You are correct there are a lot of rules in the gulf and keeping up with them is difficult. Anglers are at a bit of a crossroads when it comes to the circle hook debate. The science for using them is to help improve chances of hooking fish in the corner for release, giving them a better chance of survival when angling. The problem is with circle hooks you often have to let fish eat the bait longer, and if they swallow it a circle or J hook will be stuck deep down. I know plenty of anglers who still prefer J hooks when offshore despite the law, and they feel every bite and rarely if ever gut hook a fish because they are quick to set the hook. At that skill level it's hard to tell someone to get away from what is working as intended for them when it may force them to change how they fish. With that said most jigheads are made with J hooks. I started making Hogballs with circle hooks or J-hooks for those who choose that route. When fishing with a jig I rarely see gut hooked scenarios, it's usually in the edge of the mouth or occasionally on the outside of the fish when they get aggressive. In the Circle Hook vs. J debate I leave it up to the angler to decide, and if it is someone new to offshore fishing I usually give them a circle hook to start with as it tends to be more beginner friendly. For the GoPro set up I'll be making a new video soon about my current set up. If you search my channel for "How to Film and Catch with GoPro" you'll see the set up for most of these videos I've filmed.

Both are good options to get right on the bottom. I think you feel more bites with the hogball since there is constant contact with the bait vs a knocker which can have slack if the weight slides.

Its ma'am!!! 😂