[Mendingline]

G'Day. I have tied a number of mooching leaders using Gamakatsu Octpus hooks (mostly 1/0 trailing, 2/0 top). I have a couple of questions and would appreciate some of your expertise.

1. Should I be tying with Circle Hooks instead? If so, what hooks?
2. I have tied all my leaders with a snell knot with 13 wraps and 15# floro. Should I use a bumper snell knot with 8 wraps on the bumber and 7 on the snell (also called a bait loop or egg loop)?
3. For tying hoochie rigs should I use the octopus or circle hook?

Many thanks for your help. Cheers, Gary

 

[bigjay]

Tradtionally if you're mooching with live herring, you'd use small treble hook both with a snell knot... at a guess the hooks are number 1's.

Again if you're hoochies the tradtional way, you'd use a large siwash hook (open eyed J hook) number 0/4 or0/5 hook crimped on to a swivel with a bead in front of it and a hoochie. With that set up you'll rarely if ever get under size fish.

Have fun, Jason

 

[tsweet129]

Funny how everyone has they're own ideas...down here in the vancouver area I can't catch a cold on hoochies so i don't use them much....but when i guide up north i just take a pretied cut plug rig and cut off the bottom hook and run a single and they hit like crazy....usually i only do this if i'm in a hurry and don't have anything pretied but hot dam if they don't work just fine...

 

[dog]

I like tying on gammy 5/0 octopus hooks, but don't like the gammy open eye siwash hooks for attaching to swivels. The ones I have seem too soft. Easy to close with pliers (too easy) but I had one let go at the eye once dragging in a pink, so I've gone back to stainless mustad 5/0 and 6/0 for swivel hootchy setups. Maybe I just got some of a soft batch, but I probably won't try them again.

I will try some different 5/0 octopus hooks next opportunity just to try Nikkas latest stock. I also have had some Mustad ultra point circle hooks in the box for a year, but have not tried them yet.

A bud always uses 2 trebles on his chovie setups. I prefer 2 singles lately, and heavier line, usually 30 to 40#.