circle hook....help

april 2017 i went to a circle hook based on recommendations from j and m. im using cut croker mullet and whiting...,this morning again circle with same cut bait. i have not had a sinlgle hook set long runs on initial pick up with loose drag. when and how do i set the hook? do i wait til the fish stops? do i gradually tighten the drag during the initial run? do i have the drag set more tight and the hook will set itself when the fish turns? im certain this mornings fish was a red as no teeth marks were present, i would appreciate any opinions as i am beating my head on tile floor of my condo....thanks in advance....

Slowly tighten drag and it should set the hook, once you feel the fish on good you could set it better if you want

From jug fishing catfish here in coosa county locally,all I use are circle hooks,when you bait only hang the bait on the hook, point exposed, nothing on the shank between the point and hook shank,,,took me some reading to figure this out,,don't worry about the hook point exposed,that's what you want!

Try to picture what's going on when the red (assuming that's what it is) runs. He has the bait with the hook in his mouth. I fish with circle hooks all the time (mostly whiting, but reds, too) and when the slack goes out, I start reeling, the pole bends and the fish is on. I never have a "loose drag". It's set so the fish can take some line once he's hooked, but the fish doesn't especially have to "run" with it. Give that a try. There's a possibility that it's hardhead catfish, unable to get the whole cut-bait piece in his mouth and he's taking it by the end and nibbling as he swims off with it. It's probably a redfish, though and he's getting away due to the too-loose drag. My advice is to tighten up on the drag, but not so tight that he breaks the line.

I agree with Eym_Sirius - when I freeline or bottom fish with a Carolina rig, I use either a circle or Kahle, and set the drag where there will be resistance - fairly easy to pull line, but not loose. The pole should bend and the resistance in the line will set the hook. Circle hooks are supposed to hook the fish near the corner of the mouth, assuming that the fish has taken the bait and is swimming away, so the line is in the corner of its mouth and pulls tight, setting the hook. The only problem I've had with reds is when they are hanging out under the pier and gong out to feed. They can pick up your bait and swim back to the pier without getting any resistance. Usually you can see the line going slack and start reeling, otherwise they get you wrapped around the pilings & break off.

CHuckster got it right about the point exposed.

Also, let the fish run and just start reeling.

They do not work as well with smaller catfish....that for me would be less than 3#. any chance you have some gars running ooff with that bait?

If it's a big red you need a pretty good gap on the circle hook to lever around the big bones in his jaw.

thankyou very much. i believe its a 9 O hook pre rigged from jandm. the hook point is exposed and yes i believe most fish missed are reds(no teeth marks)with an exception of a possible tail whip from a shark. i havent had any issues with kahle hooks at all as i landed a 9 spot red yesterday approx 16". again, i appreciate the help. i have a nice trogh out front and the whiting bite was tremendous,

blessings

gooseboy