5lber Spit my Lure....Again

[BassB8Caster]

So I have been very fortunate in that the ponds where I fish there is little fishing pressure and I routinely catch 3 to 4lbers every outing. This is my 3rd summer bass fishing and for the life of me I cannot land a 5lb plus. I have hooked (and lost) a few that I'm sure were over 5. My last chance came yesterday fishing a new pond. I was slow rolling a keitech 5.8 swimbait on a 7/0 weighted twistloc swimbait hook. As expected, the bite was light, like gently snagging something, but knowing it was a fish.  So I set the hook (mh rod) and fish on. I feel fairly fast to keep up and keep tension on. So far, so good. Now I can tell it's coming up to the surface fast. I keep tension as it surfaces. But a violent head shake and it spits my Lure. Man she was a fatty. So I bring in the lure to inspect it, and the hook is still sitting perfectly in the groove of the bait, where it's supposed to. Frustrating. So the hook was never in the fish. I have 8lb trilene xxl on that particular reel. I've felt that that line has too much stretch. It has worked in most situations but other times it feels like there is too much stretch to get a good hook set. Especially on long casts. Would you guys agree that it's the line? I'm tempted to put braid on this reel too (have it on my other set up). I have so much more confidence with braid. 

 

Is the stretch the problem? Do I need to wait longer on hook set with these bigger swimbait? 

[Bluebasser86]

8lb test would be very light line to try to set the hook and drive in a 7/0 hook, even if it was exposed which I'm assuming it wasn't considering your bait choice.

 

I'm assuming you're fishing a spinning rod? I would certainly opt for braid if you are. I fish those paddletail swimbaits on braid and a MH casting rod to make sure I can get a solid hookset. 

[BassB8Caster]

6 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

8lb test would be very light line to try to set the hook and drive in a 7/0 hook, even if it was exposed which I'm assuming it wasn't considering your bait choice.

 

I'm assuming you're fishing a spinning rod? I would certainly opt for braid if you are. I fish those paddletail swimbaits on braid and a MH casting rod to make sure I can get a solid hookset. 

Nope baitcaster. I honestly thought it was 12lb mono. Went and looked and it's 8. I don't remember buying 8 but I obviously did. 

 

I have 2 rods and reels. One has braid on it and the other has mono. I will either go to a 12lb mono or just got to braid on both. I love the confidence braid gives me. Plus being in a kayak I get better hook sets with braid. 

[Bluebasser86]

I'd step up to braid or 15lb mono/flouro/copoly whatever you prefer. I normally fish them through and around grass, so I always choose braid. 

[BassB8Caster]

9 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I'd step up to braid or 15lb mono/flouro/copoly whatever you prefer. I normally fish them through and around grass, so I always choose braid. 

I will def do that. When you fish these bigger swimbaits (more specifically the 5.8 keitech) in grass or shallow water (less than  5 feet) are you weightless? Do you want it in the upper water column? Or wait and let it sink and slow roll it on bottom? It seems that weightless the braid tends to float it up

[Bluebasser86]

I always fish them on a keel weighted hook and just select the weight according to the depth and cover I'm fishing. 1/8 or 1/4 ounce would be a good choice in water that shallow. 

[BassB8Caster]

2 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I always fish them on a keel weighted hook and just select the weight according to the depth and cover I'm fishing. 1/8 or 1/4 ounce would be a good choice in water that shallow. 

Ok great thanks for the advice. 

[Clinton john]

Move up to big game 15# line, turn the drag up more and don't twinkle

toe the hook set, set that hook like you trying to jerk it's face off.

 

Doing this on a 7 foot mh action rod should give you a nice hook set.

 

Others may disagree but for me I would rather break my line trying for a solid hookset then to watch what my be my next personal best bass throw the hook on me.

 

Oh almost forgot make sure the hook point is free of the bait body so it can't slow down or weaken the hook set.

 

Hope this helps you sir.

[BassB8Caster]

I like to think I set the hook pretty hard. I always try to position myself right in the kayak in relationship to the line angle for maximum hook set power. But it doesn't take much for the kayak to drift a little and take my leverage away. That's where braid helps. 

 

As far as the hook being clear, it was sitting perfectly in the slot of the keitech impact fat. To add salt to the wound, the following cast a fish bit off the tail right at the kayak. 3 more to go. Atleast i was able to get a big girl to bite. That's half the battle.  

[Angry John]

It seems all the rules change in a yak.  I fish heavier rods than most due to wanting a solid rod for just the reason you mentioned.  When i am tossing a swim jig or a 4.8 i am running 15lb p-line 100% or 15lb YHB.  I dont like braid for swim baits as its supposed to be a natural approach.   As said earlier i hit them like i want to cross there eyes and any fish under a pound normally flies over the boat and i have to reel him in after his airborne trip.  The hookset is everything in a yak because you start to move right after and keeping tension is much more difficult.  I do this same thing when frog fishing from my yak.

[UPSmallie]

Dude I had this exact same problem when trolling keitechs on a swimbait hook.  The solution is to thread a stinger hook over your swimbait hook and then texas-rig it behind your main hook on the swimbait.  I've tested if this will affect the tail action, and to the best of my understanding if you line it up properly you're good to go.  There's been days when the bass will only short-strike these swimbaits, so a trailer hook can definitely save the day.

[BassB8Caster]

3 hours ago, UPSmallie said:

Dude I had this exact same problem when trolling keitechs on a swimbait hook.  The solution is to thread a stinger hook over your swimbait hook and then texas-rig it behind your main hook on the swimbait.  I've tested if this will affect the tail action, and to the best of my understanding if you line it up properly you're good to go.  There's been days when the bass will only short-strike these swimbaits, so a trailer hook can definitely save the day.

That's interesting.  Any pics? Is this with the 5.8? I'm using 7/0 keel weighted hooks with the bait keeper. 

 

I have caught 2 fish so far on these swimbaits.  One a 2.5 the other just under 3. 

[UPSmallie]

34 minutes ago, BassB8Caster said:

That's interesting.  Any pics? Is this with the 5.8? I'm using 7/0 keel weighted hooks with the bait keeper. 

 

I have caught 2 fish so far on these swimbaits.  One a 2.5 the other just under 3. 

 

Not off hand since the one I rigged got torn off by a smallmouth.  Will post here when I try it again though.  I've been fishing the 4.3 inch and 3.8 inch on 4/0's.  Bought some 4.8's to try on 5/0 but haven't tried them yet.  Biggest smallmouth have come on the 4.3 inch consistently in the 2.30 - 2.70 lb range.  I've been trying different trolling lures lately since the keitechs have been taking a beating.  Will have to keep at it though.

[lonnie g]

If I thought that there was a good chance at hooking into larger bass. I would want at least a med heavy rod and somewhere between 15 and 20 lb test. especially If fishing heavy cover or moss. long cast will also give you more line stretch. keep swinging you'll land her. the fun is you know she is there, good hunting!

[WIGuide]

A lot of your problem is your line. 8 lb xl is designed for a spinning reel as the XL stands for extra limp because it has less memory and to get that the line had to have a little more stretch. XT was designed for bait casters and originally stood for extra tough. It has a bit more memory, but it works just fine on a bait caster. 8 lb of either might be a little too light to drive in a 7/0 hook which is a little on the big side for a Keitech.  I would look for some 12 lb XT or Berkley 100% fluoro, or 50 lb Berkley Professional Braid.  You also might want to consider using something like a 5/0 hook instead as well. 

[BassB8Caster]

1 hour ago, WIGuide said:

A lot of your problem is your line. 8 lb xl is designed for a spinning reel as the XL stands for extra limp because it has less memory and to get that the line had to have a little more stretch. XT was designed for bait casters and originally stood for extra tough. It has a bit more memory, but it works just fine on a bait caster. 8 lb of either might be a little too light to drive in a 7/0 hook which is a little on the big side for a Keitech.  I would look for some 12 lb XT or Berkley 100% fluoro, or 50 lb Berkley Professional Braid.  You also might want to consider using something like a 5/0 hook instead as well. 

I agree with you. I swear i read to rig the 5.8 keitech Fat swing impacts on a 7/0. Thats why i bought that size. I just looked on their website and they recommend a 6/0.  The 7/0 is a beefy hook. But it does sit good in the groove. A strong hook set should drive that beefy hook home in good shape. I have 30lb braid on one of by baitcasters and ill either replace this 8lb mono with heavier mono made for a bait caster or go with braid on both. I was actually super surprised when i read 8lb on the spool i have in my fishing tub. I swear i remember buying a spool of 12lb big game, and i thought that was what was on my reel. apparently not. 

 

I think a good thing to learn here is that you need to be ready when the big fish bite. lots of times you get that one chance. And they will expose any weekness you may have between the end of your bait to the hook to the line to your rod and your abilities as a fisherman to handle them correctly until they are in your hands. I am happy i was able to have another chance at a PB, but also frustrated to not come through and make another mistake. I guess thats what keeps driving us. To get better and go get the big girls. 

[uncustered]

If you're wanting to stay with mono, try Sufix Tri+. It's a co-polymer and has low stretch I use 12Lb for most soft plastics unless I'm dealing with alot of brush, then I move to braid.

 

I'll use the same line in 14 or 17Lb for spinner baits and have had no problems setting those hooks.

[BassB8Caster]

3 hours ago, uncustered said:

If you're wanting to stay with mono, try Sufix Tri+. It's a co-polymer and has low stretch I use 12Lb for most soft plastics unless I'm dealing with alot of brush, then I move to braid.

 

I'll use the same line in 14 or 17Lb for spinner baits and have had no problems setting those hooks.

Dicks is having a buy one get one 50% off sale on swimbaits so I'm gonna take advantage and pick up an s waver 168 and savage gear 3d line thru trout. Came out to 21. Needed $4 more for free shipping so I checked at line. Found suffix super 21 mono . 14 lb test 330 yd roll for around $5. Worth a try at that price. 

[Doelman]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet, make sure you're reeling down on the fish before setting the hook.  On soft plastics, you always want to feel the weight of the fish before setting the hook, your "power" is at the lower half of your hook set motion, not at the top half.  This becomes even more important when you're using larger hooks, which require more force to set, with larger fish who also require more force to set, mixed with mono which also requires more force to set.  The biggest problem I've seen when people fish with soft plastics is that they set the hook as soon as they feel a bite.  You should feel the bite, pause, reel down until you're atleast parallel with the water and you feel the weight of the fish, and then set the hook.

[BassB8Caster]

Just now, Doelman said:

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet, make sure you're reeling down on the fish before setting the hook.  On soft plastics, you always want to feel the weight of the fish before setting the hook, your "power" is at the lower half of your hook set motion, not at the top half.  This becomes even more important when you're using larger hooks, which require more force to set, with larger fish who also require more force to set, mixed with mono which also requires more force to set.  The biggest problem I've seen when people fish with soft plastics is that they set the hook as soon as they feel a bite.  You should feel the bite, pause, reel down until you're atleast parallel with the water and you feel the weight of the fish, and then set the hook.

 

Good tip. Yes i do this. The exact situation that caused me to write this thread was mid retrieve with a soft swimbait. As i was reeling i felt the weight of the fish, set the hook, reeled (fish was on), she came to the surface and spit the lure. Hook was undisturbed sitting in the slot on the swing impact fat. Rod did load up, but after hearing from everyone, the "stretchy" 8lb xl trilene mono didnt allow a strong enough hook set to drive that hook home. New line has been ordered. 

[Doelman]

1 hour ago, BassB8Caster said:

 

Good tip. Yes i do this. The exact situation that caused me to write this thread was mid retrieve with a soft swimbait. As i was reeling i felt the weight of the fish, set the hook, reeled (fish was on), she came to the surface and spit the lure. Hook was undisturbed sitting in the slot on the swing impact fat. Rod did load up, but after hearing from everyone, the "stretchy" 8lb xl trilene mono didnt allow a strong enough hook set to drive that hook home. New line has been ordered. 

I don't know, I've fished most of my life and the majority of that was with 8-10 lb mono.  If the hook didn't even penetrate the bait, it wasn't the line causing it.  I wouldn't use 8 lb mono anymore either, so I would still change it, but your issue is more than the line.  Could just be a string of bad luck too, if the bait isn't in its mouth right there's nothing you can do to get a good hook set.

[BassB8Caster]

5 hours ago, Doelman said:

I don't know, I've fished most of my life and the majority of that was with 8-10 lb mono.  If the hook didn't even penetrate the bait, it wasn't the line causing it.  I wouldn't use 8 lb mono anymore either, so I would still change it, but your issue is more than the line.  Could just be a string of bad luck too, if the bait isn't in its mouth right there's nothing you can do to get a good hook set.

Absolutely. No way of knowing how the bass had the bait. 

[scaleface]

You live you learn . I went through a period where I lost every big fish I hooked . Its frustrating .

[BassB8Caster]

10 hours ago, scaleface said:

You live you learn . I went through a period where I lost every big fish I hooked . Its frustrating .

I agree. I try to learn from any mistake or situation.