hook size

[ckpainters]

as i am coming back to match fishing after some years. i have noticed that hook sizes are coming down.can we talk about how small and why or is it because there are fewer and fewer fish to be had.

[MAC]

Not having much of a clue about this I have seen the reports form comps and the like and most of the fish caught are smaller. Using smaller hooks I'm sure firstly you have a better chance of hooking a bite and secondly a better chance of not bumping the fish off. Just my thoughts.

Kevin

[frodo baggins]

i'm not into the match scene myself, but overall angling has seen an improvement in fish care and conservation, and the use of smaller hooks(with smaller barbs) would cause minimal harm to the fish. also using smaller hooks improved bait presention(within reason) the less metal buried inside the bait, the more natural the bait is going to be presented in the water. well there's my thoughts on the subject, makes sense to me anyway

[Wayne]

I choose my hook size by the bait being used, then by what species are likely to be caught.

You are more likely to hook up with, and land a descent Cod with small size 1 hooks while targeting say Whiting, Dogs and Dabs in a match than target the Cod with 4/0 pennels hoping to pick up the smaller species.

Hope it makes sense :wink:

[ckpainters]

Fair point wayne. with points system it is all about fish and if they are small well so be it

[George]

I have found myself stepping down to 15lb snoods and size 6 hooks for general match conditions especially for flats , just look at the size of their mouths. Only use enough bait to cover the hook even if that means using a small segment of a rag.