With the native runs coming in now, has any one tried using circle hooks with bait or with bait divers or even the pink worm with any luck? I'm thinking they wouldn't take the hook deep & we could still use bait without worry of harming the nates. They seem to work on other fish. It would seem funny to not set the hook though. yer rod is hammering down & all you do is start reeling in. or watch the line peel off the reel.

Never tried myself, but heard fellas say they didn't like them for steelie fishing that hhave actually given them a shot.

Concept is not good for nates anyhow ... you want a fish to much on circle hooks anyhow ... steelies not feeding likely wouldn't hang onto it long enough and for those downstream fish would try to inhale ... you don't ever want to wait that long.

Thanx Bob, I thought the fish might spit it out. They seem to sometimes just want to move the offering out of the way & are not eating. Ya just gotta set that hook before they drop it. There's one...Stick...Fish on.

I tried circle hooks in Alaska for Silvers under a float with eggs. I had a real hard time hooking up. I only hooked one of about 5-6 takes, so I switched back.

I've been experimenting with circle hooks for salmon and steelhead for the past couple years. I'm not ready to make any pronouncements but under certain circumstances, they work great. At other times, not so good.

I only use them in rivers with bait (eggs/shrimp). The biggest factor seems to be the type of water you're fishing. The slower, the better with circle hooks. If you're fishing a pool with eggs for Chinook and coho, they're terrific. Slow hookset, great penetration, very few lost fish. In fast water, I can't hook anything with them, particularly steelhead. In fast water, you need a quick hookset, which won't work with circle hooks. A slow lift of the rod is the only way they're effective. But trying to do this in fast water means you're going to loose the hookset.

Give them a try when you're fishing a pool for spring Chinook. They can be very effective.

I will continue to experiment and report back.