Hook Science
Back in the day when I was sponsored by a Japanese hook maker, we went to a scientific hook seminar and went into the mechanics of how hooks were designed and how they should work, line tie points, best knots etc -
For hard charging fish like tarpon or offshore speedsters, short shank hooks were recommended, semi circle wide gap offset, before they were outlawed, were designed to start digging the moment they came in contact with the interior portion of a fishes mouth, hooksets were often deep in the gullet and subject to ripping out -
Most international billfish tournaments use short shank J XXX hooks , Tuna use straight shank XXX now mostly live bait hooks from Gamakatsu,
Tarpon with their bony tough mouth, and hard hitting charging style will most times (given the right person on the rod)- hook themselves, that's why circles are usually a best choice, as the tarpon engulfs the bait, you wait for the line to come tight - the hook however its positioned in the fishes mouth is DESIGNED to first slide if its in the gullet and then ROTATE at the moment the eye of the hook clears the edge of the jaw, where the hook THEN, starts digging, almost always getting purchase in the lip membrane (for me usually in the top side lip or the middle jaw membrane, that hook MUST be needle sharp to work correctly - (chemically sharpened usually sharpest) - before Circles were around many successful guides used short shank wide gape hooks, and indeed tried to drive that hook into that bone somewhere, I'd venture about a 50% success rate, with circles you will usually stay hooked, as long as other terminal points don't fail - If you have ever **** pop jigged ,you will know how hard and fast these fish are when in deeper water, I have caught tarpon from Islamorada to Nicaragua, seen many different styles, many different fish - I've caught more than I can count and really I burned out on them -- (too much work nowadays) I still enjoy the occasional fish, but would just as soon catch something to eat - Stu Apte really popularized "bowing" to Tarpon, usually because he was using a light tippet, since I never intentionally fished for tarpon with Chicken feathers, (but have caught a few incidental) I never bowed and relied on my drag, the times I have LOST tarpon was not due to the hook, but usually other failure of knot, leader etc - head shaking will usually dislodge ANY straight shank hook, break rigid leaders, bend what can bend -- keeping tight to the fish allows LESS slack to allow things "rattle" loose, the analogy would be like attaching a hook thru a hole in the lip edge of coffee can, shaking it on a loose leader, it falls out, doing the same thing on a tight leader and it will stay attached -- BUT Bow if it makes you fell better - keep a log for a year and compare Bowing VS staying tight - see for yourself -