A comparison between circle hook and J hook performance in the dolphinfish, yellowfish tuna, and wahoo troll fishery off the coast of North Carolina

We compared numbers of strikes, proportions of fish that hooked up after strikes, proportions of fish that stayed on hook (retained) after hook up, and numbers of fish caught between circle and J hooks rigged with dead natural fish bait (ballyhoo) and trolled for three oceanic preda¬tor species: dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), and wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri). Interactions were compared between circle and J hooks fished on 75 trips by two user groups (charter and recreational fishermen). Hooks were affixed to three species-specific leader types most commonly fished in this region: monofilament (dol¬phinfish), fluorocarbon (tuna), and wire (wahoo). Numbers of fish caught per trip and three potential mecha¬nisms that might influence numbers caught (i.e., number of strikes, propor¬tion of fish hooked, and proportion retained) were modeled with gener¬alized linear models that considered hook type, leader type, species, user (fishing) group, and wave height as main effects. Hook type was a main effect at the catch level; generally, more fish were caught on J hooks than on circle hooks. The effect of hook type on strike rates was equivo¬cal. However, J hooks had a greater proportion of hook-ups than did circle hooks. Finally, the proportion of fish retained once hooked was generally equal between hook types. We found similar results when data from addi-tional species were pooled as a “tuna” group and a “mackerel” group. We conclude that J hooks are more effec¬tive than circle hooks at the hook-up level and result in greater numbers of troll-caught dolphinfish, tunas, and mackerels.