Frustrated!

[basslover12345]

FRUSTRATED!

Missed 100 BASS TODAY!

Mini 1/8 ounce short arm ball head spinnerbait with a single Colorado blade

Caught 10

I was hooking them by a teeny bit of skin on the side of the mouth

Wasn't using a trailer hook due to the small size of bait

Advice?

[Packard]

Let them take the bait more before setting the hook but you might want to get a small trailer hook.

[Sam]

Add a trailer hook.

[basslover12345]

I was using a 7 foot medium action spinning rod with 30 pound moss green brand just slow rolling it in open water shallow. They bit pretty hard too!

[BuckMaxx]

let em take it before your rip em

[Teal]

I had the same situation last year, the spinnerbait/chatterbait bite was on and i was missing 2 out of 3a fish. I didnt have any trailer hooks. After an hour of missing two thirds of my fish, i tied the War eagle spinner bait on a crankin rod with a moderate action...that helped my hook ups ALOT. I still use my xf rod for those baits but i keep trailer hooks now and im not affraid to switch to a cranking rod.

[basslover12345]

I let them take it....nothing, set the hook immediately..... Sometimes landed it.... Tried setting the hook horizontal and vertical too- had a lot of bass fall off my hook to when Landing them too

[Felix77]

Agreed with others ... Trailer hook.  Don't leave home without them.

[rangerboy]

try a small swimbait. i find if fish are hitting short adjust your pressentation , sometimes small changes can make it a great day

[Bluebasser86]

If it's open water then you can add a small treble hook in place of the single trailer hook. 

[Jolly Green]

Since I've never had a good experience with a trailer hook, I'm more inclined to monkey with the spinnerbait. Open up the angle of the wire a bit to increase the zone in which the fish can get a clean bite at the hook without getting a mouthful of blade.  Failing that, I would simply switch to a slightly larger bait that's less likely to be inhaled whole.  Also, some days I notice that although I'm hooking them, the hook is stuck from the outside in, which suggests that they're hitting the blade instead of the hook, in which case I give 'em what they apparently want and just switch to spoons!  

[jhoffman]

100? What hatchery?

[shanksmare]

I often fish spinnerbaits from the bank at a pond with a sharp drop along the shoreline. I often actually see the bass strike the spinnerbait.

 

Some days the bass will hit the back blade of the spinnerbait. Many times bass have pulled the rear blade off of my spinnerbaits.  A trailer willl help under these conditions. So will using a spinnerbait with a shorter arm. Changing the blade style or size may also help. 

 

For whatever reason there are days that the bass hit the spinnerbait with their head and their mouth closed tight. I have witnessed this scores of times in the past several years.  Using a trailer hook under these conditions rarely helps. You will ocassionally hook them outside the mouth. I will usually try different types of retrieve - speed it, slow it down, more drops, different blade types, use a trailer. Most of the time under these conditions none of these mods help and I switch to a soft plastic which they will often hit. Lets face it, if you felt the bass hit, it probably isn't striking short. What is he hitting that 1/4" of skirt hanging behind the hook!

 

I used to use tailer hooks all the time 35 years ago. I now rarely use them. I prefer to use spinnerbaits which have long shanked hooks.  It depends on how you are using the spinnerbait. If you are slow rolling it, the trailer rersults in many more hangups, especially if you let it swing freely. Whenever I use a tailer I always mount it rigidly with a piece of plastic tubing. On the other hand, if you are waking or buning it, a trailer hook woud most liikely be a help.

 

Another thing that could be contributing to your frustration is the small size of the spinnerbait you are using, The underwater (hydrolic) wave that the bass creates when it approaches you lure may be pushing that small bait out of the way. Another option is that the small bait is mostly drawing strikes from panfish and not bass.

 

Good luck coming up with an answer to your situation.