Rod Position

[papajoe222]

A little background that led to this post.  For most of this season, I only landed 50% of my fish. I started questioning my line/rod choice for the presentation I used, but knew they weren't the problem, I was.  I had wrist surgery done last week and it dawned on my that the reason for my dismal hook-up ratio was in how I was holding the rod.  Normally when cranking or using a buzzbait, my rod tip is down and pointed toward the lure. Because of wrist discomfort, unaware to me,I'd been holding the rod tip angled to the side. That one factor reduced the amount of line I moved on a hook-set and was likely the reason for my misses.  Because I always reel the slack out of my line with Texas rigged plastic presentations, I wasn't doing that and my hook-up ratio didn't suffer. 

So, for you guys that are having problems with fish becoming unbuttoned, take a look at your rod position.  It just may be the easy fix to your dilemma.

[Mike L]

Yep, one of the most overlooked hook setting techniques.
We read about it all the time on here. 
Suggested causes always range from hooks not being sharp enough, to line has too much or too little stretch, to questions about the action of the rod fir the technique being used. 

 

I remember a while back there was a thread about someone questioning why he couldn’t stay hooked up and someone mentioned this very thing and the OP seemed like he was insulted. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Tatsu Dave]

I know that if I push non-stop reeling for several days it will stiffen up my wrist where it got shattered in a fall 50 years ago. I begin to unconsciously go to the side and change hookset direction and power, best to take a break now and then and let the wrist rest. 

[WRB]

Rod tip location varies with different presentations and lures.

Buzz baits you want to plane on top of the water so keep the rod tip upwards to lift line off the water. You don’t need instant hook setting with top water lures.

Crank baits I keep the rod tip down rod about a 45 degree angle from the lure. This allows the lure and rod tip to vibrates and load up during the retrieve initially setting the hook followed by/a rod sweep.

Jigs and worms I keep the rod tip down and pointed at the lure, moving the with a combination of reeling and lifting the rod top to ease the lure over obstacle or shake it free from snags. Hook set are a combination of reeling and rod sweep?

Tom

[A-Jay]

Interesting topic ~ 

Being able to go back and see exactly what I'm doing on the water has been very helpful.

GoPro.

This may be another example of that.

With spinning gear (vertical drop shot & most Topwater applications)

hooksets are routinely vertical.

Not something I am conscious of, just happens that way. 

 

But with casting gear, regardless of the technique or presentation,

my hooksets are far more to the side than vertical.

Seems like a 50/50 mix of side ways and perhaps upward @45 degrees.

 

 

Rarely is the blank pointing skyward or high sticking. 

Not saying either one is right or wrong, just that this is what works for me. 

I will add that I am fortunate in that my wrists, arms & shoulders are all in good working order. 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

[Mike L]

There is no “right” way. 
Suggested? Sure, but one can only suggest what they know. 
 

Nobody starts out knowing how to do anything, it’s trial and error and taking from another to tweak our natural effort while trying to overcome any physical limitation.  
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[fin]

4 hours ago, WRB said:

Jigs and worms I keep the rod tip down and pointed at the lure

For soft baits, if you are pointing your rod directly at your lure, aren’t you missing the vibration that your rod picks up? I can’t feel anything with the rod pointed at the lure, it’s got to be just slightly angled off to the side.

 

Maybe the difference is you keep a finger on the line. I can’t do that with a spinning reel.

[WRB]

Pointing the rod at the lure is really towards the lure doesn’t mean a straight line, there is always a line angle. 

I only use spinning for finesse presentations like slip and drop shot. Drop shot is vertical slip shot is horizontal in both presentations lure movement are via the rod movement.

You are right and lose feedback with a spinning rod/reel regardless how you hold it.

I use my index finger tip to feel line movement with both casting and spinning reels.

Tom

[Catt]

My rod position is all the place 

 

Moving lures I'm guiding them in, around & through cover. I'll raise or lower the tip changing the lures depth.

 

Texas Rigs & Jig-n-Craws I'm Old School, rod tip is around 10-10:30. I tend to short stroke both up off the bottom & following it back down with the rod tip. 

[Mike L]

33 minutes ago, Catt said:

My rod position is all the place 

 

Moving lures I'm guiding them in, around & through cover. I'll raise or lower the tip changing the lures depth.

 

Texas Rigs & Jig-n-Craws I'm Old School, rod tip is around 10-10:30. I tend to short stroke both up of the bottom & following it down with the rod tip. 

Ditto

Been doing that way for so long I don’t even think about it. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[papajoe222]

I find Tom's comment about having the rod tip up for buzzbaits interesting as that is the way I'd fished them for years, but I also used braid and didn't need to move the rod tip much to set the hook.  I use a high speed reel spooled with mono for them now and I've migrated to a much lower rod position. I still wait until I feel a fish's weight, or see the line moving off before I set the hook, but as with most topwater presentations, I just wait for the rod to start loading up rather than dropping the rod tip and reeling the slack before setting the hook.

My hook-set for cranking is similar to A-Jay's only I sweep back to the side and slightly upward.  Moving as much line as possible on any hook-set is just as important as quickness and power. The short, broomstick worm rods we used back in the 70's and 80's have been replaced by longer rods for that very reason. 

[MassYak85]

This is interesting because I always hold the rod tip slightly to the side or slightly up just as an extra cushion for aggressive strikes. But I also use mostly braid so having that cushion helps. I connect instantly with the fish as soon as I start a hookset because it doesn't stretch. But I could see where mono you might want that extra bit of distance to swing. 

[Rich12]

In my hand.