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		Captain Kim's Fishing Report		Cairns Australia
		Updates of latest fishing conditions,outstanding captures, tournament results, upcoming events and comment on current issues.
		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