Bass coming off swimbait top hook

[C5Longhorn]

The last 2 days I've had 6 fish throw the hook on me using Berkley Powerbait Pogy 3 in. swimbaits with a top hook setup.  I'm trying to determine if I'm doing something wrong or pick up any techniques to improve my odds of landing them.  It's possible maybe the hooks that come with the 3 in shad are too small for the bass.  I have managed to land 4 over the 2 days with the biggest being 3.25 lbs.  My hooksets don't look like I see on TV with a huge power hookset, rather I feel the tension and naturally pull back to set the hook.  I'm reeling in the fish some, before it then gets free.  It is not snapping my line usually.

 

I'm bank fishing on ponds and my gear is as follows:

 

Dobyns Fury 703 Rod

Shimano Curado DC reel

30 lb. braid with a mono leader

 

Lure:  Berkley Powerbait Pogy Swimming Shad

 

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Rick

[Bluebasser86]

They just get off sometimes. I don't lose many fish on those but most of what I catch with them are wipers and white bass. I fish mine on a medium spinning rod and 20lb braid fwiw.

[Nelson Delaney]

Hook still sharp?  Sometimes hitting them with a file makes a difference 

[Columbia Craw]

Your not doing anything wrong.  Sometimes bass come at the bait straight from the rear and fold the paddle tail forward and over the point of the hook preventing the required penetration past the barb.  

[jimmyjoe]

1 hour ago, C5Longhorn said:

  It is not snapping my line usually.

 

   You mean that sometimes it  IS  snapping your line?  I was going to question whether you had the drag set high enough or not, but I guess now I won't!  ?

 

   Try holding your rod tip low, as in almost at water level. And hold the rod at about a 45 degree angle to the fish. Both of these tend to even out the acrobatics that some fish exhibit.

    I've not had that trouble with single hooks, although I did have it with trebles. Those two things helped me quite a bit.

   Good luck!                   jj

[Hammer 4]

1 hour ago, Nelson Delaney said:

Hook still sharp?  Sometimes hitting them with a file makes a difference 

This ^^^^^^^^. Take a file to the hooks when in doubt.

[Derek1]

One Moe for sharpen the hooks. 

More lol

[Deleted account]

The sharp hook thing is key, you might want to bend the point up just a tad, and finally, the Fury 703c doesn't lock out as it loads up, as most "fast" rods do. Reel up the slack and load the rod before setting the hook with some authority, and keep the fish coming. Changes in direction can give a fish a chance to shake or introduce slack long enough to get loose, specially with braid and no leader. I had more fish than usual come unbuttoned when I first got a Fury 703c. Lastly some fish are going to get off no matter what, and some are not going to get off no matter what, just part of fishing.

[WRB]

Reel several cranks quickly then firm rod sweep while reeling.

The hook looks like a heavy wire, need more force to move the soft plastic in the basses mouth. If the hook scratches your finger nail it’s sharp enough. Hook hone is better then a file imo.

 

[ironbjorn]

I've used those baits and they're total bass catchers, but the hooks are an abomination. That's your issue.

[A-Jay]

37 minutes ago, WRB said:

Reel several cranks quickly then firm rod sweep while reeling.

The hook looks like a heavy wire, need more force to move the soft plastic in the basses mouth. If the hook scratches your finger nail it’s sharp enough. Hook hone is better then a file imo.

 

I agree with @WRB ~

And even though you're fishing from shore, @C5Longhorn

while fighting the bass, perhaps try to keep your rod tip down.

We do it to discourage the bass from jumping, which is when we lose some swimbait fish.

Many times there's nothing we can do but High sticking them

seems to encourage the air show which like I said,

often doesn't end well for us. 

When I manage to get it right it can look something like this  . . . 

https://youtu.be/lydc75yYYqQ?t=937

 

A-Jay

[roadwarrior]

Geez...

You are everyone's hero!

 

[C5Longhorn]

Thanks all for the suggestions.  I appreciate all the tips.  I going to sharpening the hooks and I will continue to have the rod pointed down. I am starting to really think some of the issue is the hook size in these baits.  I get the feeling I'm hooking the bass, but it's not a good hookset or the hook has only penetrated a small amount of soft tissue, so the fish is able to get off the hook after I start reeling in.

 

I also agree, there are probably better swimbait/hook combos.  I'm going to start researching a different combo to use.  The forage in my pond is shad, so the bass do really strike these lures.

 

Rick

[928JLH]

Bass mouths are much harder and tougher to penetrate in the winter month vs summer. Touch up your hooks. As said above reel a few turns and sweep the rod about waist high. Put some stank on the sweeping hookset 

[A-Jay]

33 minutes ago, 928JLH said:

Bass mouths are much harder and tougher to penetrate in the winter month vs summer. Touch up your hooks. As said above reel a few turns and sweep the rod about waist high. Put some stank on the sweeping hookset 

This is very interesting.

I have not heard of this seasonally variable mouth toughness in bass. Always figured it was sort of the same all year.  

A-Jay

[txchaser]

11 hours ago, BassWhole! said:

Reel up the slack and load the rod before setting the hook with some authority, and keep the fish coming

 

7 hours ago, WRB said:

Reel several cranks quickly then firm rod sweep while reeling.

The hook looks like a heavy wire, need more force to move the soft plastic in the basses mouth.

 

3 hours ago, C5Longhorn said:

I am starting to really think some of the issue is the hook size in these baits.  I get the feeling I'm hooking the bass, but it's not a good hookset

 

3 hours ago, 928JLH said:

Put some stank on the sweeping hookset 

 

Set the hook like it is a thick hook (which it is) being fished on braid (which it is), and don't let up. 

 

[928JLH]

4 hours ago, A-Jay said:

This is very interesting.

I have not heard of this seasonally variable mouth toughness in bass. Always figured it was sort of the same all year.  

A-Jay

Definitely a notable difference from water temps from high 40s during winter and 100 summertime in AZ. I believe Justin Rackley 

(LakeForkGuy) has some videos on youtube talking about Texas power plant lake summer bass having softer mouths. Surface temps there reach 100+ too.