What Size Hook For the Beginning Catfish Angler

What size hook you should use depends basically on what size fish you want to catch.   The size breakdown from smallest to largest looks like this:

 32, 30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 11, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, 5/0, 6/0, 7/0, 8/0, 9/0, 10/0, 11/0, 12/0, 13/0, 14/0, 15/0, 16/0, 17/0, 18/0, and 19/0

 All of these hooks come in a short, regular, or long shank version. The shank of the hook is the part between the eye of the hook and the bend. In general, when you are going after small cats, use a small hook.  When you want to catch the big boys, go for a bigger hook.

I haven’t really told you what to use yet. There are so many choices as those above are just the sizes. There are also several different types depending on the bait you use, the water conditions and the setup of your rig.

If you are just starting catfish fishing I would suggest a number 2 to 1/0 bait holder. They are good for the smaller catfish and can still catch the big ones. This gives you much more opportunity than the larger hooks. Once you have become a better angler you can move up in size.

Also after you get used to using a regular hook, you can go fancy with a treble hook (three pronged hook) or a circle hook.  These are popular ways of catching cats, and they make it easier to put the bait on there.  Circle hooks are good for catching big cats, because they’re bigger and heavier.