Over the years that I have been fishing, I have found there are times when I just want to soak a live bait while sitting back and relaxing. A few years back I found that this laid back technique would often cause a fish to be gut hooked that I wanted to released, causing massive injuries and sometimes death. Then I found the solution.
CIRCLE HOOKS
Circle hooks very rarely foul hook or gut hook a fish. Almost every fish that is hooked will be hooked in the corner of the mouth, causing less injury to the fish and helping increase the percentage of fish that stay on the hook. I find that circle hooks work great for most types of fish, other than Sheepshead and shark.
There is, however, a down side to circle hooks. They are sometimes more difficult to remove than normal J style hooks (easily remedied with a good set of pliers) and they are easily pulled from the mouth of the fish if the hook is set aggressively. Generally, with a circle hook, it is not recommended to set the hook at all. The best technique is to reel in until pressure is felt, lift the rod and reel!
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