snoozer Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Ok it's dawning on me very slowly that i might be using hooks a tad on the large size and now ponder on the possibility that it's affecting my catch rate....well something is and i'm looking at the pointy stuff first. I use for probably 90% of my fishing a size 6. Taking into consideration for the most part i'm likely to snag a 30lb tops with 10-20lb'rs the average what size hook would/should i use ? Size 10 is starting to look like favourite. Am i right in thinking a larger hook size with smaller fish is counter productive ? It got me thinking when i lost 3 recently for no apparent reason.....with the largest in the lake a 30 with predominantly 10-20's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamkitson Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 For me hook size is more determined by rig length and mechanics than fish size. I use a 6 for 90% of my fishing too. I will use an 8 if I'm fishing a 4" PVA bag rig, and on a zig, otherwise it's a 6. I've had fish no more than 3lb take this so I wouldn't worry about the size of fish you're after. Smaller finer wire hooks can make more of a mess of a fish's mouth as well. If you do go smaller make sure it's a good thick hook. Good luck. Hope whatever you try works, but for my money I wouldn't worry about the size 6 hook. newmarket 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salokcinnodrog Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 I have a simple philosophy on hooks; size 6! It may make a difference on waters where you are fishing for fish in single to mid double size, where you need to play around with smaller hooks and baits, but I'm fishing for fish from mid doubles to high thirties or even forty (I should be so lucky!) The important thing to me is hair length, get that right to suit the situation, check every single hook hold, look where it's taken hold, and adjust hair length to suit. 1) Hook at back of mouth, slid or scraped down into cheek, hair is too long, shorten. 2) Hook is perfectly in the centre of the bottom lip, hair is exactly right length. 3) Hook is at edge of mouth, OR lost fish from hook pulls, lengthen hair slightly. Now I have given you that there is another factor that may come into play, and that is how or what you are feeding. Carp that are feeding confidently on a bed of bait, you can shorten the hooklink and/or hair, maybe they are just truffling through your spod mix or groundbait, a short hair may be preferable. Feeding on boilies a bit more cautiously, the hair length needs to be more precise. Please note, this applies to bottom baits and snowman set-ups only. A specific pop-up bait you may need to match the hook size to the pop-up, as with maggot rigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoozer Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Some great info gents that i didn't know especially the hair lengths and what to do when. If size 6 is good enough for you then i'm golden just need to play with the presentation lol Thanks for the replys.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddgx Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Intrigued as to what size hook you select for maggot rigs Nick. Fish those alot in winter and I always tend to go for a smallish hook. 8 or 10 probably. In my head, it 'looks right'. Could be a strategy that requires some improvement on my part! salokcinnodrog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salokcinnodrog Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Intrigued as to what size hook you select for maggot rigs Nick. Fish those alot in winter and I always tend to go for a smallish hook. 8 or 10 probably. In my head, it 'looks right'. Could be a strategy that requires some improvement on my part! I tend to go size 8 for Medusa rigs with maggots, (maggots sewed or stuck to corkball or rig foam), and either an 8 or 10 for plain straight hair rigged, depending. Size 8 for more than 6 maggots on a hair and rig ring, size 10 for 5 or less on hair or straight on hook. Don't know, it's how I do it, no specific reason, maybe I should experiment more. For maggots I always tried to balance hook to bait size, probably from my silver fish fishing, when I would work on 1 maggot size 18, 2 maggots or 1 caster size 16, 3 maggots size 14, 4 size 12 maybe 10 if the fish were 'having it' as chub and perch can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddgx Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Just thinking back to when I started using maggot clips, which I really like apart from the spike that likes to get caught in your landing net mesh (more on that another time).I think I was fishing a lake that had lots of single figure fish (which in January or February I was more than happy to catch) and I found I was getting a lot of bites and no runs. Went down a hook size or two and started getting proper takes and I think it's just stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnplumb Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 I use 4's and 2's for most of my fishing , I'm not sure your hook can be to big but I'm convinced it can be to small hoorayhenri and muftyboy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muftyboy Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 I use 4's and 2's for most of my fishing , I'm not sure your hook can be to big but I'm convinced it can be to small I totally agree, I use 4's or 2's when fishing with boilies and size 6 for a single grain of corn. hoorayhenri 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoozer Posted December 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Wow such a diverse opinion on size and none of us are Female lol Seriously tho i just watched Thinking Tackle and DF landed a 39.7 on a size 10 with a single 14mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salokcinnodrog Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Wow such a diverse opinion on size and none of us are Female lol Seriously tho i just watched Thinking Tackle and DF landed a 39.7 on a size 10 with a single 14mm It's not helped by different hooks by different brands or shapes having such different sizes. A 6 from one brand may be as big as a 2 from another, or as small as another brands 8 or even 10! adamkitson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoozer Posted December 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 It's not helped by different hooks by different brands or shapes having such different sizes. A 6 from one brand may be as big as a 2 from another, or as small as another brands 8 or even 10! Yep i quite agree the selection i feel is more about us than the Carp as is most items of tackle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muftyboy Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Wow such a diverse opinion on size and none of us are Female lol Seriously tho i just watched Thinking Tackle and DF landed a 39.7 on a size 10 with a single 14mm I've had carp to nearly 20lb on size 18 hooks by accident,not saying you can't catch big carp on small hooks but in my experience since using larger hooks my runs to landing ratio has shot up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnplumb Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 I guess this is another subject where there is no definitive answer . I just feel that a bigger hook has more chance of hooking the fish and staying put in the fishes mouth . I would have a small bet that more fish are lost to hook pulls whilst using smaller hooks that have just " nicked " the fishes mouth and simply rip out . Without question any fish can be landed on any size hook when everything goes right but big hooks for me hoorayhenri and hawkman 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamkitson Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 It's not helped by different hooks by different brands or shapes having such different sizes. A 6 from one brand may be as big as a 2 from another, or as small as another brands 8 or even 10! That is a VERY good point! Anyone know what the size number is based on? Is there ANY size aspect common to all hooks of the same size number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salokcinnodrog Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 That is a VERY good point! Anyone know what the size number is based on? Is there ANY size aspect common to all hooks of the same size number? For anyone who does like the research, scientific aspect this may interest you. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_hook I believe Frank (Levigsp) has a far better understanding of hook sizes and the differences than I do. The man is a font of knowledge of hooks, carp species, strains and country life. Brilliant man, who I would love to pick his brains, but I think I would need another lifetime to take it all in adamkitson and nealjt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamkitson Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 Reall interesting link! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.