What impressed me about the circle hooks was the high hookup ratio.
In the past, I had to be very careful about when I set the hook, which
often translated into a gut-hooked fish, if I managed to hook it at all.
With circles, unless the fish
is way too big for the tackle or you manage to inadvertently throw slack
at the start of a fight (in both cases, you often lose the fish),
I don't seem to have to worry about hook-set timing as much. The fish hooks
itself.
I used Owner 6/0s or 7/0s, which I got at Goose Hummock. Guess I'm a convert to
circle-mania!
-bd