Red drum fishermen, who do not already use circle hooks, will need to switch from the old j-hooks when they target puppy drum (red drum)  in Pamlico Sound in the warmer months.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission has adopted a new rule to require the use of circle hooks when fishing at night in Pamlico Sound and its tributaries during the summer.

The rule prohibits fishing with any hook larger than 4/0 between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. from July 1 through September 30, unless the tackle consists of:

• A circle hook (a hook with the point of the hook directed perpendicularly back toward the shank) with the barb either compressed or removed;
• A fixed sinker, weighing not less than two ounces, secured no farther than six inches from the circle hook.

According to Lee Paramore, biologist with the N. C. Division of Marine Fisheries and lead staff member on the Red Drum Fishery Management Plan, fish are less likely to swallow a circle hook than a traditional J-hook. This is particularly true in the adult red drum fishery in Pamlico Sound where as much as 40 to 50 percent of all fish taken on a typical J-hook rig are deep (gut) hooked.

Deep hooked fish are far more likely to die when released than lip hooked fish.

In one study of 104 fish caught in North Carolina waters, mortality rates of lip hooked fish were zero percent, compared to Continue Reading »