Home Forums Fishing Saltwater What knot to attatch circle hooks to heavy mono for toothy fishes

Tying some rigs for bluefish. Heavy mono have 40-80 pound leader.

1/0 - 4/0 circle hooks. These will be for bait soaking

I can tie a good Snell knot. Also have and am good with crimps. Last time I was into blues had a couple of Snell knots get cut by teeth using 30 pnd leader and 1/0 hooks. Was catching 15-20 inch blues like crazy.


Any sugestions? I really like the way a snell knot holds the circle hook. But dont like bite offs.

It could have been sharks as well had a couple of good tussles with them that day.

If i know blues are the main event I use crimped wire. Otherwise snelled is how I tie them. I have also used a uni-knot and don’t recall issues with blues biting them off. I mostly use mono when stripers are the quarry. Biggest issue with blues is they can sometimes swallow the bait leaving the leader exposed to teeth. Have had blues bite through wire to but usually they just shred the leader after a couple fish.

Do u just crimp the wire with a single loop through the eyes of the hook so it swings free? Or pass through the eye twice so the hook is cocked forward?

Single loop.

I use a palomar knot any time I attach something to the end of a line. Easy, quick and strong.

Can’t help on wire vs. heavy mono as we used trolled surgical hose eels, bucktails, and spoons back in the dim dark past.

For that LB rating I'd be more inclined to snell the hook. Bite offs are just the way of life. Short of wire anything can bite thru mono. We've have some decent fights with sharks on 130lb with crimps...got them to the boat...they get that last bit of burst in them...cut the line.