Better Hooksets?

[DCales84]

So I finally got the season started off here in VA. I do alot of fishing out of my kayak and have recently taken up jig fishing. My normal selection of rods I take kayaking are all 6'6" in various actions and power. I'm looking to see if stepping up to a 7' rod may increase my hook up ratio when jig fishing. I have no doubt the fish have a good bite on the jig since most of them have smacked it hard just seems like i'm not driving the hook hard enough with my current 6'6" MH fast action Quantum Accurist casting setup.Looking for opinions and other ideas to help me land the big ones this season. thanks!!! 

 

[Alpha Male]

You could certainly try a 7' rod and seee if that helps. Another xonsideration would ba an extra fast 6'6" rod.

[BassinNCstyle]

What line are you using?

[bigturtle]

I highly doubt a mere 6" increase in rod lengh is going to solve the issue. I think your problem may lie with the jig or line. If the jig has a weedguard, try trimming a few strands off to make it less stiff. Use braid or fluorocarbon for less stretch in the line when jig fishing

[MickD]

Theoretically, 6 " more length will help, but as others, I think there may be more to the problem than rod length.  Yes, XF action should help.  If you are not using braid, try 10-15 # Power Pro with a good quallity 10-15 flouro leader, 3-5 feet (double uni or Alberto knots -PROPERLY tied - don't cut corners, and high quality "sticky sharp" hooks.  I assume you're using at least 3/0 hook sizes-I don't think smaller will work as well as 3/0 or 4/0 regardless of jig weight.

 

There is another string of posts titled something like "What's your favorite finnesse outfit,"  read that.

[FlipSide]

Your weed guards on the jigs are probably keeping you from driving the hook home as stated above. Try cutting the weed guard before you spend money on a new rod, and if that doesn't work then I would buy some jigs made with high quality hooks

[DCales84]

I'm using 30lb braid with the drag locked down for now and the jig is a strike king football jig. The weedguards aren't to stiff out of the box and the hooks on the standard football jigs are fairly light. I've got a box of Siebert jigs ready to go just havent tied one on yet so hopefully that helps with the hookup ratio. After I was able to get my gear unpacked from my last trip I noticed that the hook on the jig was slightly bent out as well. I'm glad to have landed a good number of fish for my first time jig fishing but am a bit in doubt of the long term durability of the strike king jigs i purchased over the winter.

[livemusic]

Try ***, sure looks good, I think it uses Trokar hooks. Find their video.

[Kyle46N]

I've fished out of a canoe my whole life, and I DO feel like using a 7 ft rod will make a big difference setting the hook from a kayak.   It creates better leverage, takes up more line with the hook set which is important when fishing that close to the water and being in akward positions with kayaks and canoes.  Not to mention it also helps out casting distance too.  

[flyfisher]

I haven't noticed too much of a difference in my hook setting success when using a 6'6" or  7'1" rod from my kayak.  Sure the added length will take up some more line but being close to the water the added line that is being pulled up isn't as much as when you are standing up high like on the deck of a bass boat.  A few things i have learned in my years of kayak fishing are that extra sharp hooks are a must and braid really helps to eliminate any stretch that might be in the system when trying to drive home a heavier gauge hook like on a jig.  really there are so many variables involved that the only way to determine what is causing your hook up ratio is to change one variable at a time and see if you see any differences but then of course you have to factor in that there are just days the bass aren't taking the bait as well as others.

[J Francho]

A longer rod won't fix much. Sounds like there's sonething wrong with either the tackle or your fundamentals.

[Ben Eipert]

I use a 7'10 for light finesse jigs and a 7'6 for regular and football jigs. I feel the longer length give me the ability to take up more slack on the set.,

[J Francho]

Why would anyone have slack in their line?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Why would anyone have slack in their line?

The fundamentals you mentioned earlier.

[flyfisher]

Why would anyone have slack in their line?

It is from years of watching the hero hooksets on the TV shows

[Catt]

Why would anyone have slack in their line?

To justify an 8.0:1 gear ratio reel

[DCales84]

A longer rod won't fix much. Sounds like there's sonething wrong with either the tackle or your fundamentals

I wouldn't disagree one bit here about the fundamentals. For me fishing from my kayak brings a new set of challenges versus my boat deck. As others stated the positioning is often not exactly ideal and after much thought I feel that may have a lot to do with the number of lost fish the other day. Also I currently have a sit in kayak and often find myself smacking the butt of the rod into the side of the kayak or even into myself  depending on the situation so even if I wanted to step up to a 7' rod I would have to keep the handle length in consideration. At any rate I appreciate the input so far and look forward to sticking more fish this year on jigs and wish that I would have gave them a try much sooner.

[J Francho]

I was late to the jig party. Once you get it, you got it.