hook set woes

[airborne_angler]

Today I was fishing(again) just like I do everyday, Some of you may wonder how I can do this well,Im a disabled veteran and dont work. Anyway I recently picked up a  some Berkley trilene xl easy cast 8lb line . I am replacing the 10lb Shakespeare stuff I had on my baitcaster. After servicing (lubing) my reel and respooling it I gave her a go at the local pond. The new line casts like a dream,easy to throw yadda yadda. Im very happy with it. Had a large amount of strikes today while fishing a SENKO but as I set the hook it seemed I wasnt able to "sink" the hook hard or deep enough to keep the fish from coming off. I mustve lost at least 8 fish today. Could this be due to this new line? The old "Shakespeare 10lb stuff was better,I almost never missed a hookset and almost never lost a fish.

[spotaholic]

I was using the same line on a finesse rig  and lost alot of fish. I think in part to the stretch. I switched to Yozuri Hybrid and have not missed a fish on it. I think that there is very little stretch innthe yozuri. You  may want to take a close look at your rod. You need to use at least a med with xfast tip and I prefer a MH Xfast tip for senkos. IMO.

[Raul]

Were you experiencing the same problem with your older line ? if you didn 't then the problem is the line and not you, even though it may have a higher poundage the nylon is different, one is strecthing more than the other causing a "delay" between the time you set the hook and the actual time of the hookset, also it 's cushioning and absorbing the shock and you 're loosing strength in the hookset.

[Rebbasser]

You also might check and make sure your hook is sharp. I think that is the most overlooked aspect of bass fishing. Even new quality hooks may need to be sharpened. I use an EZ Lap (I think) that WalMart sells for less than $5 and it is well worth the investment.

If the hook will not dig into your fingernail with just a small amount of pressure it needs to be sharpened. I learned this lesson the hard way many years ago and never forgot it.

[Ben]

Are you hooking the point back into the Senko to make it weedless, if so you may be hooking it too deep. Also, EWG hooks are a must on Senko's. I use nothing but Gamakatsu EWG hooks and nothing smaller than a 3/0. In the 5" Senko, I normally use a 4/0 - 5/0  hook. Another thing that helps is being a line watcher, I seldom feel a hit on a Senko when fishing it as a jerk. Paying attention to the line, you will see 95% of your hits.

[JDW]

When fishing Senkos, I only use fluorocarbon.  Mono floats, but fluorocorbon sinks. It's also invisible under water and has great hook-setting power because it has very low stretch.  Be sure you let them run with the bait before setting the hook.  Don't let them run too long, they'll swallow a Senko.

[airborne_angler]

I am wondering if it might just be darn green sunfish pecking at it,Some of the time I know I ended up with bass cause I saw him jump before he spit the hook. Its a matter of timing I know,I let em "tap tap" and I prepare ,but then theres nothing else,But then theres the run,and just as I am getting ready to set it ,the fish drops it. Exciting but aggravating at the same time. I always get my strikes on the fall just right after it hits the water,barely enough time for me to prepare but if I dont get get any strike I have a bad habit of giving up and reeling it in and recasting instead of slowly working it back to me. Guess I just dont have patience .

[KU_Bassmaster.]

I love the Trilene XL myselff, but only for cranks and topwater.  I posted "Wacky Rig Mania" on here at the beginning of the week.  Basically I was using my crankbait set up to try wacky rigging out for the first time.  I was having the SAME exact problem you are describing.  I was getting a TON of bites, catching a ton of bass, but I was also losing a ton mainly due to the hookset problem.  

Solution:  I switched to a 10 lbs. Floro and tested it out this morning.  Got 6 bites and caught 6 bass.  Problem fixed.  Trilene XL just has too much stretch for senko fishing IMO.

[George Welcome]

Hookset: I doubt that it is line, or hook. Good hookset is a function of speed and not power. Sometimes we get into the mode of trying to set with a big sweep and forget to add the speed.

We go through many bags of Senkos and have experimented with many hooks. The best hook for being the least destructive to the Senko is a Gammy offset u-bend in 4/0 for the 5" Senko.