Quote Originally Posted by gabowman View Post
Bouncing rods generally mean small (er) fish which doesnt usually just take the bait and try leaving the area. I may be mistaken, but most circle hook fishermen are usually after larger fish. I'd love hearing from the guys about using circle hooks catching the smaller guys...the ones that just jerk the hook and bounce the rods.
I use circle hooks exclusively for channel cats and have caught a few thousand using them. I use dip baits mostly and have caught cats up to 17 lbs on circles. I use #1 or #2 with rubber tubing for the dip bait fishing. Cattracker baits(Jo Jo's Pole Snatcher and Wicked Sticky). I like to let the fish take the bait and then just reel 'em in. I prefer to hold the pole. I use 6-7 ft rods with spinning reels and use 8 lb. test. 1/2 oz. sinker with a #7 swivel. This is for lake fishing. God bless.