Gamakatsu Nautilus Ringed Circle Hooks

The Nautilus series is a great live bait circle hook, these hooks are perfect for light live bait applications on the smaller sizes as well as heavier bait rigs in the larger sizes. These go down to a #4 which makes them great for dorado and yellowtail when the sardines are smaller and don’t swim well, these hooks provide a much better presentation compared to a heavier gauge or larger size circle. They use a solid stamped ring which is smooth all around unlike some welded rings out there, and they overtest by a big margin compared to similar wire rings. Gamakatsu sizing is a bit smaller than the rest of the industry, at least 2-3 sizes smaller than an Owner or Eagle Claw hooks and about equivalent to the Mustad circle hooks. The wire gauge on these is plenty strong for typical live bait fishing from 20-40lb line, if you want to go heavier and bigger I would definitely bump up to the HD models to get yourself more pulling power so that you don’t straighten any hooks.

If the fish aren’t picky and the bait is big and lively you won’t need to go down too many sizes and can get away with fishing a heavier hook, but there’s nothing more disappointing than going out with weak bait, finding all of the fish in the world and being unable to get a single bite. Smaller ringed hooks as well as fluoro make a huge different in the presentation of the bait since it is a lot easier for it to swim with a light small hook. These hooks are also usable for anchovies unlike most offerings out there, they go down to smaller sizes and still retain a similar wire gauge to the Owner Mutu Hybrids which have become very popular over the last couple of years.