BEGINNERS - What hook size and type

When the fishing fools made their first outing to the local tackle shop, we were horrified at the number of choices available for hooks - for beginners like us, it was a very confusing time ! under the recommendation of the tackle shop we came away with some size 16 barbless hooks.

Now to all the Pro fishers out that, I'm sure they can tie the hook onto a mono-line in under 30 seconds , but for beginners like us it's really not so easy - even armed with our "Pocket guide to fishing Knots" - The choice of knots were vast, and we didn't really know which one was correct - it became apparent that we would be spending hours trying to tie these knots instead of fishing, not to mention the chaos that would result in having hooks and line everywhere ! A trip back to the tackle shop resulted in the fishing fools finding the "saviour" of hooks for begginers we think !

! The pre-tied hook to Nylon !

These pre-tied hooks are attached to around a 12" length of mono fishing line, and have a nice loop in the end which makes attaching to your main line a breeze  (just requires a loop to be tied on the end of your main line) - from what we've tried so far, you can have these hooks attached to your main line in around 30 seconds ! which is great, as it keeps you fishing...

What Hook Size

Hook sizes range from around Size 6 (very big) to Size 18/22 (small) - As Beginners, we've started out with size 16 hooks - these are pre-attached to 2lb 12oz hook length, which allows us to use some nice light 4lb main line - When it comes to size, bigger is this case doesn't seem be better ! Using a big hook doesn't mean you will catch big fish ( I wish ) , it all seems to be about using the minimum size possible to present your bait naturally, and to ensure the fish doesn't detect the hook (else they try to spit it out)...One thing we didn't realise is that you need to have your hook length (the 12" bit of line with the hook on) being a lesser breaking strain then your mainline - this appears to be so that if your hook gets "wedged" or you land a "whale" then the hook line will break before your main line, meaning the fish isn't trailing half your tackle around the Lake/River, and the fishery owner won't be shaperoning you out onto the road 

Barbed or Barbless

For beginners we would recommend sticking with "barbless" hooks ( no barb on the sharp pointy bit ) - not only are they required at most fisheries, but from the "fun" we've had trying to get these suckers out of the fish's mouth - the though of using a barbed hooks puts a sense of fear in us ( would be a nightmare to remove ! )

Hook presentation type

This is the way the pre-tied hooks are designed to present the bait - at fishing fools we've currently only experimented with the plain hook, where the bait is put directly onto the hook - Like the hook types, there are many other options available like coils, hair rigs and many more - but for beginners we've stuck with the basics.

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