Hook length when fishing a lead

[Maverick]

I've always used a 12" hook length when fishing bottom baits on the bomb/lead. Heard many well known anglers say they have experimented with length but always seem to find 12" about the best.

So why do the carp boys favour a 6" hook length? It tends to make sense as the fish havn't got as much line to pick up before the hook pricks their mouth.

Views please. Should we be using a shorter hook length when lead fishing?

 

[tipitinmick]

As a rule of thumb I’ve always started on a 500mm and worked either way of that. Depends what I’m fishing for and how clear the water is.

 

[ukzero1]

I fish for carp on the odd session and use 4 inch hook lengths. It's inline only round here be it bomb/feeder or any other method. The 4 inch hook length doesn't get tangled round the mainline on casting out.
As for the 12 inch hook length, I use those when float fishing on stillwaters, but on rivers, be it lead or feeder, the hook length can be anywhere between 18 inch and 2' 6" depending on flow, depth, weed etc.

 

[ukzero1]

As a rule of thumb I’ve always started on a 500mm and worked either way of that. Depends what I’m fishing for and how clear the water is.

500mm? What's that in old money then? Don't forget Mick, there's some as old as me on here (well, almost as old).

 

[JLK]

Depends how deep your venue is. If you're only fishing in 3ft of water you're not going to have a 5ft hooklength are you.

And the very nature of bomb and pellet fishing means you are usually pinging pellet over the top.
On the venues I fish... 10-14ft deep open water, a method that works is fish the bomb for the first hour..6"-18" hooklength with an 8mm pellet pinging 3-4 pellets every 30 secs After first hour switch to pellet waggler starting 18" off the deck, coming shallower until you find the fish.
Or fish the slow sinking bomb pinging 8mms over the top.

Nothing is set in stone.Try and see what works best for you

 

[jpr.esq]

genrally in carp fishing - proper venues with tricky carp its often down to the baiting situation you are using. although bottom make up etc will have an ifluance.

basically if you fishing very tight beds of bait on firm bottom (pve abgs, baiting poled etc) then short hook lenghts work best as the carp and moving far between feed so you want the lead to come into play sooner.

fishing over scattered boilies etc the fish will move further between mouth fulls so you can get away with longer rigs. wihich gives the carp a bit of confidence. there are exceptions to this as the carp get educated on more tricky venuses though

 

[richox12]

Depends how deep your venue is. If you're only fishing in 3ft of water you're not going to have a 5ft hooklength are you.

Why not ?

 

[Silverfisher]

I generally use 10-12 inch hookengths for most my fishing but do go longer or shorter when circumstances dictate.

 

[Arry]

the shorter hooklengths in carping aid with the bolt effect of the lead.... same with method work... when bream fishing (if I'm not on the method) I use a 12" hooklink, but I attach that to a 6" twizzled boom to stop the hooklink tangling with the mainline (hopefully)

 

[JLK]

Why not ?

Because it's not something you would do as a rule fishing bomb and pellet in 3 ft of water with a 5 ft hooklength on a commercial.
Thats assuming he meant fishing commercials which I assumed his question was about.

 

[Lee Richards]

OP never mentioned pellet - just bottom baits.

The presumption is the OP is referring to stillwater fishing and on the bomb the distance from bomb to hook will be whatever the fish find acceptable.
Longer hook lengths may also be the way to go if you are looking for slow falling baits.
On running water we have sometimes gone to three and even four feet hook lengths to get bites and you have to wonder why that extra would make the difference

 

[JLK]

Seventroller. I know that. But all Mavericks posts are generally about commercial methods or fishing on commercials. I jumped the gun a bit and was a bit presumptuous.

 

[Lee Richards]

"Seventroller. "

If you have a problem with me then either report it or crawl back under your stone
You have not been missed as you never offered anything.

 

[PureGenius]

On my local gravel pit, I've seen carp spook when 2ft from the mainline, so fishing a longer hooklength keeps the bait further away from the lead and mainline, therefore less likely to spook wary fish.

 

[JLK]

You haven't changed one bit have you. Two banned alias' later and still the same person.
I actually typed seventraveller but you know what predictive text is like.

 

[Lee Richards]

Similar to what JPR said and the bottom and any weed can also make a difference.
Fish on a very silty or filamentous weed bottom and the lead can pull the hookbait into it and the bait gets masked.
The longer length allows the bait to "settle" more gently and doesn't get as restricted.

 

[Lee Richards]

@JLK
Let's put this to bed right now as you are obviously looking to get a rise and you are crying out for attention.
I made a post which was not inflammatory and provided information as well.

YOU have chosen to make an issue out of absolutely nothing and chosen to use a derogatory name in what can only be perceived as hoping to get a bite.

I feel sorry for you pal if your need for attention is so great - get help and like I said you haven't been missed.

 

[jpr.esq]

Similar to what JPR said and the bottom and any weed can also make a difference.
Fish on a very silty or filamentous weed bottom and the lead can pull the hookbait into it and the bait gets masked.
The longer length allows the bait to "settle" more gently and doesn't get as restricted.

or fish the chod rig with a 1 1/2 inch hooklink ha - but of course thats a diffrent kind of set up! there are so many varibles and depedning on so many factors, thats when your experience comes into play.

 

[Lee Richards]

Mate I have seen that happen on a water we fish in Gloucs
There were two lads doing a weekender and both were on chods on all rods,mate was having a walk round and got chatting to them,when one of the lads had a liner he reeled in.
It was pointed out that although there were a few gravel patches (old gravel works) most of the bottom was now covered by silt (run off from the fields) and weed.
They changed to longer hook lengths and still blanked

Then again so did most others apart from me and another mate who were float fishing for the good Rudd and Roach in there.

 

[Maverick]

Thank you to those that are offering good advice on this thread. And any presumptions that I am referring to commercial waters are justified

I watched the Jamie Harrison video he made with Rob Hughes where he played around with hook lengths. Even he was amazed that his longer hook lengths always landed in a pile around his hook and not away from the feeder as he though was the case. Of course you can give a couple of turns on the reel to straighten the rig but there's no guarantee the fish won't run towards the feeder/lead. You then have to hope he moves the distance of the hook length to register a bite at the tip.

My thoughts are regarding carp fishing on still waters and I should have made this clearer in the O.P. Sorry. Just wondering if finnicky carp during the colder months may be easier to hook on a shorter hook length as that is the way the carp boys appear to fish for them.

Have yet to come across a video where a carp angler is fishing a bottom bait using a hook length 12" or longer.