I have read the posts about hook placement and have used them and this is what I have experienced. first I was camping at a big pond in SE Oklahoma (15 acers) all I caught for bait was two very large perch one I released just to big, and the other a little smaller but still big. I hooked the perch through the back and tossed him out on a three way rig with a float to keep the bait off the bottom and a 7/0 gama octopus hook. I went to camp for dinner for about an hour and returned to find I had caught a 6-7 pound channel cat. the problem is that it was completely luck because I hooked him in the back. I think this fish grabbed this big bait by the head and started to swim off loaded the rod up and when the hook ripped loose It snagged him in the back. Example two fishing Washita river in south central OK this week (before the Flood:angry another big bait and hooked it through the inside of the mouth and out the top of the head with a 8/0 gama circle hook and I caught a 3 pound channel cat that had no business trying to eat this bait but it looks like he grabbed it by the head and coudent fit it in his mouth but still got hooked because of the hook placement for the current. My question it what is the advantage of hooking through the back ever even in still water?
I don't know that there is an advantage. To me, and this is strictly my opinion, the thing you want the bait to do is look natural. If fishing under a float, I would hook through the back, behind the dorsal fin. If fishing in current, I would hook them through the mouth. The same with drift fishing... don't think it would look natural to drag a bait tail first through the water.
Seems so as long as you havent got the hook tip burried in the bait you should get them . I try to hook behind dorsal fin with hook point towards rear of fish that way circle hook goes down smooth and hooks up on way out.
