Gut hooked bass on Texas Rig

[Ravox]

Hi guys, I'm having a hard time to feel the bite and most of my catches on texas rig is gut hooked, there is a way i can avoid that? to feel the bite before this happens? Have the same issue with all my rods, all of them MH different brands like BPS (Bionic Blade) , Daiwa Fuego etc and i'm using Yo Zuri Hybrid (line)

 

Not sure if braid can help me with that " feeling" always avoided braid because never liked the leader knot

 

I'm not exactly sure how can i improve the " feeling" to avoid bass swallowing the hook

[Mobasser]

It sounds like you've got good rods and line. My only suggestion would be, if you feel anything out of the ordinary, set the hook quickly. Lots of us miss light strikes on t rigs, but if you set the hook quicker, you can help reduce gut hooked fish. If you feel anything slightly different, set the hook! If it's not a fish, no big deal. Reel up, check your bait, and cast again. It happens.

[Heartland]

Two ideas that may help, well really three.    Keep your line taunt, let the bait fall on a relaxed line but keep in contact with the bait.   Try running the line over your index finger as the line is being retrieved helps with feeling the bite.  The other thing is become a line watcher, any little twitch, jerk or bump is most likely a fish.  Don't hesitate when setting the hook.

 

Fish are incredible at swallowing a bait with very little feedback to the fisherman, often fish will feel as weight, you should notice that when you lift the bait to move it.   This is where many deep hooked fish occur.

 

Hope it helps

[Ravox]

45 minutes ago, Heartland said:

Two ideas that may help, well really three.    Keep your line taunt, let the bait fall on a relaxed line but keep in contact with the bait.   Try running the line over your index finger as the line is being retrieved helps with feeling the bite.  The other thing is become a line watcher, any little twitch, jerk or bump is most likely a fish.  Don't hesitate when setting the hook.

 

Fish are incredible at swallowing a bait with very little feedback to the fisherman, often fish will feel as weight, you should notice that when you lift the bait to move it.   This is where many deep hooked fish occur.

 

Hope it helps

Thank you, i have issues with windy days too have no feeling at all when it happens, do you think using braid can improve something regarding that feeling? 

[Heartland]

Braid helps if you can keep your line tight/taunt, it does not transmit much at all if it is slack.  Braid can also be problematic if in windy conditions.   In what you describe I think a good co-poly or FC line would  be a good choice, there are also some very good high quality mono lines available.

[DitchPanda]

Braid can help for sure yes but it's not perfect in every situation. Around grass braid is great..and unless your water is extremely clear or very heavily pressured I wouldn't worry about the fish being line shy. If your fishing around rock at all braid is a poor choice as rock just destroys it. Maybe fluorocarbon would be a good compromise for you...still good abrasion resistance and a little better feel. I myself use copolymer..have used hybrid in the past and currently use izorline xxx....I rarely hook fish deep. Learning to keep the line tight enough to feel the bait but not impede action takes time. I also agree with draping the line on your fingertip as they are very sensitive and will feel any change or tick/jump in line. The most important one is line watching...I catch a lot of my jig\Texas rig fish by seeing the bite. Mobasser had it right you have quality gear so I don't think that's the issue. One more thing that helped me was using a bit heavier weight...it naturally keeps the line tighter and keeps you in better contact with the bait. For instance let's say your fishing 3-5 ft and normally you use 1/8 or 3\16 ...step up slightly to 1\4 and see if that helps.

[Ravox]

By recommendation i use yo Zuri Hybrid on all my spinning, there are better mono lines for sensitivity? never tried fluro 

[BrianMDTX]

I use a MHF rod and 12 lb YZH. 

 

I normally let the worm sink (weightless or weighted) and once on the bottom, reel it in slowly with occasional twitches. I don’t leave the worm stationary for long, so even if a bass slurps the worm in on slack line, it’s rare for one to swallow it before I feel the weight of the fish. How long do you leave the bait stationary on the bottom? 

[Heartland]

41 minutes ago, Ravox said:

By recommendation i use yo Zuri Hybrid on all my spinning, there are better mono lines for sensitivity? never tried fluro 

I personally feel that even the best Mono/Nylon lines still do not provide the same level of feedback as a good FC or braided line.  There are quality mono lines that have much lower stretch than traditional mono lines, great knot strength, great line manageability, and good sensitivity.  If interested I can recommend Sunline Shooter Defier Armilo as a good choice.   I also think the line you have is an excellent choice, it is often recommended.  Sometimes subtle changes in your techniques will result in substantial change, try keeping line tight, setting hook quickly and running the line over a finger.  You will be able to reduce  a lot of deep hooks but most likely will never eliminate them.        Good luck 

[BassNJake]

Some excellent advise so far: line over the fingertip, watch the line for movement, know how long the lure takes to sink the depth you are fishing ....

 

For me I bought a pair of cutters for the few times a gut hook happens

 

[Ravox]

17 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

Some excellent advise so far: line over the fingertip, watch the line for movement, know how long the lure takes to sink the depth you are fishing ....

 

For me I bought a pair of cutters for the few times a gut hook happens

 

Im thinking if i should use a 4/0 wide gap instead a 3/0 wide gap that i use now, a bigger hook maybe can help with that 

[scaleface]

You are going to have to learn to detect bites   sooner .I use mono and gut hooking a bass is extremely rare . When I lift the lure I'm also weighing my line . This is hard to describe but if my line feels heavy I set the hook . I also use clear blue fluorescent 17 lb trilene xl . That line visibility is very important for me . When the  lure is falling and you feel the slightest tic , thats a fish. Reel up the slack and sock it to him . Might be a dink might be a five lber . When you are lifting the lure and feel a tic , that could be a stick or some other object  .

[BassNJake]

1 hour ago, Ravox said:

Im thinking if i should use a 4/0 wide gap instead a 3/0 wide gap that i use now, a bigger hook maybe can help with that 

I've cut a 6/0 hook with those.

Sometimes when I'm ledge fishing a big worm they get it on the drop say 15 feet deep when bottom is near 30 or 40

With the wave action from the pleasure boats and bass ledge runners it reduces my ability to see any line movement or to feel the light "tics" on the line. 

So inevitably, I will gut hook a couple.

I spent years laying over the side of the boat, with the fish in the water and using the technique where you turn the hook through the gills.

Now as soon as I see it is gut hooked- I cut the hook just below the barb - pull out the hook and send it on its way

This is my go to method and is so much quicker than the through the gill trick IMO

[Mobasser]

Another thing that may help. When you work your t rig, keep your rod tip up, between 10 and 12o clock position. This helps to give you a clear view of your line where it enters the water.

[LargeMarge]

Pinch your barbs and learn the “through the gills” hook removal technique. Makes releasing normally hooked fish trivial and gut hooked fish a very minor inconvenience to both you and the fish.

 

Not letting the worm sit long enough on the bottom may adversely affect your fishing results .

[fin]

All good advice.

 

A couple tricks if you do gut hook one and you don’t have cutters - pinch the barb shut if you can. If you can’t, cut your line and push the hook through instead of trying to pull it back out. The eye of the hook is bigger than the barb, but it will pass through meat a lot easier than the barb.

 

Just curious, what kind of worms?

[geo g]

Ten years ago I switch from mono to floro for all my plastics.  I love the stuff now and would never go back.  Much more sensitive, holds up to rough structure, almost zero stretch, sinks in the water, and less visible to bass.  This will help with bite detection, and increase bites.

 

Also master proper hook removal techniques.  Once you master this 90% of deep hooked fish will be released in good shape.  Lots of videos on the web on this.  Good luck!

[Heartland]

6 minutes ago, geo g said:

Ten years ago I switch from mono to floro for all my plastics.  I love the stuff now and would never go back.  Much more sensitive, holds up to rough structure, almost zero stretch, sinks in the water, and less visible to bass.  This will help with bite detection, and increase bites.

 

Also master proper hook removal techniques.  Once you master this 90% of deep hooked fish will be released in good shape.  Lots of videos on the web on this.  Good luck!

That sounds like some great line, what are you using? 

 

[geo g]

I have tried a bunch but now only use Trylene professional grade and because it’s Florida nothing less than 15 pound test.  Only use with bait-casters, and seldom use a spinning reel.  Been using for ten years and love it.  I spray it before using and spray when I come back home.

[OnthePotomac]

solutions to gut hooks:

1.  Crimp down the barbs on your hooks and no, you will not lose fish.

2.  Carry one these with you and there are variations in length, but they do the same thing.  Reach in, lock on to barbless hook, turn it gently and just back it out. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/rapala-hook-remover

Been doing it this way for 15 years and saved a whole lot of bass.

[Team9nine]

19 hours ago, scaleface said:

You are going to have to learn to detect bites   sooner .

This still seems like the best advice ^^

 

You just need more time and experience with the bait and outfit. CR and wacky I could understand a larger percentage gut hooked, but not TR.

[Ravox]

17 hours ago, fin said:

All good advice.

 

A couple tricks if you do gut hook one and you don’t have cutters - pinch the barb shut if you can. If you can’t, cut your line and push the hook through instead of trying to pull it back out. The eye of the hook is bigger than the barb, but it will pass through meat a lot easier than the barb.

 

Just curious, what kind of worms?

Thank you everyone yes i remove all barbs from my hooks hate to damage the fish too much never leave the barbs but sometimes even without the barb is hard to remove a hook from a gut hooked fish, and i use Yum Dingers most of the time with texas Rig 

[OnthePotomac]

Some times getting the plastic out of the way is more work than getting the hook out  I keep long scissors to cut it away so I can see what I am doing and if I am fishing with my adult daughter it happens a lot LOL.

[Ravox]

3 hours ago, OnthePotomac said:

solutions to gut hooks:

1.  Crimp down the barbs on your hooks and no, you will not lose fish.

2.  Carry one these with you and there are variations in length, but they do the same thing.  Reach in, lock on to barbless hook, turn it gently and just back it out. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/rapala-hook-remover

Been doing it this way for 15 years and saved a whole lot of bass.

Really dont know how this hook remover work this is just a tool to reach the hook and pull? but if you pull you will damage the fish

[OnthePotomac]

No pulling on the hook.  Lock on to it, twist it in the right direction to back it out of the tissue and just lift it out.  Very easy with no barb hanging on.