I still remember being genuinely confused as a beginner when someone told me to go up in hook size and handed me a smaller hook. The UK hook sizing system is one of the most consistently confusing things for new anglers, and I think it deserves a straightforward explanation rather than assuming everyone just picks it up eventually.
Standard sizes run backwards from what feels intuitive: a size 20 hook is tiny, suited to a single maggot, while a size 6 is comparatively large. Then, once hooks get big enough, the system flips entirely into an “aught” numbering (1/0, 2/0, 3/0 and up) where bigger numbers now mean bigger hooks. It genuinely trips people up, and I don’t think it’s spoken about clearly enough in most beginner guides.
What actually matters practically: match the hook to your bait size first, species second. A size 16-20 suits a single maggot or small pinch of bread regardless of whether you’re after roach or a bonus fish of another species. A size 8-12 suits bigger bread flake or pellet hookbaits. Carp typically sit in the 6-10 range for method feeder and boilie work. Pike need size 4 to 2/0, almost always as trebles on wire trace.
My honest advice to any beginner: don’t memorise a species chart. Understand that hook size follows bait size, get a modest range covering small (16-20), medium (8-12), and larger (4-6) options, and you’ll cover the overwhelming majority of UK coarse fishing without needing to think about it session to session.
Dan Whitfield started fishing aged seven on the canal at the end of his road and never really stopped. He spent his twenties and thirties on the match circuit – club level rather than national – before deciding he’d rather catch one decent fish than a net of small ones.
These days he mostly fishes the River Trent for barbel (personal best 14lb 2oz), the Oxford Canal for roach and skimmers in winter, and the occasional gravel pit when tench are spawning and the surface fishing is too good to miss. He’s a former club secretary and still helps with junior coaching at his local angling club in Nottingham.
At The River Bend, Dan writes the coarse species guides, river fishing technique articles, and the match and pole content.
Covers: Barbel, bream, roach, tench, carp (coarse context), river fishing, canal fishing, feeder, float, match/pole