b'HOOKS It does amaze me how strong hooks are, as I have landed kingfish to 17kg on a small 4/0 Trokar that we sent down with a snack sized squid bait meant for a tarahiki.Recurve hooks are a type of circle hook and a popular option for anglers when fishing ledger rigs or live baits.I prefer to use recurve hooks when surfcasting as you have a lot of line out from your 100m+ casts, and it can be difficult to set a hook in the turbulent surf.Also, the surfcaster is often left in the beach spike (rod holder) and if you get a bite then the hook will do its job and hook the fish on its own.A recurve or circle hook works by simple rotation; as a fish hits the bait holding this in its mouth and pressure is applied on the line as it swims off or by Perfect hook placement behindthe angler, the hook pulls from the mouth the lips of a 60cm kahawaiand with the shank clearing the mouth meant it wasnt getting off. the hook rotates and rolls into the jaw.A circle hook is also best used for live baiting when you put it through the back or upper lip of a live bait such as a mullet, kahawai, or mackerel for a kingfish.As the kingie swallows the whole fish the hook will do the same rotation and connect in the corner of the mouth and not usually be swallowed.Recurve and circle hooks are also better to consider by anglers as unwanted or undersized fish will be mouth hooked and can be released in good condition and have a better chance of survival.Quality brands to consider: Black Magic, Edge, Gamakatsu, Trokar.SIZESThe most common sizes I prefer to use for bait fishing are 5/0, 6/0, 7/0 and 8/0.These cover the range well for snapper through to kingfish.The larger the hook also means you will hopefully avoid hooking those small undersized fish.My go to hook size surfcasting or straylining would be a 6/0 and for live baiting it would be 7/0 and 8/0 circle hooks, depending on the size of the live bait.A small mackerel would be sent out with the 7/0 and a fat kahawai would get the 8/0 through its back.The writer scored this 10kgSmall hooks from 2/0 to 4/0 would only kingfish on a live mulletbe used for catching bait in a berley trail using a 7/0 circle hook. off the rocks to use as fresh bait or a livie.40FISHING IN GODZONE NOV/DEC 2021'