I have looked at kahles very carefully, and I can't for the life of me see why they would work any better than a J hook. What am I missing? I hear people say they are the best for live bait such as gills, but yet if you look at most J or sickle hooks, there is more distance between the hook point and the bend of the hook which would leave more hook point exposed. The distance on the kahle hook from the tip of the point to the bend is very short, bait always slides down to the lowest point on the hook so what's the rest of the bend in these hooks good for? Someone explain this to me and I might give them another shot one day. Just curious..........
Chop1
Explain Kahle Hooks Please
Chad i cant explain how they work. Just lookin at them you would think they wont work. But they are deadly to catfish. I can use them like a circle or i can set the hook. Thats almost all i use now. 7/0 for flats with live bait and 4/0 for everything else. My fishin pals are usin them too. I never saw a perfect hook, but if i did i think it would look an awful lot like a kahle
I love the kahles,,,I mainly use 7/0 and 10/0 for large bait. You can keep em locked down and will work similar to a circle and you can let your bait run and set the hook yourself.
I agree, but it would be interesting to see a study of all the hooks used in fishing with a rod and reel.
Like circle hooks, it hooks them in the corner of the mouth most of the time. I was using nothing but circles the past five years, but lately have been getting back to using Khales. Either drifting or fishing in current to me nothing beats a good circle hook. Fishing the banks, in still water or anchored is when I have been using Khales. For using live bait presentations I am really digging them.
I believe kahle hooks were designed to fish large portions of bait. You can get a shad head in the throat of most circles which leaves the point and barb exposed for the fish's mouth. If you fill the entire throat with bait, your missing the purpose of the kahle and will miss quite a few bites. Each style of hook has its qualities and uses. I prefer "J" hooks for trot lines, kahle hooks for jugs and circles for the pole, but that is just me.
I cant help on the kahle hook design-im still stuck on the circles and catching flatheads and blues. Funny that people swear im gonna lose all these flat heads on circles bwahahaha. I have even read the best flathead fisherman say you wont do well with circles but i use circles under the boat, casted out to structure, open water and still manage to watch my road load up, grab it, reel in and walla a dang flathead lol its funny how when someone doesnt have success with something they'll tell you this doesnt work but if you use this you'll have so much success. All hooks work, you just have to pick one and use it and stick with it geesh.
Thing I don't understand about the kahles is the short distance from the tip of the hook to the bend. Especially since they are supposed to do so well with live bait. I just don't get the mechanics of these hooks. A lot of people say they work well, just no one can say how? Whats the shape designed to do? It can't hold more bait, the distance from the point to bend is too small. The maker had to have a design in mind, think I will google it this evening and see what I can come up with..........
ok this is my opinion. the deeper gap from point to the bottom of hook is what allows them to use larger bait than a similar sized circle. I use both and prefer kahles for most of my fishing. the way they are shaped allows them to be tight lined for self hooking , but don't have the ridiculously curved point so the hook can also be set. I have a better % of hookups with kahles than circles.
Josh
Josh
I hooked a channel the other day with a kahle and it came out his eye and turned and stuck him again in his cheek. I have no idea how that could happen, but they are bad dudes on cats
kahle hooks have gave me good hook ups and i have yet to have them gut hook and its been in the side of the mouth every time trolling and anchored
Thing is, they don't have a deeper gap from point to bottom of hook, it is actually shorter than most J hook and circles. This is actually the reason I havn't used them yet. I am not in any way arguing their capability, I just wonder why they work.
that is my exact reason that i am hesitant about them although i am confident that robby robinson and other reputable folks know what theyre talking about. My only thought is that the design of the hook keeps you from hooking bait too deep and allows the hook to eject from the bait thus allowing the clean hook to freely hook the target. Am i thinking too deep here or way off ?
wow I made a boo boo lmao the kahles I was comparing are 10/0 and 6/0 gamas, went to my tackle bag and made a comparison with the 8/0 gamas and they are about .5mm deeper.....
You can get 50 of the 7/0 for under 8 bucks...if you don't like th em give em to a friend. I originally bought some because my friend looses hooks frequently and he was costing me money . I tried one and they are now my favorite
To me a Kahle is a sort of hybred type hook that takes the goods from both the J hooks and the Circle hooks. The have a very open point but still usually hook the cat in the corner of the jaw and don't gut hook vewry often. The fact is that they DO work and not just on Cats. I use a worm hook when fishing for bass that is basically simular to a kahle and it does the same on bass. If the fish are not taking the bait hard a ciccle seems to be at a disadvantage where a kahle or J will nail the nibblers.
Big catfish have big jaws, especially flatheads. IMO the gap from the point down the bottom of the hook makes no difference at all. If your bait even takes up half that gap, you are hooking your bait too deep. The gap that is important is the gap from the point to the shaft of the hook. It is huge and easily allows the hook to roll aroung bigger fishes large jaws. Kahle hooks catch fish bro!!! Let em load it up or cross their eyes, whatever tickles your fancy! The flatty in my av was caught on an unattended kahle hook through the bottom lip while I was tending to the fire, when I set the hook, it turned back and went through the bottom of lower jaw back into the mouth almost safety pin style. This has happened on multiple occasions this season. Kahle hooks catch catfish!
This is why i went away from the Kahles a long time ago. I am a 99% cpr guy and I found myself hooking more and more channels through the eye and i just did not like throwing fish back with one eye.
I maybe way off on this but the way I see it is that the point on the kahle is more exposed when it is in the bait. The pocket of the hook is deep enough to allow that hook to rotate in the mouth when the fish grabs the bait and starts to run. More often than not when using live bait the fish is swallowing the bait whole and sucking the bait off the hook and when he turns to leave that is when the kahle does its job and acts like a circle at that point. Again this is just my thoughts for what ever that is worth.
The explanation of Kahle hooks is pretty complex and often controversial.
First Kahle is a trademark name from Wright-McGill (Eagle Claw)
and several manufacturers have similar designs with other names.
Originally designed in the 1950s for use by ocean longliners the hooks
were called "English" hooks. Eagle Claw marketed Kahle hooks as a
preferred option for bulky baits. The wide gap allows us to use a smaller
wire size and lighter weight hook on large baits. This becomes an advantage
by allowing live baits to be livelier and live longer because they are stressed less.
Smaller wire size also requires less pressure for penetration. This is critical
for those with baits at long distance or when fish swim toward you or sideways
creating slack in line.
I always sharpen hooks before fishing till the point will dig into a thumbnail.
This is not an option available with "super" hooks with hardened steel and I
am unsure if I can even sharpen a circle hooks point.
Kahle hooks come in offset eye and offset point styles. Hooks with offset eye
will rotate (cam) the hook point into fish much the same as circle hooks.
Snelled offset hooks must have mainline outside the bend to cam. Offset
points are either right or left of parallel to hook shank. They increase hookup
ratio with an increase in gut hooking fish.
I do not believe flathead bite or suck baits off of a hook. I feel they completely
engulf a live bait and then clamp down to prevent fish from escaping. Their stomach
collapses around the fish to quickly suffocate it. With this secure hold the hook
tears out of the bait (as I wish) and the hook slips to a tooth pad or the hook eye exits
the mouth and cams.
In the event that you gut hook a flathead, I suggest you reach in and gently back
the hook out. If your fish is too small to get your hand into the stomach you may
want to cut the hook off. The hooks will rust out very quickly. There is no advantage
to use stainless steel hooks unless you fish in the Ocean so mentioning that SS
takes longer to rust out is pointless.
Colateral damage is inevitable with any hook design but circle hooks have
an edge (by design) to decrease that damage.
Circle hooks have points parallel to the hook shank. The point cannot dig in
until the eye exits the fishes mouth and turns the point into the fish (normally
the soft tissue between tooth pads). These hook excel in current when teamed
with rods that load up (bend a bit) and rod holders. The hooks slide out as fish
increase pressure (move) until the eye exits the mouth and the hook sets itself.
A normal hookset with a rod often jerks the hook free before it has time to cam the
point into the fish.
I would like to point out that I do not recommend any tackle as best for everyone.
I do suggest that each man recognizes what he wants his tackle to do and then
find the items that best suit those needs. What I use is best for me (in waters I fish)
but I always rig for conditions/baits when fishing other waters. I normally follow local
fishermens advice (unless it proves unsuccessful
.
Discussing the merits of hook design is very complex. Every manufacturer claims theirs
is best without explaining why. Fishermen are confused with these claims and when their
experiences differ with other fishermen. Fishing is a learning experience and unfortunately
most lessons are from our failures.
I just hope I can help someone catch more and bigger cats and reduce the pain normally
felt from failures of losing a fish or becoming frustrated with fruitless trips.
Catchabiggun,
Robby
First Kahle is a trademark name from Wright-McGill (Eagle Claw)
and several manufacturers have similar designs with other names.
Originally designed in the 1950s for use by ocean longliners the hooks
were called "English" hooks. Eagle Claw marketed Kahle hooks as a
preferred option for bulky baits. The wide gap allows us to use a smaller
wire size and lighter weight hook on large baits. This becomes an advantage
by allowing live baits to be livelier and live longer because they are stressed less.
Smaller wire size also requires less pressure for penetration. This is critical
for those with baits at long distance or when fish swim toward you or sideways
creating slack in line.
I always sharpen hooks before fishing till the point will dig into a thumbnail.
This is not an option available with "super" hooks with hardened steel and I
am unsure if I can even sharpen a circle hooks point.
Kahle hooks come in offset eye and offset point styles. Hooks with offset eye
will rotate (cam) the hook point into fish much the same as circle hooks.
Snelled offset hooks must have mainline outside the bend to cam. Offset
points are either right or left of parallel to hook shank. They increase hookup
ratio with an increase in gut hooking fish.
I do not believe flathead bite or suck baits off of a hook. I feel they completely
engulf a live bait and then clamp down to prevent fish from escaping. Their stomach
collapses around the fish to quickly suffocate it. With this secure hold the hook
tears out of the bait (as I wish) and the hook slips to a tooth pad or the hook eye exits
the mouth and cams.
In the event that you gut hook a flathead, I suggest you reach in and gently back
the hook out. If your fish is too small to get your hand into the stomach you may
want to cut the hook off. The hooks will rust out very quickly. There is no advantage
to use stainless steel hooks unless you fish in the Ocean so mentioning that SS
takes longer to rust out is pointless.
Colateral damage is inevitable with any hook design but circle hooks have
an edge (by design) to decrease that damage.
Circle hooks have points parallel to the hook shank. The point cannot dig in
until the eye exits the fishes mouth and turns the point into the fish (normally
the soft tissue between tooth pads). These hook excel in current when teamed
with rods that load up (bend a bit) and rod holders. The hooks slide out as fish
increase pressure (move) until the eye exits the mouth and the hook sets itself.
A normal hookset with a rod often jerks the hook free before it has time to cam the
point into the fish.
I would like to point out that I do not recommend any tackle as best for everyone.
I do suggest that each man recognizes what he wants his tackle to do and then
find the items that best suit those needs. What I use is best for me (in waters I fish)
but I always rig for conditions/baits when fishing other waters. I normally follow local
fishermens advice (unless it proves unsuccessful
.Discussing the merits of hook design is very complex. Every manufacturer claims theirs
is best without explaining why. Fishermen are confused with these claims and when their
experiences differ with other fishermen. Fishing is a learning experience and unfortunately
most lessons are from our failures.
I just hope I can help someone catch more and bigger cats and reduce the pain normally
felt from failures of losing a fish or becoming frustrated with fruitless trips.
Catchabiggun,
Robby
All I can add is that I absolutely love 4/0 to 5/0 Eagle Claw kahles under bobbers for channel cats. I also like them when I'm using rod holders that hold my rod horizontal; I always use circles if my rod's vertical.
Guess I been using kahle type hooks almost 50 years and can't say I ever had an issue with blinding fish with them.
After thinking it over and taking into consideration that I mainly fish with 7/0-10/0 kahles. The only explanation I could come up with is " I have never caught a fish small enough for this to happen."
After thinking it over and taking into consideration that I mainly fish with 7/0-10/0 kahles. The only explanation I could come up with is " I have never caught a fish small enough for this to happen."
I have had a very bad year this year for circle hooks and octo hooks poking out the fishes eyes. It seemed like every other fish it was happening on. I do not know why it was doing this??????
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