ray help

[John cork]

Caught my first ray on a 1/0 hook
Had a few bites and misses after it
Should I use bigger hooks?

[mackfish]

I catch most rays on a 1/0...the way I see it, as long as the hook point is showing, you should hook up no bother. The only problem I've had is the hook straightening out!..but as I said, I find 1/0 big enough.

[baitdigger]

John you need to match your hooksize to your baitsize.
half a fillet of mackerel would need 4/0's
personally I never go under a 3/0 but then lots of people do and are successful. As long as the bend and point of the hook are clearly exposed you stand a good chance of hooking the fish.

[red]

For clean beach fishing in east cork using sandeel or mack strips, a quality 1/0 is plenty. As baitdigger says tho if your using big baits you need big hooks.
Have a look at gamakatsu f314 hooks. The sizing is a bit strange on them and they are bigger than most hooks in the same size but their very strong. A size 2 in these is plenty for smaller baits and a 2/0 for bigger baits. I had an 11lb ray on the size 2 last year and a 7/8lb fish last week without any problems.

[John cork]

thanks all

[MC]

Caught my first ray on a 1/0 hook
Had a few bites and misses after it
Should I use bigger hooks?

dont know about other but I find that ray settle on the bait giving false bites, so I dont lift into the fish until the tip pulls down or line goes slack but dont leave it too late or you will have a lot of deep hooked fish