Missed Hooksets

[TMDKENNELS]

Last year, for ever 1 fish I caught I missed 3. I good never figure out what I was doing wrong. I would try to set the hook as soon as I felt the fish then I would let him take it before I set the hook. Either way, I missed a ton of fish or they shook the hook free. This year I've invested in the more high dollar hooks and hopefully this will prevent me from losing as many fish. Also, maybe it was the way that I was hooking the worm/lizard. Do you guys have any suggestions?

[Daniel My Brother]

Everybody misses some fish, but if you're missing 3 out of 4, something is wrong. I doubt it's just the hooks.

Are you sure the bites you're missing were bass? I get a lot of tap, tap, taps from bluegill when I'm fishing soft plastics, especially if I'm beating the banks. If they're pulling the tails, pinchers, legs, or other appendages off your baits, it's probably a sunfish.

Assuming they're bass, and assuming your bait is rigged properly...it could be the hooks, it could be the line, it could be the rod, or it could even be operator error.

Sharp, quality hooks are a must.

Mono stretches more than braided line or even floro. If you're making long casts with mono you may struggle to get a good hookset.

If you're using a slow, whippy rod, you'll also struggle to set the hook. Soft plastics should be fished with a stiff, fast action rod. The longer the rod the more leverage you'll get.

When you feel the bite, drop the rod tip, reel in the slack, and set the hook...hard.

Here's hoping you have better luck this year.

[tomustang]

To rule out if there's pesky bluegills chomping on your tail, downgrade your bait with a small hook and see if you'll catch anything.

[Nitrofreak]

I agree with DMB, it helps to know what equiptment you are using to begin with.

Since you have already gone out and bought some high quilaty hooks, that is a great start.

Smaller fish, such as sunfish, are usually pretty aggressive when they attack a bait and the feel of the bite is much different in most cases than that of a bass, if you are getting very aggressive short bursts of bites, usually, but not always indicates that is a sunfish.

I am not sure how much of a chance you have had to read in the artical sections, but there is a lot of info that will be of great help to you, there is a lot of text info as well as video that explains what size hooks, style of hooks etc...that will help you put more bass in the boat.

Good luck and be safe and welcome to the forums !!!

[TMDKENNELS]

Thanks guys. I definately need to get a new rod...probably 3 new ones. Some of the hits (tugs)...they were pesky as well. I know where sunfish (I dismiss those). Most hits I actually see the fish (bass) as they sometimes jump and shake the hook. Those aggressive sunfish can pull hard at times but some of those pulls I saw the line tighten and start to swim and sometimes the fish jumps and I see that its a bass. Other times....if bluegills pull that hard then I need to start fishing for those. I'm new to this site and haven't had a chance to view all of the articles but I definately will. I'm sure a lot of it is me (my mistakes). I guess I need to start paying attention to they type of line that I use as well. I missed a lot of fish last year (big ones) I know they were big because I actually saw them..lol I did, however out fish my dad but I want a few double digits (lbs) on my record this year. Thanks again.

[Daniel My Brother]

Thanks guys. I definately need to get a new rod...probably 3 new ones.

You're gonna fit in fine around here.

[Brand0n]

dont be afraid to set the hook hard...if its a blue gill you might rip his mouth off or hook into a good bass. there are certain types of hook sets i do. i do a side sweeping action when jig fishing and for texas rigged worms/lizards i do a hard upward to the side hookset. set it hard.

[B@ssCrzy]

Mono stretches more than braided line or even floro. If you're making long casts with mono you may struggle to get a good hookset.

If you're using a slow, whippy rod, you'll also struggle to set the hook. Soft plastics should be fished with a stiff, fast action rod. The longer the rod the more leverage you'll get.

x2....Not sure what baits you are using, but if you are using any type of trebel hook you are not going to want to be setting the hook very hard. If you do you can rip bait out of their mouth. If you are loosing them on worms and lizards my guess would be that you may have a real "whippy" rod that with the added stretch of monofilament line does not let you set the hook hard enough to penetrate the tough parts of the bass' mouth. There are some good articles and posts on this site that talk about rod strengths and tapers that you should read before you go out and buy a new rod. Armed with that information you can get a good rod that should help you to do better on your hookup ratio. Welcome to the site!!! There is a lot of good information on here!!

[Brand0n]

all my rods are medium heavy action just enough leverage to get a good hookset and sensitivity

[200racing]

be sure to bring your hook through your worm then barely hide the tip in the top to be weedless.

you might want to get a hook file.keep those bad boys sharp.

[Hyrule Bass]

Thanks guys. I definately need to get a new rod...probably 3 new ones. Some of the hits (tugs)...they were pesky as well. I know where sunfish (I dismiss those). Most hits I actually see the fish (bass) as they sometimes jump and shake the hook. Those aggressive sunfish can pull hard at times but some of those pulls I saw the line tighten and start to swim and sometimes the fish jumps and I see that its a bass. Other times....if bluegills pull that hard then I need to start fishing for those. I'm new to this site and haven't had a chance to view all of the articles but I definately will. I'm sure a lot of it is me (my mistakes). I guess I need to start paying attention to they type of line that I use as well. I missed a lot of fish last year (big ones) I know they were big because I actually saw them..lol I did, however out fish my dad but I want a few double digits (lbs) on my record this year. Thanks again.

are you keeping the line tight enough when they jump? is there significant slack in your line when setting the hook?

[Nick94]

I always set the hook about half a second after i feel the thump, it gives me the security that the fish is definiately "mouthing" it. Sometimes it will be a 3 thump pick up. The first thump is the fish picking it up, the second thump is the fish turning away, and the third thump is the fish spitting it out. So you want to make sure you set before the third thump!

[Daniel My Brother]

There was a fellow here named Catt who had a different three tap theory:

First tap is the fish grabbing the bait.

Second tap is the fish spitting out the bait.

Third tap is me smacking you on the head for not setting the hook on the first tap.

Another thing he used to say "What do you thing they're grabbing it with, their fins?"

I miss Catt.

[WRB]

There are lots of good tips on how to rig a Texas rigged worm on this site and I'm sure someone will post them. This thread contains good advice for you.

Missed strikes with soft plastics like worms and creatures give you information to make adjustments.

One common clue is how the worm is bunched up on the hook after a miss. If the worm has slid down into the hook gap, covering the point, you know the hook was too small for the worm or the hook doesn't hold the worm on the shaft correctly. The head of the worm should not slide off the hook eye and down the shaft.

Missed taps may not be bluegill; smallmouth and spotted bass often bite the tail end of worms. Check the worm for teeth marks; sand paper like rough area indicate where the bass bit the worm.

Type and size of hook is very important; the hook gap should be 2 to 3X the worm diameter. If the hook is in the 2X gap size, then skin hook the worm. I prefer a straight shank wide gap sproat or round bend type premium worm hook; 3/0 to 4/0 for most standard 6" to 10", 4/0 to 5/0 for creatures and larger body worms.

Line size is also important; with standard worm hook sizes 3/0 to 5/0 you need 12# to 15# line, unless fishing finesse worms, then down size the hooks to light wire 1/0 and 6# to 10# line.

Rods must be able control the bass in the cover condition you fish, they do not need to be any heavier than a 4 power or med/heavy fast action rod rated to 12-20 lb line. A 3 power or medium fast rated for 10-15 lb line works well under light cover conditions.

Forget the cross the eyes hook set and use the reel and fast sweep hook set, your hook up ratio will go way up.

Tom