I read on another post about floating eels and using circle hooks. could some one help me here because i would think a regular live bait hook would give you a better hook up ratio

I went to a talk Max King gave on fishing with live eels recently. Last year they caught 4 Stripers over 50 pounds on his boat. He said they use #7 GAMAKATSU live bait hooks. A large Striper you can stick your hand down in its mouth if it swallows the hook and get it out easily if you are releasing the fish.

I preffer the octopus style hook myself.

thats good to know because i like the gamakatsu live bait hook. thanks for the info

Use the Octo hooks. Also lift the rod soon after the fish hits, that will help kep the hook out of the belly of the fish. You can put your hand deep into th fish mouth to get the hook. The fish has no teeth, but the spiney mouth wil tear your arm up and thy must have bacteria in the mouth, because my arm gets reel red after doing the hook removal. So I just started letting the reel free spool like I do with drum. Drum seem to pick up bait and swim off, stripers hit it and swallow.

If you use a circle hook, just let the fish run with the eel and begin reeling. Do not try to set the hook by jerking up and back on the rod--this will just pull the hook and eel free. By winding only, the hook sets itself in the corner of the fish's jaw and allows you to quickly remove the hook and release the fish if you do not want to keep it. Plus, it does not lodge itself deep in the gut which will, usually, result in a dead fish. Properly used, a circle hook will set itself properly every time!