missed fish on fat ika?

[tacoman]

i went fishing yesterday and today at a small pond next to my house. 4 out of 5 fish missed. the first one was my fault. my reels had been put up for awhile and the drag was let off. i guess you know what happened on that hook set. the fish still held that thing in its mouth though. i got him almost to the bank and he just let go. the very next cast to the same spot another one grabbed it. i let it swim around with it for a second then set the hook fought it nearly to bank then it let go. few more cast later same thing. then another one piked it up. i let it eat it good then set the hook really hard. i got that one. but was barely hooked. went back today and hooked another one. i let him eat it good and set the hook hard. fought it for a second then it let go. 1 out of 5 fish ain't good. i rigged it texas style up side down on a 4/0 ewg gama hook. i barely had the point under the skin. today i tryed a 5/0 hook, no better. anybody got suggestions on this. maybe a picture of how you rig yours.

[.ghoti.]

tacoman, you have yours rigged exactly the same as I rig mine. I miss almost no fish on the Fat Ika. Let's hear a few more details. What hook, line size and rod. All these could be contributors to the problem. A 4/0 or 5/0 hook requires a firm hookset to drive it home. If you using a soft rod, with light mono, and have made a long cast, you could easily miss a few. Other than that I have no idea. It looks like you're rigging it just fine.

Cheers,

GK

[senko_77]

I have the exact problem.  I already pm'ed Roadwarrior asking if I was using them wrong.  I've probably missed 15 fish on them in the last 2 trips.  They bite em, I just can't hit em.  I've set it instantly, waited awhile, slack line, tight line, everything, and still only hooked one fish.  I'm using it on a 3/0 and 4/0 gammy.  I have no idea

[tacoman]

What hook, line size and rod. All these could be contributors to the problem.

i've tried 4/0 and 5/0 ewg gammy hooks.

line size is 12# big game

rod is g loomis mbr784 imx

[T-rig]

Use some kind of good braid and your hooking ratio will increase for sure. I find mono has way to much stretch, especially on long cast! I use power pro and tuff line. You can also rig the ika the other way around.

[roadwarrior]

There is no obvious reason. Your rigging and equipment is fine. Let's try this the next time out:

"Snap-set or quick-set"

When you detect a bite, quickly lower the tip of your rod and reel down. Once you feel the fish, snap the rod up with your wrists withouth raising your hands, that is, keeping the butt of your rod in place. This action will drive the hook home. The snap-set should be used with all soft plastics.

[Grey Wolf]

Try braid.

[tacoman]

thanks for the suggestions.  i got some power pro line today.  but i'm not so sure about this braid stuff.

thanks RW i'll try that snap-set next time out.

[senko_77]

thanks for the suggestions. i got some power pro line today. but i'm not so sure about this braid stuff.

thanks RW i'll try that snap-set next time out.

Power Pro is braid

[JT Bagwell]

He just said Power Pro was braid.  lol

JT Bagwell

[flyhatch]

it hard to tell from the pic but id try rigging it with the eye and knot exposed that should straightin it out a little and give you more ika past the bottom of the hook.

ive havent missed many rigged that way. also I used a #4 gammy ewg

[hookem12_0]

Your rig looks good.  The only thing that I would really suggest is to switch to a 4/0-6/0 Owner Cutting Point Extra Wide Gap.

[tacoman]

on the power pro.  i was half way thru filling my reel with it and noticed something funny about the color of the line.  so pulled some back off and looked it.  it was coming apart.  i put just a little bit of pressure on it and it just pulled right apart.  so i pulled all that off and was able to fill the reel with what was left.  this is what i meant when i sayed i wasn't so sure about this braid stuff.  but i'm not going to knock it yet maybe i just got a bad spool.  i will give it a fair try.

thanks again for all the suggestions.

[NJBassDevil3254]

Thats how you rig them? I thought you rigged them the other way.

[Lil Baby Cousin Ray-Ray]

tacoman im not sure about powerpro but i know fireline will slip a little on your spool. i have heard it can be a problem with all braids. i wouldsuggest using a mono backing the knotting it to your braid and filling the rest of your spool. there is not much worse than casting your line and reeling for a while before you realize that  your line is just spinning around on your spool.  

[Lard_Bass]

Thats how you rig them? I thought you rigged them the other way.

You can do it either way but backwards (in the picture) is the one a lot of people like to do lately.  When it hits the water, the tail will have more action.

 

[roadwarrior]

Lard_ Bass,

The picture you posted is NOT how the Ika falls without weight. During the fall the Fat Ika floats down horizontally, 100% of the time if is unweighted. This profile is a very big part of "The Magic."

[Bass Smacker]

I always thought that you pushed the point throuw the end not off to the side. Have i been riging mine wrong??? I realy haven't fishe them much .

J/M  

[Lard_Bass]

Lard_ Bass,

The picture you posted is NOT how the Ika falls without weight. During the fall the Fat Ika floats down horizontally, 100% of the time if is unweighted. This profile is a very big part of "The Magic."

Hey RW, I got the pic from an article on Bass D0zer.  I tried posting the link but Bass D0zer gets replaced with Bassresource.  Just google "Fat Ika Backwards" and it looks like he rigs it weightless too.

 

[Brad_Coovert]

Here is a paragraph from an article on the Fat Ika.....

"On the hookset, because it is so fat, you cannot bang-set on them with this bait," says Russ. A fast power set will only take the bait away from the bass, probably ripping up the Fat Ika in the process. When a fish has got the Fat Ika, it will usually turn and move away with it. If not, a little rod tip pressure - putting a little load on the rod tip - will get the bass moving off with its meal. A stiff rod is needed, but not a stiff tip. The soft tip develops tension pressure as the fish moves off and the line tightens, loading the tip, pushing the bait down from the barb, exposing the hook point which catches behind the lip bone or in the corner of the mouth before the bait pops out. Don't worry, the bass will have its lips pursed down and its mouth cavity depressed to prevent the bait from squirming out. When you sense that happening, you set using the power in the stiffness of the rest of the rod to drive the hook home. All this happens in a slow-motion instant. I think the above is a good way to describe it - hard to put into words - but easy to get the knack once you experience doing it.

[roadwarrior]

Brad_Coovert,

I know there are many ways to skin a cat, perferred equipment and technique will vary from fisherman to fisherman. For me, when I'm fishing soft plastics I want a fast tip and a FIRM tip. However, this old dog is willing to try almost anything. I'll start fishing the Fat Ika with my PR844S for awhile and post results, but I have been using a St. Croix Legend Elite (ES70MF) which is fast and firm and it works just fine.

I really think the problem some people have with soft plastics in general and the Fat Ika in particular has everything to do with the hook-set, not the lures, the hooks or the line. If it ever warms up around here I'll give it a try and let you know how I do with a soft tip.

[Brad_Coovert]

RW, In no way will I question your soft plastic fishing tactics as I know you are far better at it than I am.      

Just thought I'd pass on that tidbit from GYCB for discussion fodder.

Another problem with fat baits like tubes and Fat Ikas is that sometimes, the bait will move the wrong way and the hookpoint will bury back into the bait instead of popping out of the bait.  I noticed this happening when I buried the point back into the bait too deep when skinhooking the bait.

Brad