Quote Originally Posted by 8fishermen View Post
Reread my earlier post. I sounded a little rude.:o I did not mean to so I hope no one took offense.
Anyway, Shilohred, You mentioned two different hook manufactures, Which one do you like best and why? How do you you rig them?
I use a sinker side and sinker bumper (made by Team Catfish) over a Spro power swivel. Main line is 65 lb braid. Leader is 40lb Ande Mono. This system is very versatile allowing weight changes in seconds.
Another reason I prefer the circle hooks is the heavy sinkers we use. Right now the Pearl River at Jackson is flowing 14500 cfs and it would take 6 to 8 oz to even almost hold in the current. All that current and 30 yrds of line swirling in the water behind the boat make hooking up with a j hook difficult.
There is also a technique used on the Mississippi river when fishing wing dams where 16 to 24 oz of weight is used. Some buddies of mine fish for giant blues in 100' of water that suspend around 80'. No one really knows why they do this but some massive fish are caught this way. Imagine trying to set a hook 80' deep with a 16 oz weight in the way They use circle hooks here for good reason.
Sorry don't know how I overlooked this.. The Matzuo Octopus Sickle hooks If I'm going to use a standard hook.
How if I'm going to use a Circle hook its the Charlie Brown Octopus Circles all the way. Rigging the Circles I snell 2 of them one as a stinger hook. Theres about 4" between each hook. Or fix the top hook where it slides on the main line. I do this where I can adjust the top hook to fit when I use a half of a skipjack.

The Sickle hooks most of the time I rig them 2 hook rig also. But I fish with a sinker on bottom then up to a 3 way swivel then off that one to a 2 hook rig then from that 3 way on up to one more 3 way swivel. Then one more 2 hook rig. I control drift with this rig. It may well be behind the boat 100ft to 200 ft. Wear the blues out this way. I fish below Pickwick Dam in West Tn doing this. But also fished the Ms river this summer this way. Where it took 16 oz or better to hold bottom I can use less them half of that and fish drift fishing..
We also have the sinker slides..
Pete