BangOLure Landing Percentage

[JHoss]

Looking for advice on upping my landing percentage with the Bagley BangOLure. I have a ton of confidence that I'll get bit when I'm throwing them, but no confidence the fish makes it in the boat. I've tried countless rod, reel, and line combos. I've tried different hooks. I have fish throw the bait when they're jumping and when they're underwater. The only thing I can think of that I haven't tried is switching to braid split rings. Before I do that, has anyone else found the winning setup or trick for landing fish on these things? 

[F14A-B]

Using spinning? You gotta play these fish.. is this the balsa version? 
 

What rod action are you using? Need more information. I use to throw LC pointers on baitcasting gear, rarely lost fish. Same with Bomber long A. I use Spro now mostly when I’m throwing suspending type baits. 

[JHoss]

13 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

Using spinning? You gotta play these fish.. is this the balsa version? 
 

What rod action are you using? Need more information. I use to throw LC pointers on baitcasting gear, rarely lost fish. Same with Bomber long A. I use Spro now mostly when I’m throwing suspending type baits. 

I've tried M and MH from Mod to Fast in both casting and spinning rods. I've thrown them on straight braid, braid with a leader, mono, copolymer, and probably even straight fluoro.

 

Yes, its the balsa version. I wasn't aware they made them in anything else. 

 

I've tried horsing them in and I've tried babying them in. Seems like if I horse them in, I pull the hooks and if I baby them, they jump and throw it or headshake under water and throw it. 

 

I don't have these issues with any other treble hook bait. 

[WRB]

Change the hooks!

Tom

[Dwight Hottle]

Switch to Owner ZoWire hooks STX-38ZN series & increase the hook size one size bigger than what it comes with stock. Use a sweep set hook set with a somewhat loose drag & keep pressure on them until they are in the net. 

[F14A-B]

I always used an A C Shiner back in the day.. on a medium light spinning rod w regular stren (years ago) when I do throw a Rapala # 11 now I’m still going ML spinning or even a 7’ light spinning rod.. 

[FishTank]

11 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

Switch to Owner ZoWire hooks STX-38ZN series & increase the hook size one size bigger than what it comes with stock. Use a sweep set hook set with a somewhat loose drag & keep pressure on them until they are in the net. 

 

This a good hook. 

 

Fish are going to jump unless you keep them pinned. Having a moderate to moderate fast rod and some line with a little give helps but it sometimes comes down to skill and technique. Even the best anglers have fish pop off.

 

 

[JHoss]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

Change the hooks!

Tom

Trust me, I've tried multiple different hooks. 

 

2 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

Switch to Owner ZoWire hooks STX-38ZN series & increase the hook size one size bigger than what it comes with stock. Use a sweep set hook set with a somewhat loose drag & keep pressure on them until they are in the net. 

These look awesome. I'm going to order some. I was thinking about going up a size and using braid split rings to keep the same weight and balance the bait was designed for. 

 

2 hours ago, F14A-B said:

I always used an A C Shiner back in the day.. on a medium light spinning rod w regular stren (years ago) when I do throw a Rapala # 11 now I’m still going ML spinning or even a 7’ light spinning rod.. 

I just added 4 ML spinning rods to the arsenal, so I had planned on trying on of those with it. 10lb braid to a 15 lb mono leader is what I'm thinking. 

 

 

Can anyone tell me what size hooks come standard on these so I can order them before I go home and size them myself?

[river-rat]

I have used several floating jerk baits including a Bagley Bang-O-Lure for years. I always change out the hooks for Mustad #4 KVD Triple Grip hooks. I'm using a 6 1/2' medium action casting rod with 14# test monofilament.

 

With this set up I haven't noticed missing too many fish. No more so than than any other floating jerk  bait.

 

 

[looking45]

I remove the trebles on the few baits I have with three hooks and replace them with an inline book on the front and back, no middle hook. I haven’t had any problems having fish come off. YMMV

[A-Jay]

@JHoss  We All lose some fish with most any treble hook bait.

But losing more than we land is not good.

Sounds like you've addressed most everything I would have recommended you take a look at.

Including the totality of the system you're using.

While I do not use any Bagley baits, I could never 'blame' the bait anyway.

I do use a few different brands/types of treble hook baits for bass.

Rarely use stock hardware. 

If & when I get a fish hooked up sufficiently that the treble hook bards are 

planted in some flesh, and not half poked into some part of the jaw bones,

I expect to land it. Doesn't always happen the way I expect or want

but I'm not losing a ton of bass either.

In the end, if we have quality gear & terminal tackle, 

all that's left is operator error. 

I rarely blame my gear, but I can openly admit to jacking up my fair share of fish landings.

IME, (and after watching myself on video) there are three things I changed

that had noting to do with my gear but made a world of difference in my own landing percentage.

1.  Having a Plan on how & where I am going to land a fish. 

2. Slow Down

3. Be Smooth. 

Good Luck

A-Jay

https://youtu.be/W2jqCf7BVAE?feature=shared

btw- I do prefer to use a net. 

[Dwight Hottle]

@JHoss I looked but could not find the actual size. I'm pretty sure you want size 6 or size 5 hooks. I use mostly size 6, 5, & 4. to replace jerk bait hooks. 

[WRB]

Bagley BangO comes in several sizes what size are you using. Zo wire hooks are lighter weight no need to use braid, use Owners split rings.

Crank and reel set with rod sweep and set your drag at 3 to 3 1/2 lbs.

Tom

[JHoss]

24 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@JHoss I looked but could not find the actual size. I'm pretty sure you want size 6 or size 5 hooks. I use mostly size 6, 5, & 4. to replace jerk bait hooks. 

I ordered some 4 and 5s. I plan to weigh the stock hook and split ring and pick the size that matches that, then add braid split rings instead.

 

1 hour ago, river-rat said:

I have used several floating jerk baits including a Bagley Bang-O-Lure for years. I always change out the hooks for Mustad #4 KVD Triple Grip hooks. I'm using a 6 1/2' medium action casting rod with 14# test monofilament.

I've tried these and they didn't seem to help. They work fine on other baits for me, though. 

 

41 minutes ago, looking45 said:

I remove the trebles on the few baits I have with three hooks and replace them with an inline book on the front and back, no middle hook. I haven’t had any problems having fish come off. YMMV

I would think this would mess with the weight and balance of the bait too much. Unless you went with substantially bigger or heavier single hooks. 

 

40 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

@JHoss  We All lose some fish with most any treble hook bait.

But losing more than we land is not good.

Sounds like you've addressed most everything I would have recommended you take a look at.

Including the totality of the system you're using.

While I do not use any Bagley baits, I could never 'blame' the bait anyway.

I do use a few different brands/types of treble hook baits for bass.

Rarely use stock hardware. 

If & when I get a fish hooked up sufficiently that the treble hook bards are 

planted in some flesh, and not half poked into some part of the jaw bones,

I expect to land it. Doesn't always happen the way I expect or want

but I'm not losing a ton of bass either.

In the end, if we have quality gear & terminal tackle, 

all that's left is operator error. 

I rarely blame my gear, but I can openly admit to jacking up my fair share of fish landings.

IME, (and after watching myself on video) there are three things I changed

that had noting to do with my gear but made a world of difference in my own landing percentage.

1.  Having a Plan on how & where I am going to land a fish. 

2. Slow Down

3. Be Smooth. 

Good Luck

A-Jay

https://youtu.be/W2jqCf7BVAE?feature=shared

btw- I do prefer to use a net. 

Most of the fish that come unbuttoned, do so before I get them halfway to the boat. But your post has me wondering if part of it is just a mental block of sorts. I'm expecting them to come off, so maybe I am rushing them or overplaying them. I'm hopeful I can find something that works enough to give me confidence and then I'll be good to go again- like a ballplayer getting the yips. I can vividly remember way too many good fish throwing my bait back at me and not enough good memories of landing good fish. 

 

6 minutes ago, WRB said:

Bagley BangO comes in several sizes what size are you using. Zo wire hooks are lighter weight no need to use braid, use Owners split rings.

Crank and reel set with rod sweep and set your drag at 3 to 3 1/2 lbs.

Tom

I'm using the standard 3 hooks style spin tails. My thinking with the braid is less about the weight and more reducing the leverage a fish can put on the hooks. I just want to match the weight to stock hooks and split rings to ensure the bait still sits properly in the water. 

 

 

I was recently talking to the old timer who turned me onto this bait about my issues. He uses stock hooks and has no problems. He did suggest giving slack to the fish after I hook it in hopes it would shake its head and get an extra hook in it, but that seems contrary to everything I know about fighting fish. 

[SC53]

I’m an old timer and have been using Bang o Lures for decades. Like 50 years here in Florida. And caught fish over 8# on them. They are my go to minnow bait. I’ve never changed the hooks on them. And don’t lose many, if any fish on them. I only throw them on mono so that could be why, a little bit of stretch. I also mostly use a MH rod but have used M rods before. Pretty much no difference. 
@A-Jay has some good advice. Slow down and don’t try to horse them. Maybe wait a split second when they hit the lure to get another hook or two in them. 

[WRB]

The hook size is #4 as I recall, 4 or 5 good choice. Sometimes bass strike the rear prop and treble. Maybe slowing down the hook set like a top water lure to get the bass a chance to get 2 hooks in it’s mouth.

Good hooks help but it maybe too fast hook set is your issue?

Good luck,

Tom

[JHoss]

Maybe I am hitting them a bit too soon. I drop down in rod speed for a lot of other visual techniques because I can be quick on the trigger. It's probably a perfect storm of all the factors mentioned here. I'm going to control what I can control and replace hooks and go to braid rings. I'll keep experimenting with rods and throw this in practice and fun fishing to build that confidence up.

 

Appreciate all the advice y'all. 

[Reel]

I have used Spin Tails a lot in the past "  They are high floaters.  When a bass strikes them, because they are wood, the rush of the fish makes them rise and you get a lot of skin hocking (hooks barely in on the side of the mouth).  With the Spin Tail most of the strikes are when the bait rises with the tail spinning, making this even worse.  The stock hooks are OK  when sharpenend, but you can find better and sharper. 

To keep from losing fish I would fight the bass with the rod down.  I think that's the best advice I can give you.  

[king fisher]

20 hours ago, A-Jay said:

@JHoss 

2. Slow Down

3. Be Smooth. 

Good Luck

A-Jay

https://youtu.be/W2jqCf7BVAE?feature=shared

btw- I do prefer to use a net. 

These are very important words of wisdom. A jay defined how to fight fish in four words. A whole book would not do a better job. I try to view fighting a fish ,especially on light tackle or small hooks ,as a dance not a boxing match. Smooth and slow wins the day. And when all else fails a little luck doesn’t hurt.

[scaleface]

I've lost a lot of big bass on the Bomber Long A version, caught a lot too. Thats my luck with all top water lures.

[JHoss]

I've always considered myself good at fighting fish. Growing up fishing salt, I feel like I learned to play fish better than guys who grew up fishing fresh. How often have y'all caught bass that weighed more than the test of the line you're using? I'd guess the answer is close to 0. But in salt, that's commonplace. 

 

I know there's times to get fish in the boat as a fast as I can and times to baby them in. The problem I've had with the BangOLure is that in my experience thus far, if I let a fish fight for too long, they throw the hook 95% of the time. So I probably do rush them more now than when I first started throwing the bait. 

 

The most painful loss last year was a 5+ lber. She pulled off 30-60 seconds into the fight while steady swimming away from me with maybe 3-4 lbs of drag on the reel. Don't know what else I could've done there. That was on a Med F with 15 lb copolymer.

 

4 hours ago, Reel said:

I have used Spin Tails a lot in the past "  They are high floaters.  When a bass strikes them, because they are wood, the rush of the fish makes them rise and you get a lot of skin hocking (hooks barely in on the side of the mouth).  With the Spin Tail most of the strikes are when the bait rises with the tail spinning, making this even worse.  The stock hooks are OK  when sharpenend, but you can find better and sharper. 

To keep from losing fish I would fight the bass with the rod down.  I think that's the best advice I can give you.  

This makes a ton of sense to me. Not sure if anyone remembers seeing the Nat Geo footage of tiger sharks eating birds, but there was a similar phenomenon where the wake pushed up by the shark was moving the birds out of their bite. I could see that happening, and then just getting a hook in the skin outside the mouth.  

[Reel]

If you've used a Spin Tail before, you know what I mean.  It's a very special surface lure that is manipulated with hard jerks that make the bait dive about a foot under water.  Then, it floats back up at a 45 degree angle with the propeller on the tail spinning.  It's hard to get a good hookset.  

[Big Hands]

On 3/6/2025 at 12:05 PM, A-Jay said:

In the end, if we have quality gear & terminal tackle, all that's left is operator error. 

 

Yea.

 

If I was going to try to eliminate gear issues, I would want to be able to be able to keep pressure on with lots of room to spare, so a mod or regular action rod that matches well to the line I am using. Same with hooks; sticky sharp and the finest wire that isn't likely to fail, and will set past the barb with the power of the rod I am using. Proper drag setting. If it's too loose, the fish can make it difficult to keep the rod bent down far enough.

 

As for technique, if you see them headed for the surface (and a Bang-O-Lure doesn't run much below it), you can alter the pressure you have on the fish to see if you can get them to have difficulty being in a good jumping position right when they are going to jump. With small-ish treble hooks, you're not in a good position to horse them over as they get to the surface (maybe a little, but not a lot), so the opposite approach could work. That is to ease the pressure a little before they about to jump which sometimes gets them headed somewhere other than the surface. A rod that will stay loaded if you ease up on the pressure helps a bunch. Changing the angle you're pulling from can also discourage them from jumping.

 

The other thing that comes to mind is that seeing that you list smallmouth as your favorite species. The Bang-O-Lure is a long skinny stick bait, and a smallmouth may be having a tougher time fully eating it deeply enough to get the hook into it's mouth. Just a thought.

[scaleface]

Bagley Bang O Lure comes with and without a prop. Which one are you referring to?