Leadthrower, good article, but only two problems using circle hooks for Lings.
#1- Try to side hook both hooks through a frozen 14" herring, can't.
#2- Letting them take it means, Let them swallow it!
Not letting them swallow it is one of my goals. Hard to release a fish after it's throat has been ripped open or it's gills torn out!

G-MAN

I do not fish for lings, yet, so I was not knowledgeable of your point #1.

As for your point #2, yes I agree that if a fish swallows the bait and is hooked deep the mortality rate goes up. Since I am unfamiliar with circle hooks I thought that was one of the bennies of using them was that they hooked more fish in the mouth?

The shape of a circle hook only allows it to set the hook point after the part the line is tied on to is out of the fishes mouth- thats why you don't jerk to set the hook.

Somehow we got from "circle hooks for halibut" to "circle hooks for lingcod." I have never considered using circle hooks for lings because one of the first things you want to do is put alot of pressure on them to get them out of the rocks so they don't break you off. If your waiting for a circle hook to set itself that would be a problem. Just use a J-hook with the barbs piched like for salmon and don't give them slack. Same thing for rockfish. Circle hooks have been proven to be effective for halibut, but only when fishing bait.

The idea of a circle hook is that it (usually) will not hook a fish in the gut, even if it swallows the hook down to its stomach. The shape of the hook protects the hook point, and as the fish starts to swim away the hook is drawn from the stomach to the fish's mouth. Once it gets to the edge of the mouth and the part of the hook with the line on it pops out, the point will catch at the corner of the mouth and literally screw into the cartilage there, resulting in less gut hooked fish, even though they might totally swallow it.