Flipping/pitching Fish Coming Undone

[Koofy Smacker]

I wanna see what you guys think. Not sure if its just a bout of bad luck or not but its starting to get my nerves going.

 

Heres my setup:

St Croix Legend Tournament 7' 4" Heavy Fast

Revo SX with cinched down drag

65 lb Sufix 832

4/0 Paycheck punch hook or Trokar flipping hook in same size tied with snell knot

Pegged 3/8-1 oz tungsten

Soft Plastics include creature baits (pit boss, sweet beavers etc.) and rage shellcrackers

 

 

So far in the past 3 weeks off of docks I've lost 3 fish easily 7-8 lbs while flipping/pitching. I'll feel them, slam home the hook and 10 seconds later at the boat they shake and off they go. These are the only 3 I have lost this way; although all the others have been less than 5 lbs the biggest ones are coming unbuttoned. I'm not sure if they are biting the tungsten and Im not driving the hook home hard enough (Im really swinging already) or what the deal is and I know I am not ripping huge holes because they are all driven through thick cartilage.

 

What do you guys think?

[J Francho]

Don't let them come up and head shake.  That's the #1 way they come loose, regardless of hook or bait.  I do have to ask you this: why pegged fishing docks?  There isn't usually enough cover near a dock to require pegging the weight.  Get rid of the peg, and let the sinker slide up the line.  A pegged weight, or heavy jighead for that matter, will give the fish more leverage to shake the bait free.

[Bankbeater]

Are you keeping your line tight when you bring them in?  You don't want any slack in your line.  Let them run and pull the drag if they want, but keep the pressure on the line so that the line stays tight.

[The Young Gun]

Don't let them come up and head shake. That's the #1 way they come loose, regardless of hook or bait. I do have to ask you this: why pegged fishing docks? There isn't usually enough cover near a dock to require pegging the weight. Get rid of the peg, and let the sinker slide up the line. A pegged weight, or heavy jighead for that matter, will give the fish more leverage to shake the bait free.

I've never thought about it like that. I might have to stop pegging..

[J Francho]

The only time I peg is fishing pads, fallen wood, or punching really heavy, heavy cover.  Otherwise, let it slip.

[Catt]

What "J" said bout pegging!

98% of the time I'm un-pegged

[Koofy Smacker]

I hear you about unpegged but there is a LOT off cover under these docks. Everything from drain pipes to old dock pylons to brush piles and stuff that floated down out of the river into the flats that the docks are on.

I am keeping tension on the fish and it's really hard to keep them from jumping and getting their heads up when I'm getting the hooks in them from the hookset. (I only have about 10 ft of line out on a typical fish)

[gobig]

Make sure that you have the snell knot running through the hook point side of the eye and that its camming  out the right direction. I know it sounds stupid but ive been tired and tied them the wrong way. It turns into all kinds of heart ache. Don't try to play these fish either. Get em headed to the boat as fast as you can. The heavier the weight the more apt they are to throw the bait. Close quarter combat fishing can be brutal. Sometimes you do all the right things and they just come off.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

I hear you about unpegged but there is a LOT off cover under these docks. Everything from drain pipes to old dock pylons to brush piles and stuff that floated down out of the river into the flats that the docks are on.

I am keeping tension on the fish and it's really hard to keep them from jumping and getting their heads up when I'm getting the hooks in them from the hookset. (I only have about 10 ft of line out on a typical fish)

well if there are drain pipes, brush piles etc.. that's not something you punch, well that's what I though if any thing maybe a small bullet weight to get down there.  if you want your bait to fall down in a space between your cover, a small bullet weight should do the trick.. 3/8 oz -1 oz punching is for really heavy cover like mats, lilys and so forth.. I just think what they are saying about putting the odds in big momas favor to shake the hook..imo that's how I would go about it

[Koofy Smacker]

The heavy weight is for the reaction strike which has gotten me a ton more bites than previously. Half to 3/4 oz jigs which fall much faster are gonna get them to strike much more frequently (in the dog days of summer) than throwing something light with a slower fall. I do punch also and it's that same reaction I'm looking for. The bigger fish bite a lot more when they don't sit and look at it for more than a split second. If you watch the MLF episode with ish "dropping bombs" on docks it's the same thing

[gripnrip]

I'd give J Franco's idea a try. Don't peg the weight and see what happens.

[Koofy Smacker]

I will. Im gonna cross my fingers and hope I don't end up losing weights on sharp snags

[J Francho]

The heavy weight is for the reaction strike which has gotten me a ton more bites than previously. Half to 3/4 oz jigs which fall much faster are gonna get them to strike much more frequently (in the dog days of summer) than throwing something light with a slower fall. I do punch also and it's that same reaction I'm looking for. The bigger fish bite a lot more when they don't sit and look at it for more than a split second. If you watch the MLF episode with ish "dropping bombs" on docks it's the same thing

 

Yep, and that lake is in my back yard, with many others that are very similar.  We've been doing the heavy weight dock thing, along with the complete opposite (unweighted plastics) for years.  You'll be fine unpegged.  Just give the rod a back and forth, slow shake, and the you'll come out of the cover.

[n8cas4]

Make sure that you have the snell knot running through the hook point side of the eye and that its camming  out the right direction. I know it sounds stupid but ive been tired and tied them the wrong way. It turns into all kinds of heart ache. Don't try to play these fish either. Get em headed to the boat as fast as you can. The heavier the weight the more apt they are to throw the bait. Close quarter combat fishing can be brutal. Sometimes you do all the right things and they just come off.

The line should come through the eye on the shank side not point side, so you can make your loop parallel and on top of the shank away from the hook point. Am I right about this?

[J Francho]

The line should come through the eye on the shank side not point side, so you can make your loop parallel and on top of the shank away from the hook point. Am I right about this?

 

Nope.  Like this:

 

 

Or this:

 

[n8cas4]

In both those videos the guy does exactly what I was trying to explain in writing. The line goes through the eye on the hook point side and comes out the other side (opposite of the hook point / shank side or whatever you want to call it).

The last guy said coming through hook side implying that the tag end was down near the hook point. I wanted to make sure that I was doing it right, which I am. That can be confusing because of how difficult it is to explain in writing. But as long as the tag end is entering through the hook side and exiting through the eye on the opposite side it is being tied correctly, right?

[Koofy Smacker]

Hook point side. That way when the weight slides down and hits the top it shoots the hook point out and into the flesh

[tomustang]

Ever try using a lighter rod? That heavy croix got to be a broom stick..

[Mike L]

The only time I peg is fishing pads, fallen wood, or punching really heavy, heavy cover.  Otherwise, let it slip.

 

Yep!

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[eatlessfish]

Definatly try unpegging the weights. If that doesnt work try setting the hook harder or letting the fish take the bait a bit longer. Try to keep her from jumping if you can. 

[J Francho]

Ever try using a lighter rod? That heavy croix got to be a broom stick..

 

The higher end SC rods have some tip.  Not a total broomstick.  Lots of power behind that tip, though!

[ColdSVT]

fight em "down and dirty" by that I mean keep your tip down to help keep the bass down in the water. it helps!

 

I played this game against many a Tarpon and it works, however it didn't always  keep the tarpon down (in open water I had no issues with them jumping and me bowing to the king, but in close quarters bridge fighting I wanted them to stay down

. but it works well for bass in my experience

[tomustang]

The higher end SC rods have some tip.  Not a total broomstick.  Lots of power behind that tip, though!

 

I have several above the avid line, just nothing bigger than a MH. I find that the MH's are stout enough for the 3/8-1 oz range

[ww2farmer]

I have no problem keeping them on with pegged weights. And I fish the same kind of water as J.Francho. Do what you want, but the pegged weight is not why they are coming unbuttoned on you. If your fishing docks right........you want to put that bait in tight spots, and that often requires skipping. I know I can not effectively skip a weighted bait on casting gear if the sinker is not pegged to the nose, and I get hung up on posts/cables/cross members far far less with a pegged weight, and the bigger the sinker used, the more problems I encounter when not pegging. I prefer to fish docks with casting gear, so for me...........pegging is a must. Each fish is an adventure around docks, you have to know how to play them out of harms way. Letting it rip with the big sticks is often BAD NEWS. I have guided many a big fish out from under a jet ski hoist, through a pontoon boat, and around some posts by "leading" them away from trouble, maybe even more often than by setting the hook hard and trying to rip them right out of there.

[Koofy Smacker]

I have no problem keeping them on with pegged weights. And I fish the same kind of water as J.Francho. Do what you want, but the pegged weight is not why they are coming unbuttoned on you. If your fishing docks right........you want to put that bait in tight spots, and that often requires skipping. I know I can not effectively skip a weighted bait on casting gear if the sinker is not pegged to the nose, and I get hung up on posts/cables/cross members far far less with a pegged weight, and the bigger the sinker used, the more problems I encounter when not pegging. I prefer to fish docks with casting gear, so for me...........pegging is a must. Each fish is an adventure around docks, you have to know how to play them out of harms way. Letting it rip with the big sticks is often BAD NEWS. I have guided many a big fish out from under a jet ski hoist, through a pontoon boat, and around some posts by "leading" them away from trouble, maybe even more often than by setting the hook hard and trying to rip them right out of there.

I know what you mean about putting them in tight spots. The area is tidal that Im referring too though and its easy to fish it on a mid outgoing tide where the spots are much more easily accessible with a pitch. Still takes skill to get it around the posts and into the tight spots around boats but its very rare I need to skip. Its very shallow also. Always less than 6 ft deep and on a low low tide gets down till the trolling motor is hitting around the docks. But none the less these fish are still there.