CIRCLE HOOK
DEBATE I read with interest the article written by by John Ashley
questioning the use of circle hooks on Giant Black Marlin.
I started using them in 2003 after being given a
couple of dozen by Peter B. Wright and as far as I am concerned
having gone the full circle I am not going back to"J" hooks again in
bait trolling for Giant Blacks.
The incident
that made me put the j hooks away was in early November last season
when I caught a 950lb Black in 1 minute and had to get the crewman
to drop the leader to try to make a fight out of the gut hooked
Giant. It was angler Mark Boys largest Marlin to date , but a severe
anticlimax that made me and him question the damage we are doing to
the fish, there is a better answer.
Anglers that see
a gagging bleeding fish generally become a bit distressed themselves
and that is not in my interest as a charter captain who makes a
living out of marlin fishing, I like my clients to come back. We are
now in the middle of the 2000 season which has seen fewer bites then
last years but fishing had been kind to us with fish to 1100lb+
released. Fishing circle hooks in rigged and live bait trolling has
been an interesting and rewarding experience as it has forced a
radical rethink in bait rigging methods, striking techniques and
boat maneuvering.
The proposition
in the article that circle hooks don't hurt the 800lb+ fish when
hooked in the corner of the jaw is right, yes there is no bloodbath
as in a gut hooked J hook fish gaging on the surface. What circle
hooks do ,do is annoy the hell out of the fish and they performs
like a "lure hooked" fish, ie jump their arse off and stay close to
the surface.
The other
proposition being that as circle hooks don't hurt the fish, they
become more susceptible to shark attack may be feasible to the
uninitiated. It is interesting to note that of 4,800lb plus fish
that have fallen victim to the men in grey suits to date this
season, all were hooked on J hooks!!!!
I would put up a
proposition that bleeding "J" hooked fish stand a much greater
chance of being eaten by sharks. Whether that happens during the
fight or after it has been "Tagged and Released". And therein lies
the problem with using J hooks when bait trolling for Giant Blacks,
you stand a high chance of killing every fish that jumps on your
bait. As the Great Barrier Reef fishery is primarily a release
fishery why not give the fish every chance of survival,and that is
where the exclusive use of circle hooks would be a positive step in
billfish conservation and maintain the stocks. In October the Bank
of Queensland standup tournament had a small but interesting clause
in the rules, "circle hooks only whilst livebaiting" a small but
forward thinking rule.
And for those anglers and
captains that want to take a grander why not make it a fight to
remember.
Kim Andersen
New Moon Cairns Australia
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