My hook-sets suck.

[purpurite]

Background, I have been fishing for about 13 years, give or take, as I was a late starter. I have been bass fishing 100% of that time with spinning reels. This is the first year I have used baitcasters, using a spinning reel only on a Ned rig setup where the weeds will allow it. My main go-to rigs are Texas with a craw or grub and a 3/0 or 4/0 EWG or I will throw a wacky rig using O-rings on stickbaits. If the water is clean enough, I will also sometimes throw lipless crankbaits or even Whopper Ploppers.

 

For the sake of this post, let's focus on what I am throwing 75% of the time no matter where I fish—baitcaster with Texas rigs with a 1/8th oz pinned bullet weight on 40lb braid with a 12lb fluoro leader. Sometimes this changes up, but generally this is my go-to just about everywhere, at least to start with. Oh, the rod primarily used on this setup is an Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0, 7’ medium heavy. 

 

My hook-sets absolutely suck. I am stuck in my own head right now, because I feel like I'm either trying to set the hook too soon, or possibly too late and the fish has already spit the bait. Too hard, or maybe not hard enough. Straight back, or sometimes sideways. Left side? Right side? My drag is too loose, or maybe it's too tight. I donno.

 

I spent 3 hours on the water this morning, and had 3 catches—all a pound or so. All with the hooks pinned in the side of the jaw (however 2 on the wacky and one on a Ned rig). Hit none on the Texas rig today. I lost 3 or 4 to bad hook-sets. I feel like I went from an experienced bass angler to a complete beginner in the last couple of months.

 

HELP! I need a re-set or maybe a mental checklist that I can go through to square my hook-sets up. This summer has been so hard to catch anything, I hate to throw away any bites I am getting. And now I feel like I have the yips with my hook-sets. I'm completely lost with my baitcaster hook-sets. Is it the rod? Should I be using different hooks?

 

Anyone have any tips?

 

 

[Sphynx]

Before I would feel comfortable suggesting anything, how exactly do you know it's a hook set issue that caused the missed fish and not some other factor, or is this mostly based on intuitive guessing? 

[WRB]

Wacky rig stick baits like 5”& 6” Senko you don’t need 3/0-4/0 EWG hooks. I use Owner Size 1Jungle Weedless wacky hook.

Texas rigged soft plastics craws, grubs and worms I use a hook that allows 2X the plastic diameter and skin hook them.

Not a fan of pegging a bullet weight unless punching heavy cover. The sliding bullet weight allows separation from the soft plastic while sinking allowing better strike feedback.

If you like off set hooks use a wide gap round bend in lieu of the EWG.

Using 12 lb FC you have about 10 lb knot strength. Set the drag 1/3 the knot strength or 3+ lbs and trust it.

Bass don’t have hands so if you feel the lure move set the hook. 

Hook sets are something each angler develops, timing is a changing factor, sooner is better then later most of the time.

I prefer to have my rod tip down with any slack taken up before firmly setting the hook. Sharp premium hooks are very important.

Tom

[T-Billy]

^Sound Advice^  Try not to raise your rod tip or forearms past about 10 o'clock when you're moving that T rig. This keeps you in position to set the hook as soon as you feel the bite with braid. With mono or flouro, I always drop the rod tip and reel up the slack to compensate for line stretch before cracking them. 

[Jig Man]

I didn’t read where you described just what you do when you get a bite.  Can you explain from bite to hook set where the rod tip is and what you do?

[dodgeguy]

If your feeling multiple fast machine gun taps its not a bass it's panfish and you'll never hook them. Bass is a distinct thump or dead weight on the line.if using a jig you may feel him suck it in then the jaw shut. 

[Bankbeater]

When it was really hot here I found that the bass were short striking the bait.  It felt like I had the bass hooked and then nothing.  I switched over from a t-rig to a 3" or 4" finesse worm.  When the bass inhale that small bait then the hook goes in too.

[dodgeguy]

11 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

When it was really hot here I found that the bass were short striking the bait.  It felt like I had the bass hooked and then nothing.  I switched over from a t-rig to a 3" or 4" finesse worm.  When the bass inhale that small bait then the hook goes in too.

I've had that happen with worms where the hook never gets in the mouth.

[rtwvumtneer6]

In your case, knowing what a bite feels like and experience detecting a bite is to your advantage.  You're also getting bites, so you're doing something right!

 

I would suggest reeling down to remove excess slack in your line before you hit them.  This will put you in a good position to set the hook, and help you to connect as soon as soon as you swing.  

 

 

[WRB]

During the spawn a bedding bass may bite a soft plastic with it’s lips to kill or move the intruder. Bass don’t often bite soft plastics with their lips, they simply engulf the entire critter and kill it by crunching it between the tongue and mouth crunchers. The exception can be Smallmouth or Spotted bass trying to declaw a crawdad by biting the claws.

Looking at hooks you see several designs trying to resolve the problem of soft plastics slipping down the hook shank filling the hook gap. Plastic covering the hook point is the biggest problem getting a good hook set.

Tom

[cyclops2]

The biggest difference is........... How many times all of us have caught & released that bass or any other fish.  After several OOWWSS / they just swim up and ONLY nip where a tail end closest to them is.  Why I get more hook ups with a single hook. a small # 6 or 8. But that SOON wears off. Catching fish is not always easier. Why I now am doing white & black rubber worms when I get loads of bumps from 3 to 6" fish.  A lot in fall feed areas.If there are 50 6" & 1 big SMB in a area ?  Guess who is causing bumps & no hook ups ? 

There is a good reason why PRO BAS loves Clayton.  They race into Lake Ontario AND catch ......never caught before BIG bass........... DUUHH 

 

We can all catch those hungry VIRGINS just as fast & big.  

[Koz]

Are you missing on the initial strike or are you reeling in the bass after the strike and it slips the hook?

[Catt]

Straight shank hooks & quite overthinking it!

[Koz]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

During the spawn a bedding bass may bite a soft plastic with it’s lips to kill or move the intruder.

 

I once had a bass grab a Whopper Plopper 130 between the treble hooks, carry it off, and drop it.  I walked over to that spot and sure enough there was a bed there. Still, crazy to see it grab the bait between the trebles.

[diehardbassfishing]

4 hours ago, T-Billy said:

always drop the rod tip and reel up the slack to compensate for line stretch before cracking them. 

 

Yea! This!

After seeing success in hook-ups with my guides using this technique, I'm sold. Never looked back.

 

Karl

[purpurite]

16 minutes ago, Catt said:

Straight shank hooks & quit overthinking it!

I'm definitely over-thinking it, for sure.

 

19 minutes ago, Koz said:

Are you missing on the initial strike or are you reeling in the bass after the strike and it slips the hook?

Well, it has been both. I'd say it's been 50/50. Today I lost 3 within 20' of the shoreline. I think as the fish collected weed and everything got heavier, they were able to shake off of a weak hook. At last that's what I told myself after it happened.

 

2 hours ago, WRB said:

During the spawn a bedding bass may bite a soft plastic with its lips to kill or move the intruder. Bass don’t often bite soft plastics with their lips, they simply engulf the entire critter and kill it by crunching it between the tongue and mouth crunchers.

 

Plastic covering the hook point is the biggest problem getting a good hook set.

Weedy pond, and I was skinning the hook tip in the back of the craw/grub. I didn't have setting issues with the spinning Ned setup or the wacky setup with the round worm hook. I think my sets were likely too soft with the T-rig to pop the hook through the bait and embed in the jaw.

 

2 hours ago, rtwvumtneer6 said:

In your case, knowing what a bite feels like and experience detecting a bite is to your advantage.  You're also getting bites, so you're doing something right!

 

I would suggest reeling down to remove excess slack in your line before you hit them.  This will put you in a good position to set the hook, and help you to connect as soon as soon as you swing.  

Thanks. Three weeks ago in the same spot, same pond, I hit 14 between 1 pound and 2.5 pounds. I also lost about a half dozen the same way I did today. Went home dwelling on the ones I lost and not the ones I caught. 

 

3 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

I've had that happen with worms where the hook never gets in the mouth.

I think this is definitely happening.

 

3 hours ago, Bankbeater said:

When it was really hot here I found that the bass were short striking the bait.  It felt like I had the bass hooked and then nothing.  I switched over from a t-rig to a 3" or 4" finesse worm.  When the bass inhale that small bait then the hook goes in too.

I had success with the Ned/Wacky, and I would have gone exclusively finesse, but the weeds were so bad and I was tired of pulling the crap off of the bait after every cast. My catches came on the drops of the Ned and the wacky rig, so there's definitely something to the smaller worm. I had a hit on the very first drop of a Z-man 4" TRD at the end of the day.

 

3 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

If you're feeling multiple fast machine gun taps its not a bass it's panfish and you'll never hook them. Bass is a distinct thump or dead weight on the line. if using a jig you may feel him suck it in then the jaw shuts. 

You know, I never knew that. After 13 years of doing this, I still feel like a novice sometimes. That's a great piece of information.

 

5 hours ago, WRB said:

Texas rigged soft plastics craws, grubs and worms I use a hook that allows 2X the plastic diameter and skin hook them.

 

Not a fan of pegging a bullet weight unless punching heavy cover. The sliding bullet weight allows separation from the soft plastic while sinking allowing better strike feedback.

 

If you like off set hooks use a wide gap round bend in lieu of the EWG.

 

Using 12 lb FC you have about 10 lb knot strength. Set the drag 1/3 the knot strength or 3+ lbs and trust it.

 

Bass don’t have hands so if you feel the lure move set the hook. 

 

Hook sets are something each angler develops, timing is a changing factor, sooner is better then later most of the time.

 

I prefer to have my rod tip down with any slack taken up before firmly setting the hook. Sharp premium hooks are very important.

Seriously great advice. I will try wide gap round hooks, for sure, and I'm going to lose the peg. It's been helping in the heavy weeds I have been fishing in, but it might also be causing some of my issues. I'm also definitely not attacking the hook-set quick enough.

 

5 hours ago, Sphynx said:

Before I would feel comfortable suggesting anything, how exactly do you know it's a hook set issue that caused the missed fish and not some other factor, or is this mostly based on intuitive guessing? 

It's likely a lot of factors, and I'm mostly educated guessing. I'm way over thinking it, first of all. I think I'm probably using hooks that are too heavy duty for the size of the baits and tougher to pop through the skinned tip and then the lip. I'm waiting too long to set the hook. Most importantly, I now believe I am setting it mushy and not a quick jab. I reel in the slack, dip the tip and then my "snap" is more of a mushy pull. This is likely making everything else worse than it should be.

 

I truly appreciate everyone's input. I'm going to go down a hook size or two and try a wide-gap round bend. I'm going to ratchet up my drag and increase the gauge of the leader, as I think it's been way too light on the baitcasters. I'm also going to focus on quick, sharp and decisive sets the split second I feel the first thump (I think I've been really late on my sets for the most part). I know it's just going to be a matter of touch, and I feel like I'm getting better with the baitcasters every time I go out.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, digdug24 said:

I'm also definitely not attacking the hook-set quick enough.

 

Think about this ?

 

There's a length of time from when the bass inhales your worm to when the bass exhales you worm.

 

If your hookset is during the first half of that length of time the bass's mouth is firmly closed. If you hookset is during the last half of that length of time the bass's mouth is beginning to open.

 

[David 7]

Easy solution to this, circle hooks. Just reel it in.

[QED]

7 hours ago, WRB said:

[stuff deleted}

 

Hook sets are something each angler develops, timing is a changing factor, sooner is better then later most of the time.

I prefer to have my rod tip down with any slack taken up before firmly setting the hook. Sharp premium hooks are very important.

Tom

 

This is excellent advice.  Except perhaps for top water hollow frog baits, it is best to develop an automatic, immediate hook set reaction to perceived fish bites.  This requires practice.

[Choporoz]

Great advice above.  Couple other things to consider regarding hooks.  Make sure those points are sharp!  Also...I use 40# braid to leader with craws and beavers/bugs quite a bit.  When I switched to lighter wire hooks, specifically,  Owner Twistlock Light, my hook up rate went way up.

[Tatsu Dave]

8 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Great advice above.  Couple other things to consider regarding hooks.  Make sure those points are sharp!  Also...I use 40# braid to leader with craws and beavers/bugs quite a bit.  When I switched to lighter wire hooks, specifically,  Owner Twistlock Light, my hook up rate went way up.

Heres some more excellent info ^ lighter wire hooks make a difference and sharpen them after fishing with them a spell. Hone or file which ever you are confidant with.........

[Biglittle8]

14 hours ago, WRB said:

Wacky rig stick baits like 5”& 6” Senko you don’t need 3/0-4/0 EWG hooks. I use Owner Size 1Jungle Weedless wacky hook.

Texas rigged soft plastics craws, grubs and worms I use a hook that allows 2X the plastic diameter and skin hook them.

Not a fan of pegging a bullet weight unless punching heavy cover. The sliding bullet weight allows separation from the soft plastic while sinking allowing better strike feedback.

If you like off set hooks use a wide gap round bend in lieu of the EWG.

Using 12 lb FC you have about 10 lb knot strength. Set the drag 1/3 the knot strength or 3+ lbs and trust it.

Bass don’t have hands so if you feel the lure move set the hook. 

Hook sets are something each angler develops, timing is a changing factor, sooner is better then later most of the time.

I prefer to have my rod tip down with any slack taken up before firmly setting the hook. Sharp premium hooks are very important.

Tom

This is it☝️you are going to miss fish, you can limit that by having your gear set up right and making sure your hooks are sharp. In my opinion, a lot misses are due to gear issues. Also, the technic you are using will determine how you set the hook. Drop shot and wacky on a finesse rod for me is a different set than a texas rig. 

[ironbjorn]

7 hours ago, David 7 said:

Easy solution to this, circle hooks. Just reel it in.

Doesn't at all help with Texas Rigs or jigs or really anything at all other than a wacky rig or dropshot. It doesn't help you get better at setting the hook by avoiding setting the hook and most techniques.

[NathanDLTH]

When it comes to spinning rods I struggle with my hook sets at times, but what I’ve done to change that. This happens especially with shaky heads, instead of having it Texas rigged, I’ll skin hook it on the worm I’m throwing. Also using a medium powered rod has helped too. 
 

In terms of Texas rigs on a baitcaster, braid to fluorocarbon helps, I run 30-50lb depending on what I’m fishing for cover. From there the drag is locked down, I don’t want any slip. Depending on the bait and how far the hook has to go for penetration helps me determine if I need to skin hook the bait or leave it in the plastic. Rod-I’m typically using a medium heavy, so there is plenty of power when I go to set the hook, plus the braid helps because there isn’t any stretch. 

[jbrew73]

Try round bend or straight shaft hooks. I could not get ewg to work for me.