Biggest I use is 8/0. My PB 45” was on a 1/0 mustad mutu light, bait rod fifteen pound test!!

 

I use 12-14/0 when using big baits with the long rods

 

You match the hook size to the bait. A circle hook will catch them and almost can't be too small, but they can definitely be too big.

 

Agreed. Back before we had boats we fished the beach a lot. We struggled using cut bait, weeding through lots of small sharks and both varieties of catfish. An old timer we met on Bolivar was very successful catching the big bulls without the annoying bait stealers.
He used 8-10" live mullet, hooked through the eyes with a 10/0 or 12/0 Mustad Duratin hook. We adopted the practice, and our hookup ratio on bulls went to near 100%. Didn't always land them due to various failure factors, but the chance of a solid hookup using those hooks with the bigger live bait was nearly a given. Sure was a lot of fun!! 🍻

 

For the aughts, They seem smaller in size, to me, than J-hooks. Other words, Put an 8-0 circle along side an 8-0 J and you will see the difference. Then buy accordingly.

 

True! And they can also vary greatly from one brand to the other. One company's 8/0 can be the size of another's 6/0. Or reversed. Especially with the non-branded bulk Chinese hooks. The Mustads have been around forever, so we always used them as a size standard against which all others were judged.

 

Good advice!
Thanks

 

We used 16/0 circles and landed hundreds of bull reds from the boat. Pass Cavallo in 15 to 20 foot depths before it sanded up. Snapper rods and 40 or 50 pound line. If a tarpon came along, we often caught him too. Our mono leaders were 100- to 200-pound test Ande. Cut mullet was best. I don't remember any hardhead cats, that pass was maybe too dangerous for them. The most bull reds we caught without moving the boat was 46, somewhere around Labor Day. About one out of every 30 bull reds swallowed the big circle hook, the rest of those hooks were easily knocked loose, sometimes with a fist.

 

That is what I am trying to do. Use circle hooks and have less/none swallow the hooks. No need in killing em.

 

If hook is swallowed, best just to cut the leader as close as possible to the hook and turn the fish loose. Hook will rust away and fish will have a much greater likelihood of survival than if you try to remove a swallowed hook.

 

I have been using only Eagle Claw 1/0 hook for every fish for a while and have caught between a 4-inch pinfish to a 36-pound blackdrum with it. It works just fine. There were a few times when I fished at the surf or open water where sharks were everywhere that larger sharks (3 ft and up) straightened my hooks. I switched to 3/0 or 4/0 for those guys.

 

14/0 circle to 16/0 circle. They have huge mouths!

 

Can you catch BRs with small hooks? Sure. I've caught them on hooks as small as #2 circles. However, as SS just said, they have huge mouths. When I'm targeting them, I use big baits and use big hooks because I use big baits. Like Loy, my normal hook size is 14/0 to 16/0, with 15/0 and 16/0 preferred. I've caught reds on hooks as large as 20/0. All my hooks are in-line circles, not offset. Some fish will still get hooked deep. I use a pair of extra long Harbor Freight needle nose pliers for that. If I can't unhook them with that, I cut the leader. Remember, these are fish that eat crabs, hardheads and other sharp things for a living. A swallowed hook isn't going to bother them.

 

i use 16/0 Mustad.