Circle hook
A hook whose point curves back toward the shank, so it slides to the corner of the jaw and turns as the fish moves away. You never strike it.
The geometry does the work. Because the point faces inward rather than up, a circle hook cannot catch in soft tissue while it is being pulled straight through a fish's mouth. It slides until it reaches the jaw hinge, where the gap is narrow enough to catch, and then rotates and sets itself.
That only happens if you let it. The instinct to snap the rod back is exactly wrong here, because a hard strike pulls the hook out before it has reached the corner. Instead you let the fish take the bait and move off, then start reeling steadily until the rod loads.
The payoff is fewer gut-hooked fish. Circle hooks land fish in the corner of the mouth at a much higher rate than a J-hook fished the same way, which makes them the standard for catfish on a rod holder and for any bait fishing where the fish swallows.
They come in offset and non-offset versions. Non-offset, sometimes called inline, is the one that behaves properly, and it is what conservation regulations specify where circle hooks are mandated.
Do not set the hook. Point the rod at the fish, reel until the line comes tight, and keep reeling. The hook finds the corner on its own.
Common questions
Do you set the hook on a circle hook?
No. Setting the hook pulls it out before it reaches the jaw corner. Let the fish move off with the bait, then reel steadily until the rod loads and the hook turns into the corner of the mouth by itself.
Related terms
Where this comes up
The guides that use circle hook and show it on real gear.
Circle hook is one of 206 terms in the glossary.
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