I'll give the circle hooks a try. I have some circle hooks for crappie fishing when i am using minnows, but they are long enough to put the type of catfish bait i use on them. I normally don't get hooks based on what size of the fish i want, but rather what type of bait i am using. Never tried liver, but i guess i need some kind of screen (like a pantyhose) to wrap the pieces of liver in to make sure the bait doesn't come off the hook. I would imagine the liver would keep the smaller panfish away from it.