Improper “form” when I set the hook

[Mike F]

I fish like 95% plastics and jigs, for starters. And I know all of the preferred techniques for getting a powerful hookset ie: elbows close to body, reel slack, lower rod tip and slam em’ . But whenever I detect a bite all of this goes out the window and I throw my elbows out and swing my arms up, which about half the time works, but I’m curious if you guys know of any ways to “condition” yourself to change the way you react to something in fishing. It’s tough for me because I only have so many opportunities to “practice” when I’m actually fishing, and I’m doubtful screwing around in the yard would do anything. My poor technique has really become apparent as I fish jigs more often and have less time to do anything before I need to set. Thanks in advance guys.

[Catt]

Concentration + Experience ?

 

As for as improper "form", wait for it!

 

I'm 67...there aint no proper form anymore!

Edited September 16, 2018 by Catt
Operator Error

[NHBull]

Go to a place where you know your going to get 40 bites and swing at everything,  doesn't  matter. I try to real down to my 4 o'clock and swing to my 10:00, sometimes it's like swinging a golf club  including the toe pivot ?

[Mike F]

Hmm I do have access to a small lake where there’s almost guaranteed numbers I’ll try that next time I go there. I’ve noticed tons of threads about hook sets, and have come to the conclusion that aside from actually just locating fish, this is the second hardest part of bass fishing to master. Would you all agree?

[Glenn]

I'm going to guess that you set the hook the instant you detect a bite, for fear of losing the fish.  If so, do this the next time you have a fish on: don't set the hook.  Yup, you heard me.  But don't reel either.  Just hold the rod and feel the fish.

 

Notice how long he holds on to it?

 

Now do it again with the next fish, and the next, and another.

 

Once you're "conditioned" to knowing you have a window to set the hook, you'll then know how much time you have to properly position yourself and the rod before setting the hook, thus avoiding the "reaction hookset" as I like to call it.

 

 

[Mike F]

46 minutes ago, Glenn said:

I'm going to guess that you set the hook the instant you detect a bite, for fear of losing the fish.  If so, do this the next time you have a fish on: don't set the hook.  Yup, you heard me.  But don't reel either.  Just hold the rod and feel the fish.

 

Notice how long he holds on to it?

 

Now do it again with the next fish, and the next, and another.

 

Once you're "conditioned" to knowing you have a window to set the hook, you'll then know how much time you have to properly position yourself and the rod before setting the hook, thus avoiding the "reaction hookset" as I like to call it.

 

 

That’s solid advice Glenn! I’ve noticed when I fish a Texas rig, I have it in my head that I can do what you describe, and I land more of those fish (compared to jig bites) because of it I think. But I still rarely have good form, I feel like I’m losing power by swinging with my elbows out. Which eventually costs me  a fish or two because of a weak set (it always feels like it’s the big ones too lol) . I almost never hook the fish that really catch me by surprise. (Reeling the jig in for another cast etc)

 

maybe I’ll go to my lake full of dinks like Nhbull suggested, and when I get bites wait longer like you suggested and try to mentally calm down and purposefully swing the rod. It’s all easier said than done but I appreciate the tips guys.

[TOXIC]

In truth you have to have all sorts of considerations on hookset depending on what you have tied on.  So, generally it's up to you to remember which hookset you need to use.  Personally, I use a "cross their eyes" hookset, a "swing" hookest, a "steady pressure" hookset and a "snap" hookset.  All depending on what is on the line for a lure.  Experience helps but trial and error will drive the point home.  

[scaleface]

I've never heard about elbows being in the proper position . I'm   a highly evolved hook-setter by now and dont know where my elbows go .  So if  the next time I set the hook and I'm  thinking about my elbow  position , its your fault .?

15 hours ago, Mike F said:

elbows close to body, reel slack, lower rod tip and slam em’ . But whenever I detect a bite all of this goes out the window and I throw my elbows out and swing my arms up,

 

[Sam]

Practice, practice, practice.

 

Remember to swing rod to the left or right waist height when using treble hooks.

 

Otherwise, lower the rod's tip; reel in the slack; and cross their eyes, ducking if you miss the hook set.  

[NHBull]

13 hours ago, Mike F said:

Hmm I do have access to a small lake where there’s almost guaranteed numbers I’ll try that next time I go there. I’ve noticed tons of threads about hook sets, and have come to the conclusion that aside from actually just locating fish, this is the second hardest part of bass fishing to master. Would you all agree?

After finding them, getting them to bite comes before setting the hook. I think #2 is harder

[LionHeart]

You have time, take it.  Remember, the fish is trying to eat your lure, let that happen.

 

Of course there are times when a fish will quickly reject your lure but let's be honest, more likely than not, you will not be fast enough to make a difference when that happens anyway.

 

I do the same thing you are describing, and also struggle with it as well, and most of my lost fish are because of bad hook sets.  Just this weekend I lost a very decent fish at the end of an otherwise uneventful trip, because I got excited and didn't take the time to take up some slack.

 

I'm sure it won't be the last time, sigh.  

[geo g]

Its all time on the water.  You know how to do it, but its got to come automatic without thinking about it.  When I feel a strike everything from that point on is totally on cruise control.  There is no time to think about it.  A jig because of the hook and no plastic to bury the hook requires a quicker hook set.  With buried plastics you have a little more time for detection of the fish taking the bait.  Take one step at a time and concentrate at keeping the elbow tight to your side, and then rock the hook set.  Use braid or floro, it will help you detect the bite early.  The more you do it it will eventually become automatic.  Good luck.

[J Francho]

It helps if you think about how you're going to set the hook as you cast.  What direction, is there anything in the way, how hard, flick set, reel set, lean into the fish, or whack 'em?  This is especially important when fishing from shore or in tight spaces, like a canoe or kayak.

[Krux5506]

Setting the hook is one thing, and the more you fish the more natural it becomes. Almost a cross between muscle memory and just a reflex. A natural reaction is to just pull the rod when you feel a tug. 

 

As far as form....I think that's where you get into the realm of overthinking everything. 

[DINK WHISPERER]

You're way overthinking this bud. You know what you have to do so just do it! I was the same way when I started throwing hollow body frogs. Now it's just 2nd nature. Like Catt said, experience/practice. You'll get it. 

[WRB]

1. You must 1st detect the initial strike. LMB don't bite lures they engulf them by vacuuming the prey into the mouth by flushing water through thier gills and closing the mouth sqweezing the critter between the tongue and top of the mouth. The jig at this time is inside the basses mouth and your highest percentage to make a good hook set. 

2. Jig hooks are usually heavier wire then worm hooks and require enough force to penetrate the basses mouth tissue past the barb, so sharpe hook points are essential. A sharpe hook point often sticks the bass mouth tissue when the bass engulfs the jig and you feel the bass trying to split it out, if you wait the bass will reject it a high % of the time. The bigger the bass the more difficult it is to detect a jig strike.

3. Casting a jig look at Greg Hackney's video, reel and sweep set technique. More vertical presentation or shorter casts the snap set works for me, drop the rod tip reel some slack line then snap the rod tip up and keep reeling.

Tom

[Paul Roberts]

18 hours ago, Glenn said:

I'm going to guess that you set the hook the instant you detect a bite, for fear of losing the fish.  If so, do this the next time you have a fish on: don't set the hook.  Yup, you heard me.  But don't reel either.  Just hold the rod and feel the fish.

 

Notice how long he holds on to it?

 

Now do it again with the next fish, and the next, and another.

 

Once you're "conditioned" to knowing you have a window to set the hook, you'll then know how much time you have to properly position yourself and the rod before setting the hook, thus avoiding the "reaction hookset" as I like to call it.

 

 

This is just great advice. My first thought to "proper form", like Catt, had me kinda scratching my head. As Glenn suggests, first, get familiar with what is happening down there. This, I believe, is the "concentration and experience" Catt is talking about. It's not something you can practice at home exactly. But Glenn's advice will get you there quicker -bite for bite- than any I can think of.

 

With soft plastics -esp lightly weighted ones- bass often give you some time to react. I'll actually "weigh the line" at times, by drawing slightly taught to feel for weight or "life". Soft plastics usually give you that time. If I don't wait long enough I may come back with half a worm. If I wait too long, I may get too deeply hooked fish. Soft plastics are a great way to learn the feel of bites. Again, you have some time.

 

Now, as you add weight to the rig, however, bass are more quick to spit. I do not weigh the line with jigs (although I know Catt has), as I've found bass to spit jigs quicker. But, if you are on top of things (here, visualizing what your lure is doing at all times) you have time with jigs too. But not if you aren't in contact with your jig, and you don't know what to feel for. It helps a lot to fish your jigs in really clear water -even a swimming pool- so you get familiar with their sink rate and tension on your line. If you know where in the water column you are, where bottom and cover pieces are below, bites are easier to discern. Again, "concentration and experience" are not something you can read about and just do.

 

So, maybe head to that pond that'll offer frequent bites, use a lightly weighted or unweighted soft plastic and play with those bites. Find clear water to swim some jigs around in. Get familiar.

 

Another thing, I find I do not need to strike as hard as I see so many other fishers do. It's as if there is some "form" they need to follow -like a tennis stroke or something. Certain situations can call for some serious power in the hook set: deep water, big irons, stretchy lines, fish in heavy cover when the set and extraction from the cover is almost one and the same motion. But with braid, appropriate power in the rod, and sharp hooks, hook sets are pretty much just coming tight quickly. Man, I scarcely think about it. If I'm missing fish, it's usually something going on "down there", rather than my "form" being off.

 

Hope this helps.

[Catt]

Where does this idea that bass doesn't hold a jig for long come from?

 

A jig imitates a crawfish correct?

 

Yes I believes they do

 

A crawfish has a hard shell does it not?

 

Yes they in fact have a hard shell

 

Why would a bass spit what it perceives to be a crawfish because it feels something hard?

 

When the bass "crushes" the jig to kill it; it feels the hardness of a shell (weight), the softness of the skirt (guts), & the firmness of the trailer (meat in the tail) just like a crawfish. Believe me as a Cajun I've eaten 1,000s of pounds of crawfish.

 

When we cast an un-pegged Texas rig the amount of separation between the plastic & weight is inches not feet. The moment we apply any pressure to the line that distance of separation closes & stays closed!

 

Ever look at an un-painted lead bullet weight after catching a bass?

 

You will see teeth marks ?

[NHBull]

.....side note

as soon as you cast position your feet and body and be prepared for a hit on the fall. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a friends line move sideways and he missed because he was late...

[WRB]

You can't compare bed fishing with active hunting bass but it will teach you how fast a bass strikes a jig and reject it, usually before you can react. It's a humbling event in clear water with bass and the jig very visible, one strike and it's over. Pitch a soft plastic creature into the bed the reaction is usually very different, the bass strikes and moves the creature out of the bed few feet before spitting it out, giving time to set the hook. We are talking LMB, Smallmouth strike differently and often bite the trailer instead of engulf jigs and worms so timing the hook set takes a little hesitation until the lure is inside it's mouth. Spotted bass are somewhere inbetween LMB and Smallmouth, jigs they tend bite the claws and worms are engulfed more quickly, but timing the hook set is still a trail and error event. 

Back in the late 60's and early 70's the plastic worm hook set was to let the bass swim off a few feet before setting the hook, the ole count to 10 the cross their eyes hook set.

When Florida bass were introduced it took several years to figure out that they rejected a jig almost instantly, like a bed fish, so we waited to feel the bass move and rarely caught FLMB on jigs, worms yes, jigs no. The game changer for me was developing the reel and rod sweep set the instant a strike was detected. I give credit to that casting jig hook set for all my giant over the years and most jig fisherman will not do that with the exception of Greg Hackney who has picked up on that hook set.

We all must develop a hook set and timing that works for each of us to be successful.

Tom

[Paul Roberts]

1 hour ago, NHBull said:

.....side note

as soon as you cast position your feet and body and be prepared for a hit on the fall. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a friends line move sideways and he missed because he was late...

Yes! Concentration means expecting bites. And your body is very much involved.

 

5 minutes ago, WRB said:

You can't compare bed fishing with active hunting bass but it will teach you how fast a bass strikes a jig and reject it, usually before you can react. ...

Learning to set the hooks on visible bites can be frustrating. I have come to believe that one must wait for the bass to inhale, eject the water, and bite down. When seeing that mouth pop open, or those gills flare, over your bait, it's all too easy to yank!

 

Also, strikes really close in, on a short line, can result in the same result: Pulling it away before they've handled it.  I have to say to myself, "Wait! Wait until you feel em!"

 

2 hours ago, Catt said:

Where does this idea that bass doesn't hold a jig for long come from?

 

A jig imitates a crawfish correct?

 

Yes I believes they do

 

A crawfish has a hard shell does it not?

 

Yes they in fact have a hard shell

 

Why would a bass spit what it perceives to be a crawfish because it feels something hard?

 

When the bass "crushes" the jig to kill it; it feels the hardness of a shell (weight), the softness of the skirt (guts), & the firmness of the trailer (meat in the tail) just like a crawfish. Believe me as a Cajun I've eaten 1,000s of pounds of crawfish.

 

When we cast an un-pegged Texas rig the amount of separation between the plastic & weight is inches not feet. The moment we apply any pressure to the line that distance of separation closes & stays closed!

 

Ever look at an un-painted lead bullet weight after catching a bass?

 

You will see teeth marks ?

A lot of my jig fishing has been with swim jigs that, here, imitate bluegills. My bass often don't hold those jigs very long. How long? That I cannot say, as I've learned not to give them much of a chance. Once it's in there, and they've clamped down, I set.

[NVD20]

When I feel a fish on my bait, especially flipping or with jigs, i tend to drop the rod or stop twitching it, to set the hook, multiple pros and anglers that catch em daily say thats the most effective way to get a reliable hook set, but as you all know losing some is just nature of the game.

[Mike F]

So today’s after work fish was slow and tough. Only stayed about an hour and a half, with one bite on a t-rig chigger craw which is my confidence bait of choice along with any small black blue jig. The fishing was so slow I resorted to all sorts of retrieves and finally got hit stroking the craw over a big scum mat, I remembered Glenn’s advice and let the fish hold it almost agonizingly long compared to what I’m used to, and then almost 5 seconds later I hit him and landed him. I was kind of shocked he still had it just in his mouth and not swallowed. I think I made the best of a slow day by learning something, or rather proving to myself what all of you with vastly more experience have already learned. I’m proud to say I caught the fish today on 15lb big game as per recommendation from so many guys on here lol. I used to throw braid only but I feel like because of mono’s springiness or something the hooks end up super deep in the roof of their mouth. Owner cutting points didn’t hurt the matter either

4 hours ago, Catt said:

Where does this idea that bass doesn't hold a jig for long come from?

 

A jig imitates a crawfish correct?

 

Yes I believes they do

 

A crawfish has a hard shell does it not?

 

Yes they in fact have a hard shell

 

Why would a bass spit what it perceives to be a crawfish because it feels something hard?

 

When the bass "crushes" the jig to kill it; it feels the hardness of a shell (weight), the softness of the skirt (guts), & the firmness of the trailer (meat in the tail) just like a crawfish. Believe me as a Cajun I've eaten 1,000s of pounds of crawfish.

 

When we cast an un-pegged Texas rig the amount of separation between the plastic & weight is inches not feet. The moment we apply any pressure to the line that distance of separation closes & stays closed!

 

Ever look at an un-painted lead bullet weight after catching a bass?

 

You will see teeth marks ?

In fisherman’s book “critical concepts 3: presentation” said the same things as you and even said that the fiber weed guard crunching down wasn’t alarming to a fish and could even simulate like crunching the carapace (I think that’s the right term?). That’s interesting stuff

[schplurg]

Sounds like you made progress. Was gonna say get a bungee cord and strap your elbows to your body   Glenn's advice was probably better!

 

[Catt]

11 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

Learning to set the hooks on visible bites can be frustrating

 

Couple years ago I was showed my grandson this little trick on bedding bass. After several attempts at a 4# female we came back that evening but this time I told Aiden flip your bait out there & close you eyes... instant hookup!

 

11 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

A lot of my jig fishing has been with swim jigs that, here, imitate bluegills. My bass often don't hold those jigs very long.

 

Ya need to quit comparing swim jigs to regular jigs!

 

Aint the same other than looks!

 

One is still on the bottom, the other is constantly moving!