Another night down at the secret pond.

[Movarus]

I made a post about a month back about a path me and a friend had found back to a secret area that had produced really well for us.  Heck, it's where I caught my current PB largemouth.  It's a really nice place and has a lot of really good fishing areas.  This is kind of a story and a question so I figured this was still the right forum.

Last night was just as good... well the bites were the best we had seen, my hook setting on the other hand... but, I'll talk about that in a minute.

We got down to the spot at about 6 pm.  Right off the bat, we both put a fish on.  Always a good sign.  We hooked a few more and kept moving up the shore.  

At one point, I put on the lure that produces the best for me in this area.  A weightless t-rigged 6" Smoke Shad Duper Fluke with a 5/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook.  Moved up to the mouth of a little cove and proceeded to get bite after bite.  In about a 15-20 minute period I had 8 fish strike... but only pulled one in... one strike, the fish came up so close to me I actually saw it grab the bait and run.  This fish was huge.  I actually mistook it for a gar or pickerel due to it's length, but when it came to the surface I saw the beauty of one of the biggest bass I have seen up close.  If I got him in, he would have beat my current PB by a long shot.  All in all, it was a good night.  The temperatures were nice, low humidity, and we both had plenty of action.

Ok on to my question.  What the heck am I doing wrong with my hooksets?  I would assume that the 5/0 hook was big enough for that size of bait and I have the EWG style so there is plenty of room for the bait to fold back.  I rig them texas style with no weight and put just the tip of the hook under the skin of the bait.  After I felt the fish grab it I would let it run a second, reel in the slack towards the fish, then try to set the hook with a sweep at about a 45 degree angle and behind me.   Many times I thought I had the fish on actually reeling it in, only to have the bait spit back in my face, sometimes with the hook point still in the bait.  Do you think it's still my technique?  Maybe I need more power on the set?  Or maybe I need a bigger hook?  When the hook does set, it sets really well, but like I said I missed a total of 7 fish.  It just gets a little irritating because I like the bait, I know how to fish it, and I get great strikes, but the hook setting is sub-par.

Anyways, I would love to hear some thoughts on it.

[Still a Bigbuckifan]

What size rod were you using.

[rondef]

I am guessing that the fish never gets the hook in it's mouth before you attempt to set the hook.  Maybe you need to give it a second or two before setting the hook, just a thought

[foul hooked]

What brand of hook?

What kind of line?

What # test is the line?

What power and action is your rod?

That is a pretty big hook. The rest of your rig might not match well with the hook you are using.

[Movarus]

5/0 Gamakatsu Hook

Stren 10lb test line

6"6' Medium Action rod.  ( I think it's medium, it might be medium heavy.  Im at work right now so I can't check it atm. )

I could swear I was letting it run a few seconds before setting the hook.  I don't want the fish to get hooked in the throat so I try not to let it run too long.

[Still a Bigbuckifan]

If the rod is medium action I would say thats your problem Iwould go with a mh . If it is a medium heavy I dont know what your problem is.

[MARSH MASTER]

It might just be small fish like pan fish or something. Try using some sort of attractant so they will inhale and hold on longer. I recomend a jell over spray it last longer.

[Movarus]

It might just be small fish like pan fish or something. Try using some sort of attractant so they will inhale and hold on longer. I recomend a jell over spray it last longer.

nah, it's not panfish.  this is a 6" bait and I feel a tap and i watch the line run.  Most of the time after I fail to "set" the hook I can reel them in for a while before they do spit it out.  They do love the bait when they get ahold of it.

I'm going to attempt to let them hold it a bit longer next time Im out.  If that doesnt work, I might try a heavier rod... kind of low on the $$$ so that might not be fixed any time soon.  I have other lighter baits that definitely work, I might have to slow down using the bigger ones till I can afford the heavier rod.  I just love that fluke so much :-P.  

Anyways, thanks for the input guys.  I always appreciate it!   ;D ;D ;D

[MARSH MASTER]

dude I trow a 12" worm a still get perch and 6-8" bass hit it. I literaly watch them hit it so a 6" bait aint nothing. If I throw a 6" senko I catch 8" bass all day. On the 12" worn I've caught fish smaller than the worm so don't over look it. Try a attractant.

[Movarus]

dude I trow a 12" worm a still get perch and 6-8" bass hit it. I literaly watch them hit it so a 6" bait aint nothing. If I throw a 6" senko I catch 8" bass all day. On the 12" worn I've caught fish smaller than the worm so don't over look it. Try a attractant.

Im not saying you can't catch small fish on a big bait, I've done it as well.  What I'm saying is that  I've seen a few of them hit the surface before they threw the bait.  They could definitely be small ones, but I definitely know some average to bigger sized fish are hitting it as well and taking it, but I'm still failing on the hookset.  I've got some good info though, and I'm definitely going to work on the problem.

And I have actually tried a char garlic attractant.  The fish around this pond either didnt like the color or didnt like the sent as I didn't get a single bite most of the night, the night I used it.  Of course it could have just been bad luck.  Though at the end of the night I went back to the same bait without the attractant and caught 2.  

[senko_77]

Here's 2 modifications you can make that might help your hook-ups.  

T-rig it like normal, but before sliding the hook point into the belly of the fluke to make it straight, slide a treble hook over the hook point, then continue the rigging.  The treble will slide freely up and down the hook shaft, but won't fall off because both ends of the hook are covered by plastic.

Another way to rig it is to take a 1/0 or 2/0 worm hook and nose hook the fluke.  Hook it just like you would a drop shot.  When a fish hits, theres not plastic to drive the hook point through, so a simple reel sweep set will get them everytime.

Theses rigging methods are only effective if you're fishing moderate to zero cover.  The nose hooking rig will work somewhat in grass, but other than that, stick to the conventional way unless it's open water.

Good luck.  Sorry you lost that pig!  It sounds like your on an awesome population of fish.  Keep at it and you'll get that PB in no time.

[BirdNestBen]

you'll miss some fish on it........ I miss a lot that strike close to the boat.....

mebbe try a Chart. white Booyah spinnerbait a few casts???? (you'll get a better hookset if they will strike it.........

[Movarus]

I really cant use the options with extra hooks.  The area is full of sticks and logs.  I would loose the bait on the first cast.  I did well the first night with a buzzbait, but after a few storms it filled up with more cover.  It's a great spot, but heavy with things to get caught on.  I try to keep everything as weedless as possible.

Great ideas though, I'll have to keep those in mind for other locations.

[foul hooked]

I'm not a big braid fan, but this is a situation where it might do the trick.  I would make sure to loosen the drag a bit if you do try braid.

Before you change anything I would give it another try. Sometimes you just have a bad day.

The important thing is that you are on the fish.

Good luck.

[skillet]

All my rods are M except for the spinning rod which is a MH which means it probably is closer to M. IMHO your M shouldn't be the problem. On a trip to a pond that I get to fish every now and then (REAL nice fish), I missed 3 fish that really should have gotten hooked . I was using 12lb Stren mono. I had been thinking about changing to a copoly because of the stretch in mono. I changed over and it seems to have made a big difference. Maybe the fish is just holding the bait and the stretch in the mono is keeping you from making a good hookset :-/...

                                 As Ever,

                                  skillet

[Movarus]

Hmm, now that is a good point.  Maybe I need to try a line with less stretch.  Are there any huge drawbacks to switching over to copoly or braided line on a spinning real?  I actually need to respool it soon anyways, so this might be a good chance to try.

[JShrock07]

Missing fish  is part of fishing... That is why it is called fishing and not catching!!!

My suggestion to you is to hook the fluke weedless like you have been. Once you have the hook into the fluke bring it through the plastic just a little bit. Once you have the tip of the hook pointing out then take the fluke and cover the tip of the hook so that the fluke is weedless and even a small amount of pressure will help your hookset become a lot better.

Another suggestion for you is when you feel a bite reel up the slack until the line is completely tight and then yank back like you are trying to rip the hook through the fish's mouth. A lot of flukes are very thick and it takes a good amount of pressure to get the hook through the bait.

JMPO

Good Luck to You!!!!

-Nitroman

[senko_77]

Another thing to is to make sure you are using an Extra Wide Gap hook like the E.W.G. series from Gamakatsu.  A regular round bend hook will impede your hooksets with a bait like the fluke.

As other members have said, a MH will help drive the hook a bit better, but I don't see why a Medium won't cut it.  A medium power is what I throw my flukes on, but I tend to set the hook really hard.

Hope you figure it out and hook up with that pig

[Movarus]

Thanks again for all the advice guys.  I think the first two things I'm going to work towards is getting some new line that is copoly or braided (probably copoly) and I will work on setting the hook a bit harder.

I was sitting in bed thinking about it last night, and I think that at the top of my hook set I'm dropping the rod for some reason early and pulling in slack line, instead of following through.  I will pay a bit more attention next time around and try my best to keep pulling on the hookset instead of letting it drop and reeling in slack.

And I always use an 5/0 EWG with my 6" fluke.  I read about that extra gap somewhere in the past.  I like the EWG a lot, and I think Gamakatsu is a great hook, so that is the brand I usually go with.   8-)

[skillet]

You wrote that your rod was a M. Mine is MH (little more backbone). More hookset ;Dclears that up. Haven't used braid. The copoly I use is Yo-Zuri UltraSoft 6lb. Cabela's sells it. You can get P Line CX easier, little bit of a memory problem. Whatever copoly you get, try some KVD line conditioner. Take nylon cloth and spray it on the cloth, reel your line on running it thru the cloth and then night before you go fishing put a couple of squirts on your line. Helps with memory problems and casts a little farther. Also with copoly, it lasts longer because ultraviolet sun rays doesn't bother it...

                             As Ever,

                              skillet

[Movarus]

I think I'm going to pick up some ultra-soft yo-zuri hybrid probably in 8 or 10lb test.  I need to respool my reel anyways, so this is a good chance for me to check it out and see if it helps.  I might try to get some of that line conditioner in the future as well.

[George Welcome]

I doubt seriously that it is any of the things that you are trying to settle on as your answer. I do believe that one of the answers given pretty much hit on the problem. Little fish, be it bream, crappie, catfish, or small bass make far more sense, than your rod, reel, or line.

[Movarus]

I understand that small fish do hit big baits, I never said they don't.  Again, my point is that I feel the hit, wait a few, set the hook, and most of the time I'm actually reeling in the fish.  I can feel the weight of the fish as I'm reeling.  It's definitely not always small fish.  Then as I'm reeling in, the fish spits the lure and I get it back without the hook set, sometimes the hook has never even come out of the plasic.  Heck, there have been times that I have seen the fish break the surface before they spit it.

I catch fish in this area on other baits all the time, things like buzzbaits, lizards, worms, brush hogs.  The only bait I seem to have a problem setting the hook with are the 6" flukes, they are definitely thicker than the typical plastics I use.  That is why I was asking for ideas.  And again, thanks for all the feedback.

[paul.]

i usually use a 3/0 ewg, but no bigger than a  4/0 when fluke fishing.  the 5/0 in combination with a 6" fluke might be a little too big for some of the smaller sized fish to get situated correctly in their mouths- even if you are waiting a few secs.    the fact that you are losing the fish when you are reeling them in AFTER you have set the hook suggests that this is a penetration issue.  

unless there's a technique issue on your hookset, which there doesn't seem to be, one word will fix all of this without affecting anything else - powerpro.  happy hooksetting!  just make sure you have good enough reflexes to dodge the fish as they come flying back at you through the air.  ;D