I'm old fashioned but i like my J hooks versus using the modern day circle hook.I know the arguement that the circle hook is more likely to hook the fish in the corner of the mouth and less likely to gut hook the fish making it a healthier option for the fish's survivability but i bet out of 10 fish that pick up a bait with circle hook you only get to hook 6 fish versus 8 with the regular J hook.Look at a 16/0 circle hook and compare it to a j 16/0 ,,,,,,,quite a difference,,,,much bigger bite on the J hook .When you hook a thousand pound beast that will fight for 3 or 4 hours which hook do you think has a deeper bite and is less likely to pull?You guessed it the J hook!!Especially when fishing big baits my personal choice remains the double strength Mustad J hook ,,,,,,,,,less expensive then the Japanes version also.Use J hooks but also use a good dehooker to get your hooks out of the sharks mouth and to save you money on hooks . What do you guys think?
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
the J hook is the way for me!!
2009 Team Hammer N The Phenoms
Go BIG or go home
Definitely J hooks, they are forged =stronger than circles.
I will stick with J hooks have tried the circles and I missed more than with J hooks
Hi William:
The Mustad Southern and Tuna style J hook, that I offset and sharpened myself, is all I ever used except in the very beginning when I was still learning. I gave circle hooks a good chance for several weeks, and I missed I don't know how many? I finally had to go back to my old favorite Southern and Tuna Style hooks.
You got my vote with the J hooks. At least the Southern and Tuna Style from 10/0 through 16/0 with the 16/0 being my personal favorite.
Tight lines,
Norman Bateman
Cape Coral, Fl.
ncbateman1@aol.com
http://www.ncbateman1.smugmug.com
i like the j-tuna bend for all big fish but i will use the circles on 9/0 reels and less with small baits. with a good rod holder and back the drag of a litle most of the time the small tippers will set the hook them selves
j hooks are the only way to fish
i like a nice gamakatsu 10/0 for my smaller reels like my 4/0 an 9/0
but i have some big tuna hooks for the larger fish
like mr.bateman say's,2 j hooks,offset,one left one right,10-12" apart,you will never miss a fish as long as you don't hook the bait to deep.also a shark can digest just about anything,i don't think that a tin hook last to long in it's gut,and some sharks are know for spitting out the gut's like a sailfish,to get ridd of whatever is in it.so i would not worry to much about there health, a fish that has a chainsaw for a mouth,sandpaper for skin,a ceptic tank for a stomack,hell they don't even get cancer.go figure?no-wonder it's at the top of the food chain.
I like a 16/0 J that I offset and sharpen my self. The best hooks i have ever used are the shark hooks that have the chain on them and a long shank with an offset. They used to come in 16 and 20/0. I cut the chain off and sharpen them. The 20 works good when useing big jack heads cause ya can put the hook all the way inside the head and still have some hook sticking out. Just hope it dont dig up it the sand cause it is rough to drag back in. I cant find those hooks any more(at a fair price not 35$ per hook). I use a single 16 so hook removal is eaiser and replacement cost is bareable. The circle hooks are for smaller baits. Wiley(long time sharkin partner) had a 12/0 streighten one time so I dont use 12/0 unless i have to.
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i agree with you willy i like the double strength mustad 12/0's also theyre great hooks they also come in triple strength if youre REALLY worried about them straightening
gino #7419
12/0 J's all the way
12/0 J's all the way
amen 
gino #7419
Js the way!!
2009 Team Hammer N The Phenoms
Go BIG or go home
J,s here too....Dave m.....to many misses with circle