Massive Hooksets

[Captain Phil]

Back in the day the worm hooks we had were terrible at best.  This lead to "cross the eyes" hook sets which lead to broken rods and me falling out of the boat twice in one morning.   With today's hooks and no-stretch lines, the weight of the fish alone will set most hooks.  Snelling your hooks will make lost fish a thing of the past. 

[Woody B]

5 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

Back in the day the worm hooks we had were terrible at best.

 

The terrible hooks coupled with a 5 1/2 foot rod required a fall out of the boat hookset.  

 

I know it's not necessary today with modern equipment but I still swing for the fences most of the time when fishing single hook baits.   I also over do the hook set if I get a surprise strike.   A few weeks ago a 10 inch spotted bass hit my t rigged worm right next to the boat.  I jerked so hard when I felt it I flipped the bass into the boat.  It had the worm by the tail, not near the hook.  It didn't even pull the hook through the worm.   

 

I need to get an action camera.  We could all laugh at some of my hook sets.  (and other things too)

[Smokinal]

I've always had a weak hookset. That's one of the reasons I've used braid for the last 30 years.

[PressuredFishing]

Depends on the gauge wire of the hook. No industry standard, just remember  "ThE PrOs" like to overpower the fish and jet ski them in, even on finesse equiptment, so everything "ThE prOs" influence the market to be power overkill oriented.

[slonezp]

I can't set the hook on a jig anymore, since I tore up my shoulder. Haven't been able to in 10 years. Missing fish is one thing. Being ridiculed by my son for my hookset, or lack there of, is priceless. 

[WRB]

The Japanese sticky sharp hooks were a game changer. Prior to the mid 80’s we used either Eagle Claw or Mustad bronze worm and jig hooks. We had to sharpen the new hooks with battery operated hook hones, standard procedure.

Using the shorter stiff rods the typical hook set was straight hitting your chest swing, it got the job done. 

Broken pedestal seats falling asrh over teakettle backwards was the indicator maybe the hook set was a little too massive?.

Tom

 

 

[CrashVector]

9 hours ago, T-Billy said:

That sounds like something a n00b would say. ?

Sure.

[Kdizzle]

When people demand jigs be armed with hooks that wouldn't be out of place on a tuna boat, you're going to have to swing pretty hard to penetrate that much steel into a fish's mouth.  

 

Youtube influencer culture and its heavy bias towards brohs doing broh things is having a pretty big effect on the industries move in that direction.  If you are fishing open water with little or no vegetation, just rocks and boulders, and you are using a heavy action rod with a jig with a heavy wire 5/0 hook and giant weed guard, you deserve to be made fun of, because the person who taught you to catch bass is an idiot, and by extension you've allowed yourself to become one.  And yes I've seen that exact scenario several times.  

[volzfan59]

I use the sweep set most of the time.

[MidwestBassAttack]

The last time I made a massive hook set, I put too much faith in a fart. 
 

Needless to say my buddies were laughing hysterically while I waddled off into the woods.

[T-Billy]

On 10/18/2022 at 7:38 PM, PressuredFishing said:

Depends on the gauge wire of the hook. No industry standard, just remember  "ThE PrOs" like to overpower the fish and jet ski them in, even on finesse equiptment, so everything "ThE prOs" influence the market to be power overkill oriented.

I think the pro's use the tackle they feel will do the best job of converting bites into fish in the boat.

On 10/19/2022 at 6:08 PM, Kdizzle said:

If you are fishing open water with little or no vegetation, just rocks and boulders, and you are using a heavy action rod with a jig with a heavy wire 5/0 hook and giant weed guard, you deserve to be made fun of, because the person who taught you to catch bass is an idiot, and by extension you've allowed yourself to become one.

Sometimes I'll fish heavy cover and adjacent structure in open water with the same bait, on my flippin stick, with straight braid. Guess I'm an idiot. My low IQ is probably the reason I can't understand why some of you "experts" feel the need to call people names for doing things differently than you.

[PressuredFishing]

On 10/19/2022 at 3:08 PM, Kdizzle said:

When people demand jigs be armed with hooks that wouldn't be out of place on a tuna boat, you're going to have to swing pretty hard to penetrate that much steel into a fish's mouth.  

Yup, I pretty much gave up on finding good usdm jigs, picked up japanese jigs that I love with lighter wire hooks, I'll also just use a punch skirt with a owner j light hook for a "jig profile".

 

Ive concluded lighter line and lighter gauge hooks with lighter lure weight prevents fish from shaking off or throwing a bait.

 

To put it bluntly, I would have more confidence landing a 10lb bass on a mosquito hook with 6lb line compared to a swimbait with 56x stout trebles on 50lb braid or 20lb mono. 

 

[RDB]

7 hours ago, T-Billy said:

I think the pro's use the tackle they feel will do the best job of converting bites into fish in the boat.

That’s the difference between people who actually make a living fishing and those who think they could.  There is so much to gain with a little open mindedness but that is not natural for fishermen.  I do get a chuckle out of many of the responses on this site…there are some doozies.

[whitwolf]

On a jig, worm, beaver bait. I cross their eyes. Physics be darned that's how It is. 

 

Crankbaits,  chatterbaits, etc., it's  more of a sweep set.

 

In the end, if you spend enough time on the water you'll figure out what works for you.

[whitwolf]

11 minutes ago, RDB said:

That’s the difference between people who actually make a living fishing and those who think they could.  There is so much to gain with a little open mindedness but that is not natural for fishermen.  I do get a chuckle out of many of the responses on this site…there are some doozies.

You really should have stopped "open mindedness but that is not natural for fisherman". 

 

Your last sentence comes off as arrogant and close minded. I don't think you meant it to be and I have enjoyed reading your posts in this thread.  

[RDB]

1 hour ago, whitwolf said:

You really should have stopped "open mindedness but that is not natural for fisherman". 

 

Your last sentence comes off as arrogant and close minded. I don't think you meant it to be and I have enjoyed reading your posts in this thread.  

Fair enough…I could see how it could look arrogant but I think my point was the opposite of closed minded.  I think you will rarely see me speak in absolutes when discussing bass fishing because IMO, there are very few.  I have also had my fair share of arguments here, most of which are with people clutching to closed minded views.  It does bother me when I see people speaking in absolutes and discounting alternate view points.  Considering this site is full of people looking to learn, I think it does a disservice to the community.

 

Edit:  Can you honestly read through some of these posts and say you didn’t get a chuckle or that there are some doozies?  I’m not going to point out any posters but look at some of the extremes people use to try to make a point.

[Columbia Craw]

On 10/18/2022 at 5:06 PM, WRB said:

The Japanese sticky sharp hooks were a game changer. Prior to the mid 80’s we used either Eagle Claw or Mustad bronze worm and jig hooks. We had to sharpen the new hooks with battery operated hook hones, standard procedure.

Using the shorter stiff rods the typical hook set was straight hitting your chest swing, it got the job done. 

Broken pedestal seats falling asrh over teakettle backwards was the indicator maybe the hook set was a little too massive?.

Tom

 

 

Tom’s account is no exaggeration!  Every hook had to be sharpened  regardless if it was new.  I too, broke a seat pedestal on my old Terry Basser.  Why anyone feels the need to run to to the back deck as part of the hook set is beyond me?  Makes for good television I guess.  Maybe fishing with a limp Richard rod requires over compensation.  

[PaulVE64]

As A-Jay said....

 

to compel compliance

[T-Billy]

6 hours ago, Columbia Craw said:

Why anyone feels the need to run to to the back deck as part of the hook set is beyond me?  Makes for good television I guess.  Maybe fishing with a limp Richard rod requires over compensation

I've never needed to go that far, but I often take a step or two when a fish knocks a bunch of slack in my line with a moving bait. 

[islandbass]

On 10/18/2022 at 10:05 AM, Captain Phil said:

Back in the day the worm hooks we had were terrible at best.  This lead to "cross the eyes" hook sets which lead to broken rods and me falling out of the boat twice in one morning.   With today's hooks and no-stretch lines, the weight of the fish alone will set most hooks.  Snelling your hooks will make lost fish a thing of the past. 

Sounds like Gospel… Let us all say, “Amen.” ??

[RDB]

We can carry on about hook sharpness but that is not the only reason for hard hook sets.  It’s also about gaining control of the fish in heavy cover.  I would suggest gaining a degree of control is the primary reason, not hook penetration.

[A-Jay]

On 10/17/2022 at 11:48 PM, Columbia Craw said:

As long as you take up the slack, regardless how, you’re good to go with the today’s hooks.

 

1 hour ago, Columbia Craw said:

  Why anyone feels the need to run to to the back deck as part of the hook set is beyond me?  Makes for good television I guess.  Maybe fishing with a limp Richard rod requires over compensation.  

 

I've done this a number of times.

Usually it's a case where a decent bass has my bait and is running at me.

Especially when my rig is moving forward at the time of the strike.

So I'm just trying to keep her tight and pinned until she finally changes direction.

Or jumps which is when I usually lose the fish . . .

https://youtu.be/19PNWrSRWX8?t=253

A-Jay

[Catt]

1 hour ago, RDB said:

We can carry on about hook sharpness but that is not the only reason for hard hook sets.  It’s also about gaining control of the fish in heavy cover.  I would suggest gaining a degree of control is the primary reason, not hook penetration.

 

C'est Fini (that's it, finished)

[WRB]

Look up “massive” it isn’t normal it’s gigantic.

Take a few minutes and actually watch Greg Hackney’s video posted in the thread. Greg learned you can lead a bass out of cover without making a hook set! The opposite happens when you try to jerk their face off, the bass reacts by running into the cover, the opposite direction you want them to run.

Hook point is so critical you miss strikes without very sharpe hooks that stick bass mouth tissue allowing strike detection.

However your technique is the hook bard needs to penetrate into the mouth tissue, then you need to control the bass by using tackle strong enough to perform that task.

Tom

 

[RDB]

People are going to stick to their guns come hell or high water.  To those wanting to learn, apply some logic and decide for yourself.  There is plenty of underwater footage and thousands of pro testimonials to help you decide.  Also, Hackney was talking about shaking fish off during practice…another case of using an example that doesn’t apply to try to disprove others views.  He has spoken about that experience a lot as have many pro’s on numerous occasions.  If you think you can’t gain some control on a fish by getting their head turned and coming toward you, I don’t know what to say.

 

P.S.  I never said hook point wasn’t critical.  If you go back to my first post, I agreed with you and added control as an additional reason.  And why are we now reverting to defining what words mean to make points.  I think we are all pretty much on the same page when discussing what big hook sets look like.