Circle Hooks on Tip-Ups

Circle hooks on tip-ups? Who would ever guess that would work? There are many good reasons to add them to your winter arsenal. One of the biggest issues I have with fishing in general, is the damage you can cause to a fish during a catch, such as hook swallows, gill damage, heavy bleeding, vital organ damage and sometimes they just do not recover from the struggle and the hardware.

I am strictly a CPR (catch, photo, release) angler, and I will do whatever it takes to get them back in the water safely. Circle hooks have made that issue less of a concern as they are designed to catch the fish on the lips at the corner of their mouth, reducing injury as well as the mortality rate.

I don’t know about my fellow anglers, but I love to make my own rigs! I buy the leader wire, metal sleeves, hooks, beads, and even blades to add some bling to my rigs. On days when I notice the fish are finicky, I will throw on a simple rig with less flash. I personally use the quick strike set up for my circle hooks, and so far, the hook up ratio has increased dramatically. There is absolutely nothing worse than seeing the flag, running to your tip up, start pulling the line in, setting the hook and feeling the fish get away right under your fingertips. 

With the circle hooks you can let them take the bait longer since the likelihood of them swallowing it is lower. Also, DON’T SET THE HOOK! That’s right, you read that correctly, you do not have to set the hook with that forceful tug that you are used to. Instead, you grab that line and slowly pull it in until you feel the fish, then keep that line tight and just keep pulling it in steadily. Circle hooks were designed to let the fish hook themselves. I have noticed that since using this set up, I have not had to use spreaders or pliers to retrieve any hooks thus reducing additional stress to the fish. 

This is my typical set up for tip-ups. I have big ones for larger bait all the way down to smaller ones for smaller bait. You can buy the materials to make these at most sporting goods stores as well as some bait shops, and of course online. I prefer a few different sizes to choose from every time I go out.

One big thing I found out with hooking the bait with circle hooks is, DO NOT fill the gap between the tip and shank with your bait. If the gap is filled, there is not enough space to successfully hook the lip of the fish. Keep your hooks shallow ahead of and after the dorsal fin, position hooks in opposite directions of each other.

. I have had some pretty amazing catches with these rigs and encourage you to give them a shot!