Circle hooks on lures?

[Frenchieboy]

I am thinking about making unhooking a little easier and getting less "flying trebles" caught in the mesh of my landing net so I was wondering about others opinions on changing the treble hooks on my lures for circle hooks. Does anyone do this and if so how does it effect the hook up rate? Also should the circle hooks be swapped for the same size of the existing trebles?
Your thoughts and opinions are more than welcome!

P.S. I ought to mention that all of my lures are currently fitted with barbless or de-barbed trebles!

[MarkBerrisford]

Wouldn’t work with lures, you need them to hook instantly

[Steve Dennington]

As Mark says, lures just aren't suited to circle hooks.

If you want to avoid flying trebles, the obvious solution is to use lures with just one hook. Spoons and spinnerbaits catch loads and even smaller (4" and less) cranks and jerkbaits can be fished effectively with just a tail treble. You might want to use a barbed one though! Like most lure anglers, I've experimented with barbless trebles over the years and every time I've reverted to barbed. Barbless trebles on bait traces work as well as barbed, but with lures the first headshake as the fish breaks surface will all too often see the lure fly over your shoulder as the fish unhooks itself!

[paintman]

I use circles on deads but debarbed trebles on lures - apart from single jig hook rigged which I also debarb.
Barbed/debarbed discussion is a bit of a can of worms as you might recall from your landing net thread - but I've never claimed to be in my right mind anyway

There are inline singles intended for replacing trebles on lure & I've got some of the Cox & Rawle ones - another 'out of curiosity' purchase - but haven't given them a serious go.
This talks about them with suggestions for size comparison.
https://www.anglingactive.co.uk/blog/re ... gle-hooks/

ETA. Interesting point about the lure being thrown. Not something I've experienced - yet! - but as I'm crushing the barb instead of replacing the hooks with true barbless it might be the remains are sufficient.
Fly for trout I crush the barbs as I usually opt for the catch & release ticket which requires that & not had thrown hook issues.

[Flipflopjoe]

I’ve got all single hooks (not circles) on my bass lures, and I don’t think it affects hook up rates at all, except when there’s loads of tiny basslets about buzzing around you lures that are almost too small to get hook and that obviously doesn’t worry me.
I don’t apply the same tactic with any of my pike lures, I leave trebles on but I do try to reduce the size of done of the ridiculously massive ones that come on some lures to smaller ones where possible.

[John Milford]

Pike have bony mouths and the geometry of a treble hook ensures that at least one hook point is always proud.

The fixed singles on jigs also present a proud, rigidly presented point that will usually find some purchase within a pike's bony maw.

Articulated singles may work with softer mouthed fish, but will be extremely hit and miss on pike.

Remember that circle hooks work on the basis of not hooking a fish inside the mouth cavity - not at all a helpful arrangement on a lure - in fact the very last thing I'd want on something intended for pike.

[Mike J]

I am thinking about making unhooking a little easier and getting less "flying trebles" caught in the mesh of my landing net so I was wondering about others opinions on changing the treble hooks on my lures for circle hooks. Does anyone do this and if so how does it effect the hook up rate? Also should the circle hooks be swapped for the same size of the existing trebles?
Your thoughts and opinions are more than welcome!

P.S. I ought to mention that all of my lures are currently fitted with barbless or de-barbed trebles!

Being an advocate of circle hooks I tried them on hard plugs, waited for a day they were climbing up the rod and changed the trebles for 5/0 circles, cant remember the figs but out of a lot I didn't hook a single fish
A friend put a circle behind a spoon and hooked up no trouble at all.

Used cicles all season on flies and never missed a fish

Well if it was easy we would be doing it I suppose?

.

[paintman]

Interesting.
Is the hard plug stopping the free articulation of the circle?
I use mono for sea & wondertress for pike & the hooks are free to move, had no issues with hookup rate.
Not tried them on flies - I use 'J's - so I might tie a couple up. Any particular size hook, I'm guessing it will be Eagle Claws?

[dropped_run]

They work for dropshot. Just saying

[Alex Fox]

They work great on metal type jigs being fished up and down while drifting for bass, can't think they would be much use on any other lures though