# New Circle hook regulations 7-1 9-30



## Billfish (Sep 11, 2003)

Contact: Patricia Smith

Date: June 25, 2009 Phone: (252) 726-7021

NEW CIRCLE HOOK SEASON STARTS JULY 1

MOREHEAD CITY – A new seasonal requirement for using circle hooks in the Pamlico Sound and its tributaries starts Wednesday.

From July 1 to Sept. 30, fishermen must use circle hooks, short leaders and fixed weights when fishing between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. with natural bait using large hooks (greater than 4/0) in the Pamlico Sound and its tributaries.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission adopted the rule in November in an effort to reduce post-release mortality in the recreational catch-and-release red drum fishery. Research has shown that the use of large or intermediate sized circle hooks, combined with a short leader and a fixed weight, reduces the incidence of deep hooking (gut hooking) in the red drum fishery.

The regulation was recommended in a N.C. Red Drum Fishery Management Plan.

For the purposes of this regulation, a circle hook is defined as a hook with the point of the hook directed perpendicularly back toward the shank and with the barb either compressed or removed. The fixed sinker should weigh at least 2 ounces and be secured within six inches of the circle hook.

The exact wording of the rule, with GPS coordinates, can be found on page 24 of the 2009 North Carolina Rules for Coastal Fishing Waters, which can be downloaded from the DMF Web site at http://www.ncfisheries.net/download/...C_Rulebook.pdf. An illustration of the appropriate circle hook tackle can be found at http://www.ncdmf.net/download/circlehookreddrum.pdf.

For more information about the requirement, contact DMF biologist Lee Paramore at (252) 473-5734 or [email protected].


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Imho,it's a good law,let's just hope it doesn't open the gate to close it all during that time of yr......


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## bstarling (Apr 24, 2005)

Drumdum said:


> Imho,it's a good law,let's just hope it doesn't open the gate to close it all during that time of yr......


Ain't that the truth. I fear the camel's nose under the tent. He doesn't know when to quit!

Bill:fishing:


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## Mudd (Jan 10, 2004)

Basically it makes the Owen Lupton drum rig the only one thats legal. Is the standard Tarpoon rig with the 5-6 ft leader illegal?


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Mudd said:


> Basically it makes the Owen Lupton drum rig the only one thats legal. Is the standard Tarpoon rig with the 5-6 ft leader illegal?



Most fish for tarpon in the daytime,but anytime before 7 in the morning and after 7 at night,a rig like that one would not be legal... Inbetween those times,from what I'm reading would be cool...


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## DennyR (Aug 24, 2008)

Thanks to info in this post, I just read Capt. Lupton's explanation of his drum rig development via a link on the Tackle Monkey web site. Keeping the big drum in the breeding pool is important to all of us, not just the night fishers in Pamlico Sound. Capt. Lupton's rig is obviously designed for use off a boat. The egg sinker he uses won't fare very well in the surf. Everything I thought I knew up to this point indicated a fish finder rig was the right drum rig, but that blows the short leader concept. How well would a standard surf rig or a two hook bottom rig work? How would you apply the short leader and the hook to weight length concept to those rigs?


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## Mudd (Jan 10, 2004)

You're right DrumDum. I didn't see the time restriction part. Doh!


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

DennyR said:


> Thanks to info in this post, I just read Capt. Lupton's explanation of his drum rig development via a link on the Tackle Monkey web site. Keeping the big drum in the breeding pool is important to all of us, not just the night fishers in Pamlico Sound. Capt. Lupton's rig is obviously designed for use off a boat. The egg sinker he uses won't fare very well in the surf. Everything I thought I knew up to this point indicated a fish finder rig was the right drum rig, but that blows the short leader concept. How well would a standard surf rig or a two hook bottom rig work? How would you apply the short leader and the hook to weight length concept to those rigs?


 Actually the "Owenrig" is a good idea for western side of Pamlico... Although on this side of the sound,and in the ocean,it's use is not even close to as important.. Most of the fish caught over there,swallow the bait to their crushers long before you even feel a pull or slackoff on your rod.. I don't fish over there although many folks that I know do... I have been told that as many as 50% of the fish can be guthooked,EVEN WITH a circle!! Maybe Clyde,or Ryan could jump in on this,I was told this by one of the most respected drummers I know.. He uses j's over here,as do I,although when he fishes over there it's circles all the way,cause j's WILL guthook them over there about everytime.. One of the chief reasons,*jmho*,is that there is no current and many times you fish almost verticle over there..... I personally have only guthooked 2 big fish over 40 fork,one on a j and one on a circle... Have seen VERY FEW guthooked fish over that size on this side of the sound and in the ocean period.... 

George Beckwith has done studies on this,and survival rate of guthooked fish vs not guthooked is no doubt better with not guthooked,although because a fish is guthooked is by no means a "deathsentence" to that fish... Many guthooked fish that he had in his study survived,as long as the hook didn't penetrate major organs or bloodvessels.. Circles have been proven to be better for this,and I will not argue that point,but have been using a j on this side for many yrs,and caught "a few" bigguns and released many an unharmed drummie back into the water on a j..... 

Over on this side of the sound,seems as though pups are the main ones that seem to get guthooked with j's,and I use 4/0 eagleclaw circles whenever I target them because of this... After this reg,I will be using circles for bigones in the sound per regulation,but will continue to use j's in the fall in the ocean,until they regulate what I can use.. Although,from what I have seen, on piers and in the surf for big drum,they need to do another study,jmho...


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

I gut hooked three fish over there last year. Its almost time to get on them again. I used the rig exclusively last year in the Nuese and Pamlico Sound. I think it's a good idea to try and expand the live release of fish you intend to release. 

One thing I found last year is that with a bigger hook and bigger bait, the deep hook sets were less common. Also the fresher/firmer the bait, the less deep hook sets as well. I think the fish would pick up and run with the bigger bait while trying to crush it before swallowing. With the smaller hooks and bait, the fish has time to swallow the entire package without hesitation.

I use J hooks in the surf just like Kenny and many others when targeting Drum. Haven't had a gut hook yet. I tagged a fish a few years ago that I caught that had a hook embedded into it's jaw with an eight ounce wheight still attached. They both had growth on them from the ocean. I cut the hook the best I could before releaseing. Those fish are far more adaptive then some people give them credit.

Denny, I'm not quite sure I got your question right but I'll try it anyway.

The weight for surf fishing serves two purposes, casting and holding. That's why bigger sizes are used primarily. I'm sure people would use less lead if possible (I do, If less will hold and the distance I need are near the same.) In the sounds, often you can fish just below the boat or no further then the boat then you can cast a two or three ounce sinker. (If you need to throw further, just move the boat). The weight I use in the rivers and sounds depends on depth usually more then anything else. Often I am fishing between ten and twenty feet.

Two hook bottom rig? I suppose that would work to catch fish but the purpose of the lupton rig is fish specific as opposed to the general two hook bottom rig used for catching anything that swims by.

As for the short leader concept, I use just as short of leader on the lupton rigs I tie. Two inches max. I also prefer the flat egg shaped sinkers as well as they will sit up on top of the mudd a little better.

In the surf. I toss a cannonball rig but I do it for distance in hatteras. If I'm drum fishing down here where I live, I use a drop on a fish finder of about three to four inches as distance is usually a factor to get out to bars or holes.

Hope this helps


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## Anything (Oct 20, 2008)

I have fished the Pamlico for large red drum, almost exclusively at night. I have yet to gut hook fish with a j-hook. I have tried Owen's rig, but for some reason I can not hook up using circle hooks. I am 100% for not injuring fish that I intend on releasing. I have used the circles when in the surf and in the sound, and have used the "just wait for the fish to hook himself," the "just reel in till it snug" method and I am not able to hook up like I am with the J-hook. I know I am not the only one.

One other thing for thoughts...I really hate to see laws added that comlicate what is suppose to be recreation. I see this as the begining of baby steps to the end.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Anything said:


> I have fished the Pamlico for large red drum, almost exclusively at night. I have yet to gut hook fish with a j-hook. I have tried Owen's rig, but for some reason I can not hook up using circle hooks. I am 100% for not injuring fish that I intend on releasing. I have used the circles when in the surf and in the sound, and have used the "just wait for the fish to hook himself," the "just reel in till it snug" method and I am not able to hook up like I am with the J-hook. I know I am not the only one.
> 
> One other thing for thoughts...I really hate to see laws added that comlicate what is suppose to be recreation. I see this as the begining of baby steps to the end.



Well,because of this law you will be fishing "handcuffed" if you're a j hook lover... I also am a j hooker,and only one guthook in over 30yrs of pulling in big drum... I feel as you do,they do things just one step at a time,and this could be the beginning of the end for catching drum on that side of the sound during their spawning... I,as you have had much more success with j's than circles for big drum,but it's law now,and we will have to suck it up if we want to fish for them...


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

I dont think it will affect me as much. The only problem I can see is if I am using a J hook during the day then I must switch over at 7 pm. I rarely fish the night bite up there though. If I do, it's because I stayed because the fish continued biting and I didnt want to leave. I've always doen real well during the day.


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## Anything (Oct 20, 2008)

I think it is amazing how new rules are added every year. I thought fishing was supposed to be relaxing. In the near future we will need a rack for the rods, a rack for the yak and a rack for the legislation to tell you where to fish, which birds and turtle to avoid, what kind of bait is permitted, etc. I'm sure I'll use the circles and work on figuring them out, but it looks like I'll be equal to a line with no hook until I can grasp "circle revolution!"


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