Saltwater fishing hooks can come in sizes that are small enough to catch a small minnow, or large enough to catch a 1,200 pound shark or larger. The most important thing that you must consider when you are buying a saltwater fishing hook, or if you are looking for saltwater fishing hooks for sale, is how sharp it is. It is important to have a variety, and they are a must when it comes to saltwater fishing, you will need them in your saltwater fishing tackle collection, unless you are wither spear fishing or fishing with a cast net. Saltwater fishing hooks also come in many different colors, which would be something to consider if you are fishing in muddy or dark waters.
When it comes to saltwater fishing hook size, they are labeled by number. For instance a #20 hook would be small enough to hook up with some small bait fish, while a #2 hook would be good enough to catch some small sheepshead or snapper. Once the saltwater fishing hook gets to size 1, they are measuring it at 1/0, being the smallest, up to and beyond 1/10, which would be big enough to catch a shark or a tarpon. You cant judge the size of a hook off the size of the fish alone, but how big the fishes mouth is. If you can determine this you will increase your chances of landing saltwater fish greatly.
Mostly all of the saltwater fishing hooks that are out there come with a barb, but there are some hooks that are barbless. The barb aids in keeping the fish hooked and not getting off of it, as with the barb you will have a less landing ratio. Some places will require you to use barbless hooks, but most of those places are in freshwater so you wont have to worry about it in most cases. If you have a barbed hook and want to make it barbless, you can easily do this with a small piece of pliers by grabbing the barb and twisting it back and forth until it rips off.
Other types of saltwater fishing hooks are treble hooks, and dual hooks which are rarer. These are three hooks that are on one shaft, and they are extremely popular on saltwater fishing lures. Saltwater fishermen do not normally use these in any other circumstances that I know of at the moment. The only other reason I would see fit to use these, is for catching small bait, by tying multiple small treble hooks to a leader line, with a small piece of bait on each hook.
My favorite type of saltwater fishing hook is the circle hook. The circle hook is just like a regular hook, but when it gets to the barb it curves inward. The way that the saltwater fishing hook looks, you might not think that it would land many fish but they are excellent for hooking. If you are fishing with a circle hook, you do not need to set the hook as they are self setting, so when you feel the fish bite all you have to do is slightly lift the rod and start reeling fast. Another advantage to using circle hooks is that it prevents the fish from swallowing the hook, well almost. This is crucial if you are practicing catch and release, you will also find that you will land a lot more fish when using this type of saltwater fishing hook over the regular barbed J hooks.