Overview
When the bites on your dropshot rig are too light to feel, this may be the hook that could save the day. The idea of the circle hook is that it will slide into the corner of a fish's mouth as it swims away and almost automatically hook the fish without setting the hook yourself. It is a proven and reliable method in saltwater for species such as tuna and wahoo, and it works for bass, too. The bent-in point resists hooking rocks and wood, but ensures the hook will not slip out of a fish's mouth without sticking and when the fish swims away, it's hooked. It's almost self-hooking and it works, so if the bites really light, try the circle hook idea and see if it can help put more fish in the livewell.
Previous Feedback
Comments: I use these Gami Octopus hooks in #1 or 1/0 almost exclusively for dropshot. I've never lost a fish and everyone of them is cleaning hooked in the side of the mouth. Feel the fish just simply lift up on the rod, no drama. I believe that anyone who gut hooks a fish with these hooks needs a more sensitive rod.
From: Sam: Mountain View, CA 3/4/20
Comments: I use these size 4 and 6 for catching carp as well as tropical species. I put a few kernels of sweet corn on size 4 for carp, or use a curly tailed grub fishing in hawaii on a size 6. Works great. I noticed a couple of comments about gut-hooking -- I haven't experienced this personally. I prefer this to baitholder hooks because I find it easier to get out of the fish's mouth than the baitholder, also not having to set the hook for bait-and-wait fishing is nice :)
From: Sam: Mountain View, CA 3/4/20
Comments: From what I know of these hooks, you are more likely to hook somewhere other than the mouth because the bend in the hook is not in line with the shank and so it is more likely to hook whatever in the fish that it touched. I crush the barbs and use pliers to bend the hook so that the point is in line with the rest of the hook. And I've had nothing but fish hooked in the corner of the mouth. If octopus is what means that the point is offline from the shank, it seems they could do a pretty legit job marketing this as a safer alternative, if they did away with the octopus. If you buy these hooks intending to reduce gut hooking, you may want to seriously consider bending the point in line with the shaft. I've used these hooks to dropshot, nose hook soft plastics to throw weightless OR with a split shot up the line and I've also been trying out rigging them similar to a Texas rig. This kind of hook has worked this way for all of these applications, even down to a size 6 hook...for the Trig, you really need to sure to match the hook to the plastic. The only fish I've lost on this has been T rigging and I believe that the bait may have been slightly oversized for the amount of useable hook I had left.
From: Terrell: Michigan 8/31/18
Comments: In my experience, these are the best wacky rig hooks available. I rarely lose fish on these, far less than with hooks with a straight point.
From: Unknown: 1/31/17
Comments: I used these in Canada. Caught a ton of smallmouth and walleye on these. I lost less than 5 fish once hooked up, and I caught over 70 fish. Nose hooked a zoom 5" shakey head with great success. This has definitely been added to my drop shop kit for good.
From: Austin: MO
Comments: I feel like the offset shank mitigates any advantage of the circlehook, which for me is the ability to hook a fish nonlethally. Ever since I started using these, Ive gut hooked more and more fish. The straight shank circle hooks work much better for my intended purpose.
This is by no means a criticism of the craftsmanship of the hook itself, rather its design and aplication
From: Josh: Germantown, Maryland
Comments: As a tournament angler, I have been using this hook for over three years with fantastic success. I have since shared these hooks with other anglers, and they are also very happy with the performance. I won't leave home without them!
From: George: Beecher, IL