I am sure it has been asked but what is the best size of circle hook to use when using cut shad or whole shad I am going to try to start catching some of the big blues everyone is talking about?

8/0-9/0-10/0-11/0-12/0 bigger the bait bigger the hook

i use both 5/0 and 8/0

I use 8/0 circles and have caught everything from a 1 lb flatty to a 15lb blue to a 4' gator gar.

+1

8/0 gama circles

There is no one right answer because there is no universal sizing for circle hooks. It is going to vary from hook to hook. Also depends some on what size fish you are targeting.

Biggest concern is making sure you have a hook with a large enough gap to clear and turn.

I use the Daiichi Circle Chunk Light in 7/0 and Team Catfish Double Action in 8/0.

Listen to these two podcasts on my site. There is a lot of good information on circle hooks in both of these shows.

http://www.learntocatchcatfish.com/catfishing-circle-hooks
http://www.learntocatchcatfish.com/catfishing-radio-episode-18

8/0 Gammakatsu Octopus Circle because they have a wide enough gap and they are offset and very sharp.

I like mt 10/0 Gama's

I have a few of the 6/0 that pro angler sells, and I just bought some 8/0 gamakatsu hooks, but I havnt used them yet.

I use different sizes. Most of the time it's 8/0 gamas. I've used 5/0 and some of Dave's 10/0 gamas on the boat as of late. I also use the 9/0 big river sickle hooks that gama puts out.

This is all I use unless I am punch bait fishing. You would be surprised how small of a fish these will catch. You cab catch fish from 8" to 80# on these same hooks.

Man you got that right Brian it is amazing how small of a fish will hang itself on these hooks.

Day in and day out a 9/0 circle with a wide gap catches most of the fish while drifting with big slabs of cut bait for trophy blues.
For the box fish, a 4/0 Sea circle has been the best while drifting. Baited with a smaller shad cut diagonal(from the dorsal to the anal fin) leaving a trail of smell!