Frustration returns…

…but not because I couldn’t find the fish. Instead, I found them in the same places last night that they’ve been for the last two weeks. My problem was that I couldn’t keep them hooked after they’d strike.

The facts: Caught 7 fish. Missed 9 fish. Three hours’ worth of fishing.

I tried the good ol’ Rogues again, and once again they were the best bait, but because of the short strikes, I kept switching lures on one rod; I went through Shad raps, HJ’s, thundersticks, rebel minnows, small baits, large baits, dark baits, bright baits, all hoping to find something they’d actually eat. Still, the only two lures that caught fish were the gold and clown Rogues, but only a few of the bites got more than the last treble hook, and most of them didn’t even get that. I slowed the boat waaay down to around 1.0 and didn’t get a bite. Picked it back up to 1.6-1.8, and voila, a missed fish.

Is this a common problem? I’ve missed quite a few fish this year, but never more than I’ve actually caught. And most importantly, does anyone have any tips for minimizing the problem? Or is this just a part of fall fishing..?

Oh, and the wind picked up out of the east again. Is it windy EVERY night in the fall?!?

Mono or fire line? I use only fire line and have no problems keeping them hooked. Just make sure you also have a soft tip rod as not to rip it out of there mouths.

Are you using rod holders or holding the rod, I’ve missed a few by putting too much pressure on them.

I use a lot of rogues my self and they usually have pretty sharp hooks but a problem I have found on some baits is that the gap between the hook point and the hook shank can be pretty small. I will change hooks on a lot of baits to a size larger with a larger hook gap.For replacement hooks I use Owner Hooks which are razor sharp and super strong and really hook and hold fish. I use the ST-36 hooks which have a straight point s opposed to a curved in point. Hope this might be a tip that can help you out.

Paul Delaney

http://www.lateeyessportfishing.com

You are probably snagging tulibee and then having them come off. The water temp is just now hitting that sweet spot for them to move in and spawn.

-J.

When the fish are hitting really light, go with the rod that has the slowest action. When the fish sucks in the bait, you want your rod to give a little so that there is the least amount of resistance possible. When the fish are not smacking the bait with authority, a fast/extra fast tip can sometimes prevent the bait from getting sucked in. This is especially true when using hard lines.

-Drew

Replace the hooks, especially the back hook. Hooks will
become dull and wear out just by catching fish. You can also roll the hook point over, leading to lost fish. it can be a pain in the butt trying to replace them on the water, in the dark, with cold hands, but a good snap ring plyer will do wonders. Also, if your are hand holding the rod or in a rod holder and you feel a hit/see a hit and the fish does not hook up, immediately allow the reel to free spool dropping that lure back in the fish’s face. sometimes, this will lead to a follow up strike. If you are getting them hooked up and they are pulling off on the way in, slow the boat down or take it out of gear to release some of the pressure. I prefer to keep the boat moving forward, but sometimes it is necessary to slow down. also, once you start running under that 1.4mph mark, a lot of times the fish will follow the plug and nip at the back hook. The slow speed of the boat does not get a good hook set on them, meaning you have to sometimes set the hook manually vs. having the boat do it for you. Keep cathin!

Thanks for the replies, guys. For what it’s worth, I use a medium action rod with a slow taper…it’s got a lot of bend and definitely isn’t too stiff. And I use braid with a mono leader. Thinking the braid might not be stretching enough, I went back in last night, grabbed a spincast rod with 8 lb mono on it (long, soft tipped bobber rod) and used that. Sure enough, fish would hit and then get off, though I did seem to do a bit better with the mono, maybe because it stretches. I didn’t get enough bites at that point to know if I just got lucky and hooked one or two, or if the mono was the difference.

I honestly never even contemplated the fact that they might be tullies. Hm. Some of them were definitely not tullibies, and I’d have them on for a while, and most were definite bites, i.e. the rod in the holder was going nuts.

I also use a very light drag, in part because, in the past, I’d lost some because the drag was too tight…I’m wondering if, with the duller hooks and the light drag, I was having a hard time getting the hooks to set. I dunno.

And some of the fish I did catch were hooked outside of the mouth or up on the head…seemed almost like they’d come up and just kind of knock it with their snouts or something. Dumb walleyes.

I was having the same issue fish coming unbottuned I would run my drag a little loose so when a fish hit it would pull a slight amount of drag using braid. Jason Halfen recommended tightening the drag down much tighter helped clear up my problem.

Yeah, I thought about tightening the drag down, but it seemed that they’d come off when I applied pressure on them. I figured that the tight drag would just pop them off earlier, but it sounds like it’d be worth a shot.

I did get out last night between 8 and 1. In the first four and a half hours, I got eight fish.

Last thirty minutes, I got four as I was trolling into the boat ramp. Add in a sumo pike, and it was a nice night to be on the water, even if the pattern I’ve been working on appears to be over.