Today was not a good day....where do I go from here?

[Vinny Chase]

I started out fishing yesterday and noticed the bite was hott and they were BIG!! Both my buddies started landing 4 and 5 lbers like it was no big deal. Me on the other hand was struck with bad luck. I hooked up on most the fish that bit my senko, but about 1/4 landed in the boat. The fish would spitting the hook or just getting off under the water very easily. This kind of thing has never been a problem so am pretty confused. I lost the biggest fish of my life today so I really need to figure out whats going on. I believe it is my hooks but any suggestions will help thanks.

Setup:

Rod- 7' MH Fenwick Eagle GT

Reel- Shimano Symetre

Drag- Somewhat tight but still able to pull.

Bait- GY Senko/Zoom Trick Worm

Hooks- 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook

[firefightn15]

What about your timing and hookset? :-/

[Vinny Chase]

What about your timing and hookset? :-/

That could definitely be it I have just done the same thing for the last ten years so I really havent looked into the best way hookset

[Vinny Chase]

Does anyone know of a video I can watch on a proper hookset to see what i am doing wrong?

Thanks,

VC

[D4u2s0t]

are you making sure to keep your line tight?  that's the #1 reason why a fish will throw a bait, from having slack in the line.

[Vinny Chase]

are you making sure to keep your line tight? that's the #1 reason why a fish will throw a bait, from having slack in the line.

Yep always tight

[Hammer 4]

Make sure your hooks are Sharp..They do tend to get dull after time.  Maybe try some OWG hooks.

[Vinny Chase]

Make sure your hooks are Sharp..They do tend to get dull after time. Maybe try some OWG hooks.

Are these what you are referring to?

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20291&id=0012129117725a&navCount=4&podId=0012129&parentId=cat20291&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IA&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20291&hasJS=true

[firefightn15]

Vinny, explain your hookset; are you sweeping it, bringing it over your head, or what? It would help to know exactly what your doing.  Aside from having a good sharp hook, I don't think your gear is the problem.  You should be able to reel up any slack quickly and bring your rod up over your head somewhere around 11 or 1 o'clock and haul the mail.

[Blue Streak]

For some reason you are not getting the hook into their jaw. If you did not have this problem in the past and it has just started. What have you changed? Are you using a lighter rod or a line that stretches? Or as stated are your hooks dull? I think your 3/0 should be big enough. Is that what your buddies are using? As far as your hook set, cross their eyes.

[Red Bear]

ive never had much luck with gamakatsu hooks myself. are they your regular hooks that you typically use?

[=Matt 5.0=]

5/0 hook. Total domination.

[lineman711]

Try a straight shank hook with those Senkos and see if it helps.

[Vinny Chase]

ive never had much luck with gamakatsu hooks myself. are they your regular hooks that you typically use?

Yea they are. I want a hook that can make up for my inconcistant hook set hah

[Vinny Chase]

Vinny, explain your hookset; are you sweeping it, bringing it over your head, or what? It would help to know exactly what your doing. Aside from having a good sharp hook, I don't think your gear is the problem. You should be able to reel up any slack quickly and bring your rod up over your head somewhere around 11 or 1 o'clock and haul the mail.

This might end up being the problem but I would say i set the hook at about 8 or 9 o'clock. I lay into them with pretty everything i got. Bring it up even farther? You guys really think that wold make a huge difference?

Thanks,

VC

[Vinny Chase]

For some reason you are not getting the hook into their jaw. If you did not have this problem in the past and it has just started. What have you changed? Are you using a lighter rod or a line that stretches? Or as stated are your hooks dull? I think your 3/0 should be big enough. Is that what your buddies are using? As far as your hook set, cross their eyes.

haha I actually gave them the same hooks as me bc they didnt have any. the only thing I have changed would be my line which is now yo-zuri hybrid ultra soft.

[Gangley]

I know it sounds silly, but check your drag.  I had the worst time setting the hook a few weeks ago on a combo that had proven itself time and time again.  For the life of me, I couldn't get the fish to stay on for anything, and some were really nice fish.  I toy'd and tinkered with hooksets, and hooks and never could get it straightened out.  Finally, I was playing with it and noticed that my drag was much looser than what I like.  I couldn't believe, I didn't remember touching it ever, but I was now able to pull it out by hand with very little effort.  When i was trying to set the hook, the drag was so light that i couldnt get enough penetration into the fishes mouth.  I fixed the drag, and wha-la, problem solved and now Im back to catching bass again.  Go check your drag, make sure it is set right.

[backpain...]

Might have been a frustration that set in from not landing an early fish. I can get flustered if I miss a bite or a fish, and if I don't catch myself it can have a negative impact on the rest of my trip. Maybe lost some concentration?

Personally, if it were one trip I wouldn't change anything. Just brush it off as an off day. I know it would be easy to slide into the negative mood watching buddies landing big fish and losing them at the boat personally. Could have just started with one fluke miss, and escalated to a bad day mentally.

[Vinny Chase]

Backpain,

That very well could be it. I have noticed that sometimes I tend to set the hook on my side instead of over the top which could be a very good reason for losing the fish. This most likely led to me getting more and more frustrated

[Fishes in trees]

It is possible that you just had a bad day.  Those just happen from time to time.  I think it is OK to take some time and try to figure out why, but sometimes, after analyzing everything, there isn't a reason - or there are a bunch of kinda reasons.

It is possible to obsess over this stuff and it will drive you nuts.  My advice would be to pop a top, chill and shake it off.

[bassin is addicting]

i think the Gammie hook is good quality..no problem there imho

i would suggest with a senko movin' up to a 4/0.

and as others have suggested....check your drag....

[gobig]

I use a circle hook, an O'ring and make sure the hook point is up.  I just reel down and sweep when I use senkos very similar to a dropshot hook set. If I need it weed less I just buy hooks with a wire.

[River Rat316]

Alot of times with senkos the fish is in the act of swallowing the bait when the hookset and fight starts, they have the bait in there crusher and the hookset doesn't allow the bait out for the hook to grab flesh. First thing I would do is make sure your drag is tight enough so it doesn't slip, tighten it down, if you need to adjust after the hookset, then do it, but leave it tight for the hookset. If you feel you are not getting a good hookset, you can do two or three different things.... first hike the skirt up.. ;D jk of course. First thing would be set it again when you have a tightline on the fish, second would be a switch over to braid so there is less give in your overall setup. and third would be a circle hooks setup so when the fish finally relaxes it crushers the hook finds the corner of the lip on the way out. I assume you were t rigging it and not wacky rigging so the third wouldn't help with this set up

[kikstand454]

It is possible that you just had a bad day. Those just happen from time to time. I think it is OK to take some time and try to figure out why, but sometimes, after analyzing everything, there isn't a reason - or there are a bunch of kinda reasons.

It is possible to obsess over this stuff and it will drive you nuts. My advice would be to pop a top, chill and shake it off.

x2

this past weekend i had the same thing happen to me. i was throwing a jig in 6ft of water with 40lb braid. i hooked into a fish and i felt it shake its head and throw my jig. confused... i reeled in and found my skirt gone. so i smiled... thought that maybe i had a dull hook, tied on a new jig... and went back to fishing.

the next bite i got it was expecting it... felt it pick up, watched it swim a second and the set the hook so hard i came off the deck a few inches. i barely moved this fish!!!

then... slack.  it threw the hook too.

sometimes man.... its just not your day.

[Vinny Chase]

It is possible that you just had a bad day. Those just happen from time to time. I think it is OK to take some time and try to figure out why, but sometimes, after analyzing everything, there isn't a reason - or there are a bunch of kinda reasons.

It is possible to obsess over this stuff and it will drive you nuts. My advice would be to pop a top, chill and shake it off.

x2

this past weekend i had the same thing happen to me. i was throwing a jig in 6ft of water with 40lb braid. i hooked into a fish and i felt it shake its head and throw my jig. confused... i reeled in and found my skirt gone. so i smiled... thought that maybe i had a dull hook, tied on a new jig... and went back to fishing.

the next bite i got it was expecting it... felt it pick up, watched it swim a second and the set the hook so hard i came off the deck a few inches. i barely moved this fish!!!

then... slack. it threw the hook too.

sometimes man.... its just not your day.

I'm glad someone else is feeling my pain! Not really but it makes me look at the weekend a little differently.

Thanks,

VC