Texas Rig Question

[Chattahoochee]

This past weekend on Lake Jordan Alabama I was having some issues hooking up. I was using a Zoom Finness worm and a 2/0 Gamakasu EWG hook. I caught 3 but I also set the hook and came back with half my worm gone about 10 times. What adjustment would you have made to increase your catch percentage faced with this situation?

[Nitrofreak]

Just because you lost half of your bait 10x or so may have been due to smaller fish or too early of an hookset.

The first thing I would have done in that case is pull up slow on the rod and made sure the fish had the bait fully in its mouth and then set the hook.

The next change would have been a switch to a swim or jig type bait.

[smalljaw67]

This past weekend on Lake Jordan Alabama I was having some issues hooking up. I was using a Zoom Finness worm and a 2/0 Gamakasu EWG hook. I caught 3 but I also set the hook and came back with half my worm gone about 10 times. What adjustment would you have made to increase your catch percentage faced with this situation?

that has happened to me in the past, and when it does you need to up size the hook, if you're using the 2/0 go with the 3/0. This will do two things, the first is the longer hook shank will be further down the worm which leaves less "hookless" worm for the fish to grab, and the other thing it does is keep bluegills from grabbing to far up the worm. I believe this will help, good luck.

[Chattahoochee]

Just because you lost half of your bait 10x or so may have been due to smaller fish or too early of an hookset.

The first thing I would have done in that case is pull up slow on the rod and made sure the fish had the bait fully in its mouth and then set the hook.

The next change would have been a switch to a swim or jig type bait.

It is possible they were smaller fish. The bite was very lethargic in most cases I never felt it and my line never moved. I was fishing a 45 degree rocky bank. I was able to feel my weight contacting the rock. I would lift my rod and It was just heavy, almost like I was pulling it out of mud. I had tried a jig a little earlier in the day but without luck. Thank you for the advice it is definitly something i will think on.

that has happened to me in the past, and when it does you need to up size the hook, if you're using the 2/0 go with the 3/0. This will do two things, the first is the longer hook shank will be further down the worm which leaves less "hookless" worm for the fish to grab, and the other thing it does is keep bluegills from grabbing to far up the worm. I believe this will help, good luck.

My partner was using a magnum finness worm and a 4/0. He hooked up 3 in that same area. I guess the size of the bait and bigger hook made the difference. Thanks!

[msolorio]

yea usually the bigger baits attract the bigger fish but the little guys will still have a go at it. as stated above, increasing the hook size would definantly help. i was having the same issue while doin the same thing as you, i went to a 3/0 straight shank and hooked up almost every time.

[Nitrofreak]

It is possible they were smaller fish. The bite was very lethargic in most cases I never felt it and my line never moved. I was fishing a 45 degree rocky bank. I was able to feel my weight contacting the rock. I would lift my rod and It was just heavy, almost like I was pulling it out of mud. I had tried a jig a little earlier in the day but without luck. Thank you for the advice it is definitly something i will think on.

It may be possible that your bait had been trapped in between rocks as you were lifting and that is why you felt it to be pulling out of mud, and could explain why only half of your bait came back.

A very lethargic fish bite does not sound like a smaller fish bite, I would have to consider ruling that one out.

In my opinion and experience, even in colder water temps if you can get bit from a crappie or sun fish they are still pretty aggresive and distinct in nature to the feel, to me they are not lertharic at all.

[amishnightmare88]

that has happened to me in the past, and when it does you need to up size the hook, if you're using the 2/0 go with the 3/0. This will do two things, the first is the longer hook shank will be further down the worm which leaves less "hookless" worm for the fish to grab, and the other thing it does is keep bluegills from grabbing to far up the worm. I believe this will help, good luck.

that is what i would do as will. less wormless hook to grab. i mainly use 3/0-4/0 hook on all my Tx rigs for that reason as well.

[Gatorbassman]

Was the worm broken just behind the hook or at the tail? You described it as half the worm so I'm going to assume that it was just behind the hook.

I have had this happen countless number of times. I kept a mental note of the details when it did happen and compared what each situation had in common. The cool thing is, your situation has the same thing in common as all of mine. That one thing is the wide gap hook. The wide gap hook is great if your fishing a thick plastic bait because that is what it was designed for but it has it's down side. The tip of the hook is directly in line with the eye which also puts it in line with the sinker. This maks it more difficult to get a positive hookset. What happens is when you set the hook the weight gets jerked out of the fish's mouth and blows it open just a little bit. The eye and tip of the hook follow the same line and the fish is left with just the worm in it's mouth. The worm tears and you are left with half a worm and no fish.

So to solve this I switched to a regular offset worm hook and I stopped loosing as many fish. The regular offset hook, no matter what size, has a better bite than a wide gap of the same size. The tip of the hook is no longer in line with the sinker and eye therefore when you set the hook it doesn't follow that same line and catches the inside of the fishes mouth before it can exit.

IMO You should never use a wide gap hook unless you are fishing a thick plastic like a tube or a fat worm. I don't even use a EWG on Super Flukes anymore.

[senko_77]

First off, were the fish you had biting possibly on bed? A lot of times, spawning fish will simply grab worm bait by the tail and move it off the nest....thus resulting in the worm getting torn in half.

I don't agree with upsizing your hooks. The smaller the hook, the more natural your presentation. Your getting bites on that exact setup...why change? When a keeper size and up fish eats it, your gonna hook that fish. My guess is panfish/small bass are causing this. You can also try adding some scent to see if that will help the fish eat it a bit more aggressively.

[Chattahoochee]

Here is a little more info:

Water temp was 51.3. Stained water. Rocky bluff bank along main river channel. Targeting spotted/kentucky bass. Was using Spike-it (chartruse) on the tail (last inch or so) of a watermelon red Zoom Finness worm. 1/4 oz strike king tungsten bullet. Bait broke about a quarter inch behind bend in hook. So basicly half the worm.

On 2/20/2012 at 12:44 PM, senko_77 said:

First off, were the fish you had biting possibly on bed? A lot of times, spawning fish will simply grab worm bait by the tail and move it off the nest....thus resulting in the worm getting torn in half.

I don't agree with upsizing your hooks. The smaller the hook, the more natural your presentation. Your getting bites on that exact setup...why change? When a keeper size and up fish eats it, your gonna hook that fish. My guess is panfish/small bass are causing this. You can also try adding some scent to see if that will help the fish eat it a bit more aggressively.

I dont think they were bedding. Water temp was still a bit cool. Staging perhaps.

Also I really appreciate all the responses. Really makes you wonder sometimes whats going on down there =)

[Chattahoochee]

It may be possible that your bait had been trapped in between rocks as you were lifting and that is why you felt it to be pulling out of mud, and could explain why only half of your bait came back.

A very lethargic fish bite does not sound like a smaller fish bite, I would have to consider ruling that one out.

In my opinion and experience, even in colder water temps if you can get bit from a crappie or sun fish they are still pretty aggresive and distinct in nature to the feel, to me they are not lertharic at all.

I only think they were fish because the ones I did catch felt similar. It very well could have been some sort of fisure in the rock. I guess i need to go to a pond (non-boater) and practice the feel a bit.

[smalljaw67]

First off, were the fish you had biting possibly on bed? A lot of times, spawning fish will simply grab worm bait by the tail and move it off the nest....thus resulting in the worm getting torn in half.

I don't agree with upsizing your hooks. The smaller the hook, the more natural your presentation. Your getting bites on that exact setup...why change? When a keeper size and up fish eats it, your gonna hook that fish. My guess is panfish/small bass are causing this. You can also try adding some scent to see if that will help the fish eat it a bit more aggressively.

Classic mistake, the hook size is a big reason for missing fish and in 50-55 degree water temps a little less action is more of a good thing and the angler was using a finesse worm, not a ribbon tail. A finesse worm isn't goig to suffer from a small change in hook size, in this anglers situation I honestly believe going to a 3/0 versus a 2/0 is the right thing to do, he obviously has the right bait as he is getting bit and his partner is using an even larger worm with a larger hook and catching fish. The small hook could help when you aren't getting bit in the first place, and I agree with the small hook in that situation but getting bit a not being able to hook the fish as they are only taking the bottom have of the worm is different, it happened to me and the small increase in hook size saved my day. I think your remedy is what I would do in warmer water when fish are present but not biting.

[bosshogg]

I have always found that when this continued to occurr, I was fishing for bluegills, warmouth perch, etc........the simple answer is move locations.

In one of my first visits to the upper St.Johns River, many years ago, this continually happened, until I slowly reeled in a blue crab. They were driving me crazy, setting the hook and bringing in a cut off worm behind the hook. Lessen learned!!!!

[IneedAnewScreenName-972354]

The bite was very lethargic in most cases I never felt it and my line never moved.

What size finesse worm were you using? Maybe a down size in bait would get them to suck the whole bait into their mouth.

[Chattahoochee]

What size finesse worm were you using? Maybe a down size in bait would get them to suck the whole bait into their mouth.

http://zoombait.com/worms/finesse/finesse-worm/

I think they are 6 inches.

[loodkop]

You might also try to spike the head instead of the tail. I have found it to make a difference in the amount of short strikes I get using dropshot and shakeyheads.

[Chattahoochee]

You might also try to spike the head instead of the tail. I have found it to make a difference in the amount of short strikes I get using dropshot and shakeyheads.

Interesting idea. On final approach when zeroing in which sense does a bass use more? Smell or Lateral Line? More things to ponder.

[Deleted account]

I get weird looks when I tell folks I don't use EWG hooks.