OH and Lure Parts Online out of IL (this is the old Stamina,Inc from MN). On the west coast you may have good lure components there as well, these are just some I find everything I need from.
For hooks, I tend to go a little bigger than you would with other single hooks because I want that hook to rotate and bite as much as it can when it gets grabbed. I was really surprised on how they hooked up when I first started making these....and don't stick them in your fingers!! They don't come out as easily as J hooks do. Try to find circle hooks that have the offset beak and straight eyes, but don't shy away from the Octopus style either. I've had very good success with that style.
Just experiment, and don't be afraid to follow any whacky ideas you can come up with. Time on the water will tell you what works and what doesn't. Fishing is suppose to be fun, and what can be funner than catching fish on your own creations, and especially creations that come from your own ideas!!
Also don't forget your fishing buddies can be a great source of ideas as well as feedback, unless they're like mine and take one look at the Circle hook and decide then they'll never work.
Drop me a private message if you'd like any more ideas, or pictures.
GOOD LUCK.
Just follow whatever ideas you can come up with. Some will work...and some won't. Also try to read every little article or book on spinner fishing you can find. Two of the best I've found are SPINNER FISHING FOR STEELHEAD,SALMON AND TROUT by Jed Davis and a newly released book SPINNER MAGIC by Michigan writer Jim Bedford. Both books should be available through Amato books.
First off, if you have a favorite size of lure or brand now, then look for components that are close to whats working for you now. Be careful, all sizes are not the same from one company to another. As far as spinner blades go, Pen-Tac is a favorite of mine, and the owners , Sarah and Bobby Killingsworth are very friendly and will help you in any way they can. I have used R and B blades and Rivrfisher too. They are all very good blades and companies.
For stream trout here in MI, I start with size #2 and work up to about a #4 blade, for Steelhead I use #3 - #5 blades, and the same for Kings. I also go to a heavier gauge wire than you will buy commercially. I buy the solid clevises and not the folded ones. I want my blades to spin as easy as possible. I play around with the body weights also. It really depends on the water I'm fishing. If it's faster or deeper water I will go with a heavier weight, and a lighter one for calmer stretches.
The two component companies I deal with are Janns Netcraft from Toledo OH and Lure Parts Online out of IL (this is the old Stamina,Inc from MN). On the west coast you may have good lure components there as well, these are just some I find everything I need from.
For hooks, I tend to go a little bigger than you would with other single hooks because I want that hook to rotate and bite as much as it can when it gets grabbed. I was really surprised on how they hooked up when I first started making these....and don't stick them in your fingers!! They don't come out as easily as J hooks do. Try to find circle hooks that have the offset beak and straight eyes, but don't shy away from the Octopus style either. I've had very good success with that style.
Just experiment, and don't be afraid to follow any whacky ideas you can come up with. Time on the water will tell you what works and what doesn't. Fishing is suppose to be fun, and what can be funner than catching fish on your own creations, and especially creations that come from your own ideas!!
Also don't forget your fishing buddies can be a great source of ideas as well as feedback, unless they're like mine and take one look at the Circle hook and decide then they'll never work.
Drop me a private message if you'd like any more ideas, or pictures.
GOOD LUCK.
K
Kelkay
I would like to see your pictures and ideas on spinners with circle hooks. I am thinking it might be worth exploring.
F
fish_4_all
Nothing special, I put them on the same spinners I use all the time. I have used them, no snags yet with them so that is a bonus but no fish here so haven't been able to test if they will hook a fish or not.