I have deprioritized hook setting. How about you?

[woolleyfooley]

7 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

I set the hook as hard as I can. Into fish, limbs, rocks, weeds, trash, brush. Whatever feels different to me I swing for the fences. From ned rigs and drop shots to T rigged in slop. 

Makes your sig line even funnier! 😂

[Susky River Rat]

@woolleyfooley hook sets are free……till you lose tackle. 

[Bird]

I'm probably only a ( 3 ) on the hook set scale.

I always stay in position with moving baits for a sweep.

Techniques like t-rig, wacky it's more of a vertical sweep after reeling up slack.

Long gone are the days of " swinging for the fences " .

Braid for everything with a short flouro leader on spinning tackle.

 

[MN Fisher]

All depends on the tackle I'm using and where.

 

Finesse - slight sweep and reel set.

Cranks/Jerks - Maybe a 2 or 3 on the 'swing scale'.

Jigs - up to a 5-6 for the stouter hooks.

Frogs - 4...maybe a 5.

Pitch/Punch - swing like I'm trying to put one over the 'Green Monster'.

[Buzzbaiter]

If I’m fishing with open hooks and they run with it, I do a soft reel/sweep. If I’m using open hooks and I just feel a thump, I do a wrist flick. 
 

If it’s an EWG, I jab them.

[BigAngus752]

Ned gets a 1.  Frog or toad in lily pads gets a 9.  Everything else I throw falls somewhere in between.  

[king fisher]

I set the hook hard in to snags, and light in to fish.  I always hook my snags, and miss most of my fish.  

[Swamp Girl]

8 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I set the hook hard in to snags, and light in to fish.  I always hook my snags, and miss most of my fish.  

 

With all ^this^ happening, you still find time to catch DDs, which is why I'm the president of your fan club. 

 

P. S. - Your sense of humor is another reason I'm your fan!

[Rockhopper]

I rarely set a hook with purpose when bass fishing.  Either the fish sets themselves or a gentle pull from me.

[MassYak85]

Depends. Jerkbaits and smaller treble lures just get a light rod sweep. Single hook a harder sweep. Jig hook with weedgaurds or baits with buried hooks I do a reel down and good hard set. 

[txchaser]

My hook sets are based a lot on the setup, hook size, etc. 

 

With that said, the default and far away most reliable hookset is @WRB's reel and sweep, and some version of that works on almost every presentation for me except punching, where I'm pretty vertical and have no slack on braid anyway.

[Skunkmaster-k]

Hooksets are my favorite part of fishing. I fall asleep every night visualizing epic hooksets in fish big enough to fold the rod over and make the line sing. What a feeling. 

[Swamp Girl]

I was reeling and sweeping yesterday morning. Because I was casting such a heavy lure, I was hooking bass a long ways from my canoe and sitting in my canoe means I can't use my legs to set the hook, but reeling and sweeping sure works for me.

[Functional]

[hunterPRO1]

Depends on bait.

frog or jig? gotta hit em hard.

Jerkbait, crankbait? be careful to only use enough pressure to penetrate without tearing a hole.

Everything else is somewhere in between. 

[F14A-B]

Amazing, we now have fishermen who don’t even need to jerk. Or they just wait till the fish swallows a senko or tube.. it’s a crazy thing, timing a hookset..or pull or whatever ye may say 😉🤣

[KP Duty]

On 10/24/2024 at 12:37 PM, Functional said:

"What are you looking at eyebrows?!"  Lol .

 

I'm a mono/copoly/fluoro mainline guy, so I set the hook with authority to overcome line stretch.

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

I am definitely on the low end of the hookset intensity scale. This is by preference, experience, and on purpose. @Swamp Girl to address your inquiry, at or below your level identified. I'm gauging the amount of tension based on the amount of bend in the rod at all times. I try to maintain a 1/3 to 2/3 loading on the fishing rod.

 

I'm a recreational angler that mainly uses ultra lite gear for multiple species year around. So the 4 pound mono and UL fishing rods are my successful solution to angling fun. This involves bass, bluegills, shell crackers, crappie, catfish, and in the cooler months trout. On those special occasions when up in northern AZ, pike, walleye, and perch.

 

I have tried the send it to the moon approach with plenty of disappointment and inconsistent results which is why I've migrated to UL gear and simple keep them pinned approach.

 

Yes, they swim about a bit but they also don't have the explosive startle response when slammed by an aggressive, rude, hookset evoking a panic event. I'm sure some folks deliberately seek that response based on marketing to bass anglers. I'm happy simply catching fish so I'm good just sharing my $0.02 worth of experience. Not trying to change anyone's approach with this information.

 

While my response is not sensational or "intense", it is timely. It is pretty rare I have a deep hook situation as I'm responding as soon as activity is appropriately detected. I simply reel in with a tension enhancement with graceful rod sweep. Because it is a UL rod there is only so much leverage imparted via the rod action and 4 pound mono. The sharp hook (frequently with a smashed barb), good knot, and cooperative fish are the rest of the factors.

 

It is fortunate that most of the bass bites start with them swimming towards the deeper water and generally away from structure so I'll tension up things gradually with enough holding and allow them to continue working in that general direction. As they tire, I'll input more to guide them about to where I can get to yak or in my hands for a hook removal.

 

Also to minimize the loss of support from being in the water, I do what I can to keep them in the water as much as possible. I find the inversion technique also helps keep them from thrashing as I remove the hook. 

 

This is a great discussion on a wonderful forum. Good to read and hear of each approach. Be well, and Cheers!

[wvhunt]

I've never really used a power hookset, but a friend of mine does the huge power hookset.  Several years ago we took a float trip in a canoe.  The entire day I was afraid he was going to turn us over every time he got a bite.

[Crow Horse]

3 hours ago, Fishing_Rod said:

Also to minimize the loss of support from being in the water, I do what I can to keep them in the water as much as possible. I find the inversion technique also helps keep them from thrashing as I remove the hook. 

If I'm understanding correctly, I do the same. I keep the fish in the net (rubberized) and in the water to unhook. Less thrashing around and less stress on the fish.

[Rucksack]

I've also totally depriotized hookset. My water is full of snags. If I swung for the fences every time I felt what might be a tug, I'd be constantly retying after break offs. Everything from trees to old coolers is lurking down there. 

 

My mainline is braid and I mostly run tex-posed soft plastics. I'm rarely missing a fish, but it of course does happen occasionally. However, I'm also not spending all of my time getting steamed about getting hung up from the bank.

 

😅 Though I wish the other anglers on my lake would take the hint. I'm constantly pulling what feels like entire spools of cut off 60 lbs braid out of the water around sunken trees, which I of course find when those braid clumps snag my own bait.

[JHoss]

Seeing as I couldn't hit many home runs when I played high school baseball, I try to make up for it now by swinging for the fences whenever I can.

 

Fishing T Rigs, other texposed baits, jigs, and frogs and I'm shooting for a 10. I d**n near fell out of the boat last weekend hitting a 10" pickerel that ate my T Rig. 

 

Moving single hooks baits I'm usually aiming for a 5 but there's a couple digits of variance based on how hard they hit and how much attention I'm paying. 

 

Maybe a 2 or 3 for spinning rod techniques like a drop shot or wacky. 

 

Flukes are probably the weirdest for me since I fish them texposed on a spinning rod. I'm probably a 6-7 there but trying to be more fast than powerful, so the sweep doesn't tend to be as long.

 

As a converted saltwater guy who used to laugh at the hooksets I saw watching bass fishing on TV, I finally get it. Swinging for the fences is half the fun. 

[woolleyfooley]

On 10/24/2024 at 12:19 PM, Skunkmaster-k said:

Hooksets are my favorite part of fishing. I fall asleep every night visualizing epic hooksets in fish big enough to fold the rod over and make the line sing. What a feeling. 

Agreed. Absolutely love that feeling!

[bottom_dollar]

Never again will I regret not setting the hook hard enough on a fish. Screeching braid and twanging flourocarbon are music to my ears. That being said there are many effective ways to set the hook.