Circle hook
What is a 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.
Circle hook at a glance
- Hookset
- None
- Reel steadily until the rod loads
- Lands in
- The jaw corner
- Use
- Non-offset (inline)
- What conservation rules specify
- Best for
- Bait on a rod holder
How does a circle hook work?
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.
Why should you not set the hook?
That self-setting 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. This is the single hardest habit for an experienced angler to unlearn, and it is why people who try circle hooks once often decide they do not work.
Why do regulations specify circle hooks?
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 raises survival for released fish and is why several NOAA Fisheries rules now require non-offset circle hooks with natural bait in specific fisheries.
They come in offset and non-offset versions. Non-offset, sometimes called inline, is the one that behaves properly, and it is what those regulations specify.
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.
What this means when you’re choosing
- Non-offset or inline on the packet. An offset circle hook loses much of the conservation advantage and is prohibited where circle hooks are mandated.
- A hook size matched to the bait rather than the fish. Circle hooks work by finding the jaw, and an oversized one cannot turn inside a smaller mouth.
- Non-stainless where you release fish. A hook that corrodes free is a much better outcome for a deep-hooked fish than one that does not.
The common mistake
Striking it like a J-hook
Every reflex you have built says to snap the rod back when the line moves, and on a circle hook that pulls the point straight out of a mouth it was sliding across. The hook needs to travel to the jaw hinge before it can turn. Leave the rod low, let the fish load it, and start reeling. Rod holders help, because they take your hands out of it.
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.
What is the difference between offset and non-offset circle hooks?
On a non-offset, or inline, hook the point lies in the same plane as the shank. Offset hooks are bent sideways, which makes them more likely to catch in the gut and is why fisheries rules that require circle hooks specify non-offset.
Where this is defined
Where this comes up
The guides that use circle hook and show it on real gear.
Last reviewed . Circle hook is one of 222 terms in the fishing glossary.