The ghost hook and premature-a-hookulation.

[PARROTTHEAD_VOL]

Over the last few weeks I have been doing alot of night fishing, and it seems in the lake that I have been on the bass have just been picking up the bait and not really hitting it..............

Anyway, I probably set the hook 10 time last night and nothing was on the other end. For some reason I always feel stupid when I do this. I guess I feel like I am suppose to be an expert and only set it when there is a fish there.............. :

How many of you do this? Do you feel stupid? Am I just over thinking this?

How about the premature hook? I hate this one as well!

[Wildbillb]

Is it better to set the hook on no fish or is it better to not set the hook and miss the fish?

[LookinForLunkers]

Sometimes my lure will drag on something heavy, which results in me whipping my rod back like a madman thinking that I have a monster on the line.  When it turns out to be nothing, I just tell everyone around that I had a huge one on the line, it just got off.  No one will ever know otherwise.  It sure beats looking like a fool when whoever you're with notices you trying to set the hook.

[jtbassman]

Probably small fish, but hey, jerkin's free.

[Craw]

It's common practice for alot of anglers to really load up on the hookset. I've fished with guys who jerk with every bit of strength that they have. I see pros do it also. I understand the merits of a powerful hookset...drive the hook into the fishes mouth, turn the fish's head away from cover, compensate for line stretch or long distance from fish, etc.

I'm not a pro and I'm not an expert but I'll share what works for me. I like a quick hookset. I try to generate as much speed as I can in the rod tip from say the 10o'clock to 12o'clock position. I never even think about power. I believe that speed generates all the power needed. I look at it like this, think of the damage that can be caused by a bullet being fired at someone or something. Now think of how much damage could be caused by just throwing that same bullet. What makes the bullet so powerful is speed.

Here are some advantages I like about the quick hookset-

No lure(or even small bass) flying out of the water at me or my partner.

No loss of balance when I miss(I miss sometimes like everybody else).

Don't break line/rod on the hookset.

Don't tear a big hole in fish's mouth.

Much easier on my joints and lower back.

I miss plenty of fish, don't get me wrong. When I do miss though I don't rock the boat or stumble backwards, so I don't feel foolish about it. The pros miss to. It just doesn't make for good TV so we don't get to see it.

[5bass]

Craw,good points.I am guilty of droppin' the hammer on a fish over half the time.If I'm shallow,a speedy hookset usually is sufficient but if I'm deep with alot of line out,I'm loading the rod and swingin' for the fence.Thats how I ended up with the elbow injury in which I will have surgery for this winter.

Another factor that determines hookset power and speed is what I'm using.With a super fluke,I'm setting as hard as I can just because of the thickness of the bait and the same thing with a carolina rig.On a regular worm that is relatively shallow,I dont swing that hard,just fast like you were talking about.

[Captain Cali]

Missed hooksets are part of the game. I used to feel stupid...but not anymore. I have already caught too many fish that I couldn't feel. Hooksets are free. I'm more worried about a hook hitting me in the face than looking stupid. I do however agree that different baits/techniques require different hooksets.

[fishingJ]

I'm sure when you bring in that huge bass you've bin looking for it will outway all the stupidity you felt for the missed hooksets, and its not that big of a deal anyway, its all part of the fun!

[volman33]

good to see a fellow vol!!...yea i know what youre talkin about maybe wait a few seconds and then set the hook you might catch more

[basser89]

A question comes to mind when I read your post PARROTHEAD_VOL,

Are you setting the hook on a top water bite or are they sub-surface?

If it's a surface bite, and I know its hard, but wait until you feel it in the rod not at the sound.

I'm with fivebass as well. Different techniques require a different hook sets. Fortunately, I've only launch one bass out of the water (so far,  LOL!). I was fishing a farm pond that has some huge bass in it. I was flippin tubes around some reeds when I felt a THUMP! The rod got super heavy and I dropped the bomb on it, thinkin it was a good one! Ends up, this little dink thought he was a monster until I put the bass on the bank on the hookset! My fishing partner just looked at me and laughed. He still brings that up every once in a while.  

[cpvenom]

lmao, premature-a-hookulation? Hahaha you sicko

[janalon]

I rather be the fooled, than the fool.

[Dobi]

To save face, I usually say it was a gar.

[Minuteman]

I was out in my boat today for the first time and was getting familiar with using the trolling motor and pedal postion. My son was in the back "Air Hooking" a Fat Ika over my head every minute or so. He did this about 5x and I'm ready to tell him to knock it off and WAM he catches 2 LM and a SM from the same  little drop off.

So keep on jerkin', just make sure your partner is wearing protection.

[Gorgebassman]

Better to jerk and miss a fish than miss a fish by not jerking. Hook sets are free.

[Hale]

Better to jerk and miss a fish than miss a fish by not jerking. Hook sets are free.

Jerking helps prevent premature-a-hookulation!

--sorry, I couldnt resist  ;D