Last summer I ran into a couple of guys fishing for cats and they were using 4 inch shiners on 1/0 hooks.I asked them why such small bait and hooks and the one guy said that`s all you need,he then told me they catch 20 and 30 pound fish with this set upoooh: Is there anyone out there who uses a small set up like this for flatheads?
yeah il use 1/0 for shiners and baits smaller than 3 inches the baits are so small and frail that a 1/0 is not a problem.. but going to bluegil rockbass pearch an such with thicker bodys ... yeah gotta use the right size hook i normaly stay 8/0 to 12/0 for my bigger stuff but 1/0 for shiners ... well works for me not that i use shiners much , but i have from time to time.
zeboman - I always match my hook size to the size of bait I'm using. If I'm using 7 inch Bluegill then I'll use a 7/0 kahle hook. If I'm using a 10 inch Crappie for bait I will use a 9/0 or 10/0 kahle. Your better off with too big a hook than too small. If using 4 inch shiners then a 1/0 may be ok due to the nature of the delicate bait but I would worry about a big flathead straigtening it! The key is to make sure there is a reasonable gap in the hook once the bait is hooked. Without a gap you will miss fish!
Hook point exposure for the size bait I'm usein is what i will key off of. And like already said "GAP" to insure a good hook set.
i see no problem using a 3/0 hook in most cases ... sometimes i use smaller ... but i dont use much bait that at 3 will not handle
I use 8/0 or 9/0 for bigger baits or big chunks of cut-bait, but I don`t always get a good hookset, I`m going to try using smaller baits a little more this year.
Dan, first off don't believe every thing you hear. Except from here of course.:wink: "Is there anyone out there who uses a small set up like this for flatheads?" Not if they are consistently catching them their not. I think the guy was exaggerating. I have used small hooks and bait in years past with some success, but when I with went bigger bait and bigger hooks I got bigger cats. I used to think you had to hide the hook! lol :smile2::smile2::smile2:
I try to match my hook size to my bait size. I use mostly gills or green sunfish. I don't use anything smaller than a 5/0 Kahles when fishing for flatheads but if I had really small baits I think I would feel ok going down to 3/0 Kahles. I just wouldn't try to horse them in with smaller hooks. My own little rule of thumb on the baits I use most is apply the Kahles size hook to the gill size, 5/0-5", 6/0-6" and 7/0 to 7". Baits in the 5"-6" are my prefered sizes for flatheads.
