How To Maximize Hookups When Setting Hook On Plastics

[livemusic]

When you fish a weedless worm, what do you do to increase your odds of a good hook set?

 

Do you do/use anything different for non-weighted soft plastics, such as a weightless Fluke?

 

Do you let the bass "take it" or set the hook at first detection or what? Do you favor a certain type of equipment?

 

Getting a bite is great but we gotta hook 'em up! And then boat them.

[BrianinMD]

Generally I hold my rod with the tip high, when a bite is felt I drop the tip, reel down then set the hook. Keeps me from setting it to quick and pulling the bait away from them.

 

Equipment wise, it all depends on what you are throwing and what conditions. Make sure the rod has enough backbone to handle the task.

[Preytorien]

I definitely wait a split second before I set the hook. I'll either watch for the line to "swim off" or just lightly tension the line to see if there's resistance (a fish) at the end. 

 

To maximize hooksets, especially on T-rig worms and Flukes, really any soft plastic.....rather than using an OWG hook, I use a straight-shank hook. I think the angled trajectory the hook exits the back helps increase hooksets rather than counting on the fish chomping down on the bait to expose the business end of the hook. With the hook being angled, your hook is exposed at the onset of your hookset, not waiting for a fish to bite the lure properly to expose your hook.

[scaleface]

I usually rig it the old fashioned way , bury the hook in the worm. But i will run it through and back in several times to make a channel for the hook to go through. I dont wait to set the hook. I reel down take up the slack then set as soon as i detect a strike. As Paul  Elias once said " A bass doesn't have hands, its in his mouth. Set the hook . "

[A-Jay]

For weightless Flukes & worms (and many other presentations) I like the Owner Wide Gap Plus Black Chrome Hooks as well as the Lazer Trokar MagWorm Hook - both are EWG.

 

For LIne; it's hard to beat braided line for shear hook setting power.  I like Sufix 832 & Power Pro but there are several other good ones out there.

 

Also, I don't "Wait" after bite detection - by the time I actually feel the bass - there's a good chance the fish has already had the bait for at least a second or two.  So I take up any slack and set the hook as soon as I can.

 

Lastly, the best way I know to keep a bass from ejecting my offering before I can detect & strike the fish is to be sure to use a little Megastrike Fish Attractant - I think it really helps and can be the difference between a solid hook up and the dreaded Swing & Miss.

 

I hate that.

 

A-Jay

 

 

[J Francho]

I use sharp hooks and don't wait for anything. If I "think" there's a fish on my bait, I set it. Note I said think, not feel.

[BrianinMD]

J Franco....referring to those hooksets that as you reel in the fish you start to wonder "why did I actually set the hook..."

[J Francho]

Spidey sense.

[gardnerjigman]

I usually just bury the hook as well, but there have been more than a few times that I've swung and missed on certain days, so I'll readjust and just skin the hook.  I also always use EWG. 

[RoLo]

I realize that many of the boys don't like braid, but it's a shortcut to maximizing hookups (nuff said about braid)

 

As soon as my lure doesn't feel like it's supposed to (?!!?) I promptly set the hook, even with hollow frogs.

There's no intentional pause, only the time it takes to move my reel-hand to the rod-blank (for a 2-hand hook-set)

I rarely have to wind-up slack line because my rod-tip is generally held close to the water (as you would in a brisk wind)

 

Roger

[Bankbeater]

When I feel a tap, tap, tap or when the line starts moving off I set the hook. I always hit the hooks with a file to make sure that they are sharp.

[Ozark_Basser]

I can't tell you why I set the hook sometimes. I just do. Sometimes I set the hook depending on how they bite. If I feel a hard tug or two I set the hook immediately because that means they just took off with it, and if they feel that much resistance, they will spit the bait really quick so you have to be quicker. This happens a lot with smallmouth and largemouth too. If I feel a tap and the line goes slack, that means they inhaled it, so I reel the slack and set the hook. If I feel something mushy or different I set the hook immediately. Knowing whether that mushy feeling is a fish or not just takes a little practice.

[retiredbosn]

I texpose my hooks, (skin hook the point) keeps it weedless and there is nothing interfering with hooking the fish, no plastic to go through etc.

[Senko lover]

The instant you see your line twitch; set the hook, and set it hard. There is no reason to wait. I don't even drop my rod.

[Catt]

Straight shank round bend hooks

Wait for what? The bass to spit it!

If a bass farts near my bait I drop the rod, reel the slack, & set the hook!

[the reel ess]

Gamakatsu and Fireline. Then half the hookset will get the job done.

[rosshilk]

I think to maximize your hooksets you honestly just need lots of repetition. I think muscle memory and just getting use to the feel of the bite you will develop your own hook set technique. This year I have been fishing so many crankbaits I  have been a little rusty setting the hook with my jig. I have been getting caught out of position. I believe the best way to prepare and maximize for anything is through repetition you might miss some fish here and there just think about why you might have missed them and try to correct.

[F14A-B]

Well now, this topic has been nailed down by you guys...

Next...

[RSM789]

Let me add one thing - Focus (Bofus??)

On those "off" days, I noticed that part of the problem on misses was that I wasn't paying attention. This leads to being out of position, late swings, all kinds of things that are technically bad. If I catch myself with my mind wandering, I find it best to take a deep breath, realize how lucky I am to be on the water and get back into the moment. I can think about that other stuff on the ride home.