Weak hooksets

What do you guys do when you know a fish just didn’t get the hook in them good? Seems every once in a while before you know it from a bow in your line or too much slack that the rod is bent over and drag squealing away. But that hook just isn’t set in, do you give another good yank, or set the drag real loose to finesse it in, any ideas? I’m always afraid to give it slack to reset it, but setting the drag real loose hasn’t worked either. Happens across the board with rods and lines.

I give it another yank if i know it was a weak hook set…But if drag is squeeling and you have your drag set right…The hook is already set good.

My hook sets usually peel a slight amount of drag depending on species.

I know the feeling you’re talking about, especially throwing spooks and traps on the Mississippi for bass. Normally when I’m fishing I do nothing different with my hook set, I feel that doing anything different will drastically change if I get a hook into the fish. I believe that you just have to fight the fish differently, let it go where it wants to go and make sure you always have pressure, no slack line. I believe the fight is definitely more important than the hook set on badly hooked fish because a lot of the time there is simply nothing you can do, they just at it bad.

To help them eat it better I will change up presentations, shorten plastics, or create a different movement. A lot of times if I lose a fish to a foul hook I’ll often throw back with something similar, but smaller, and catch the fish.

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I give it another yank if i know it was a weak hook set…But if drag is squeeling and you have your drag set right…The hook is already set good.

My hook sets usually peel a slight amount of drag depending on species.

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Personally, I never double yank on a hook set. I feel like you just rip a bigger hole in their mouth and allow hooks to slip out much easier. Once again this is orientated towards bass who tend to jump and change direction a lot.

I also make sure I never have drag peal on a strong hook set, the only time I ever have drag come out on a hook set is if I am finesse fishing and those fish always are hooked in the top of the mouth.

I should add its mostly pitching 1/8oz jigs with plastics. Thanks for the replies.

Its almost instant if I know I buried it home or not, and I would say almost every single time the fish has got off when it isn’t. Maybe I go in to freakout mode and do something dumb subconsciously when it happens BC I do get really nervous then.

Make darned sure your hooks are sharp. Even if they were sharp to start with you need to give them a check every so often during the fishing time too. I’ll bet that dull hooks and bent hook points are the two biggest problems people have with hooksets.

I strongly agree with Adam. Sometimes the fish just don’t hit it right and you have to make sure you fight them right. Don’t let their head come out of the water even if you have to stick your whole pole in the water.

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I strongly agree with Adam. Sometimes the fish just don’t hit it right and you have to make sure you fight them right. Don’t let their head come out of the water even if you have to stick your whole pole in the water.

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I agree with this and will add have a exfast tip strong but gradual set instead of herky jerkin. My drags are usually set on the side of tighter than most and loosened a bit only if needed after hookset. Would never double set in my opinion.

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I strongly agree with Adam. Sometimes the fish just don’t hit it right and you have to make sure you fight them right. Don’t let their head come out of the water even if you have to stick your whole pole in the water.

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I agree with this and will add have a exfast tip strong but gradual set instead of herky jerkin. My drags are usually set on the side of tighter than most and loosened a bit only if needed after hookset. Would never double set in my opinion.

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First off thanks guys! Secondly I agree with a non herky jerky hook set. All of my finesse hook sets, like you have stated with your jigs, are more of a gradual pull upwards until drag starts peeling. I do the same thing rolling my hips with bait casters. The absolute only time I “herky jerky” hook set is when I’m flipping grass or throwing frogs because I am trying to pull fish out as well.

I also agree that sharp hooks are super important. I sharpen my hooks on all my baits before I throw them. It takes 2 seconds and helps an incredible amount.

Well I’ll give it a try tomm. morning hopefully. Seems to just be an issue when from shore BC I have more line out than from my boat. I found my old fly vest I wear now where I can keep my hook sharpener right where I need it. Thanks for the replies, will see if I can kick up my catch ratio. You guys on here sure make a guys learning curve go way down

The science of the hookset is just plain Physics…
Now I am talking jigs…single hooks…not trebles (which are a different animal)

If you “sweep” set the hook on a taught line you are simply pulling the fish toward you…I see this day after day guiding, especially with jig/plastic or Senkos… Fish suck in the jig and the hook gets flattened against the roof of their mouth by their tongue…which is stronger than ours..
You feel it pull for a bit and …GONE!

The better hookset is to drop the tip when you feel the “bite” and snap the rod toward you…the slack you put in the line for a second with jerk the hook forward…hopefully catching tissue or bone for a solid hook up. Try it, it really works well…called the buggy whip hookset out west…just a quick snap with the wrist/forearm…

With cranks you shouldn’t have to do much but pull back and to the side with your rod…six hooks there to help you

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The better hookset is to drop the tip when you feel the “bite” and snap the rod toward you…the slack you put in the line for a second with jerk the hook forward…hopefully catching tissue or bone for a solid hook up. Try it, it really works well…called the buggy whip hookset out west…just a quick snap with the wrist/forearm…

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Sorry Tom, but that goes against a lot of what I’ve learned about hook setting.

I would actually say that is pretty much the opposite of what you should be doing.

In hook setting, slack line is you enemy. Keep the line tight, set the hook then reel to keep that line tight.

Biggest mistake I see people make is that they don’t reel.

Instead they keep raising the rod higher or further back, stop and feel to see if the fish is still there.

Keep reeling! If the fish is there, you’ll know it and you won’t allow any slack in the line.

Slack line is your enemy and should be avoided!

Hook Setting Basics

Read down the page a bit to the part about “slack line”.

Poor hook sets

More hook sets

More about proper hook sets.

I agree with the no slack line on the hook sets, but bass fishing is a different animal then other fishing. You do need a minimal amount of slack when you set the hook when flipping and especially frogging because they need to eat the bait. The minimal amount of slack used when setting the hook flipping is for that extra punch to get the hook through, especially on jigs with weedless covers. There definitely should never be slack when fishing treble hook baits or most jigs (flipping jigs are an exception). But I have to go in between and saw a little bit of slack is good when bass fishing and using certain presentations. A lot of this goes back to knowing what lure you are using and using it correctly.

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Biggest mistake I see people make is that they don’t reel.
Instead they keep raising the rod higher or further back, stop and feel to see if the fish is still there.
Keep reeling! If the fish is there, you’ll know it and you won’t allow any slack in the line.

Slack line is your enemy and should be avoided!

Hook Setting Basics

Read down the page a bit to the part about “slack line”.

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I feel like this has much more to do with the retrieval and fight with the fish then the actual setting the hook. The only time I ever see this with setting the hook is with complete novice fishermen and I don’t think we are addressing that right now. Like I said before it greatly depends on the bait you are using.

You may want to take a look at the video and articles I linked to above.

Just a heads up, there all from bass fishermen and none of them think slack is a good thing. At least not with any of the techniques there demonstrating or writing about.

I’ll add that I realize there are some fishing techniques that involve free lining after a bite, (live bait at times come to mind) but that’s not what the original poster was asking about and thats not what Tom posted about either.

What I do believe to be incorrect is the notion or thought that you can drive a hook point home better but giving a bit of slack prior to setting the hook.

Its actually the other way around. You will get much more hook setting power and drive the hook deeper by getting rid of the slack prior to setting the hook.

That article does state that some applications do indeed have slack in their presentation.
But to the main point, as dumb as that article was to read the elbows to the side does make sense and I feel i may be guilty of the elbows out. I guess I am a novice angler according to that

Elbows in, elbows out, I’m not so sure that makes a whole lot of difference.

As I said above, I know there are fishing techniques that involve feeding some line prior to setting the hook.

But….my main point is the physics of setting a hook.

Do a simple test in your basement, garage or driveway.

On one end of the driveway, have your wife or girlfriend hold a rod with a jig on it. You stand on the other side of the garage with a piece of cardboard. Stick the jig litely into the cardboard. Now have her do several hook sets. (repeat the same setup as close as possible)

Do it several times with slack in the line and several more with no slack.

See which hook set penetrates the cardboard better.

I’m willing to bet a 6-pack on the non-slack line hook set penetrating deeper.

So in your experience then Joel is if the fish is already burning line off your reel but for whatever reason you know you just didn’t get the hook good into it what do you do? Play it well( which can be said for any type of hook set) or give it a good yank to make sure that thing really gets stuck in?

If I’m jigging for walleyes, I probably set the hook again.
If we’re trolling, no need to set the hook again. It’s probably set good enough.
In either case, keep the rod bent and slack out of the line during the fight and be ready to net it when it comes to the surface.
Many, many fish that have been hooked poorly still end up in the net. Usually that’s because the person with the rod in his or her hand did a good job fighting it all the way to the net.

This fish here is a perfect example of that. As soon as it hit the net, the tiny crappie jig popped out of its mouth.

Groovy

From what I have read in “In Fisherman” the 2 most important things with a hook set is sharp hooks and hook speed. The faster you move the hook, the better it will penetrate. I can see how having a small amount of slack in the line would aid in rod speed and thus hook speed. Too much slack will reduce the leverage and perhaps this is what the article meant.

Joel in your own link it states the following:

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When a fish strikes snap the rod up, over your shoulder or off to one side (sometimes called a side set). If doing the latter, you can twist at the waist to increase the power of your hookset. Before setting the hook it is critical to reel in slack line and point the rod towards the fish before snapping it back. Without doing these two steps, you’ll decrease the effectiveness of the set. As you reel the line in and move the rod towards the fish, you should feel the fish’s weight. Once the slack is gone and you can feel weight, keep your elbows in and quickly snap the rod up and over your shoulders using your forearms.

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this really is no different than what Tom is talking about…only difference is we can do the whole motion in a split second….

If you’re “hopping” a bait and the fish hits while you’re rod is at 12 O’clock….You can either do an Iaconelli and arch yourself back so hard you fall into the seat or drop your rod tip and give’r the coals…

Bass angling is a different beast so our techniques might not be what’s best for other applications…..but it’s not wrong, it’s what works for how we fish…The other points in having sharp hooks is critical. Rarely do you want to “double-set” either….but if you can do the drop set with a hair trigger I think it’s fine…

Let me quote one of the all time best, if not THE best jig fisherman, Denny Brauer, “That double hook set deal, I don’t think is a good deal.” If you are swimming a jig/plastic give it a sweep set, if you are hopping a jig/plastic give it a jerk set. With either one, never allow your rod to lose tension after the set. End of story. End of thread.

Well coming from a guy who has never double set, I got out tonight for a bit and tried out setting it again and went 1/1. Like slopbass mentioned it typically is when the rod is way above my head trying to get the jig over a rock or feel I got snagged up on some line sitting on the bottom and before I know it the fish is giving me head shakes and running with it. Well I just reeled down on (with no slack) it to get that rod tip back to a setting position and gave her a good one and bam, set. Very cool. Nice 23″ eyeball and best of the year for me so far. This was my typical outing too, several smaller fish that got hooked up just fine, and then big momma that I knew didn’t get a good hookset, always would lose it, not no more!!

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Before setting the hook it is critical to reel in slack line and point the rod towards the fish before snapping it back.

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Slop Bass – quoted directly from your quote above.

Like I’ve been saying from the beginning, “Remove all slack from your line before setting the hook”.

I’m not railing against what bass fishermen do or how they do it. Never was. As everyone knows, I’m not a bass fisherman.

The idea that you get better hook setting power, or sink a hook deeper by allowing some slack in the line before setting the hook is what I believe to be an incorrect assumption by many fishermen.

Like Slopbass (Shaver) said though, bass fishing techniques are in fact different. Like I said before, the only times you have minimal slack in your hook set is when you are frog fishing, because the fish has to take your bait or you’ll just rip it right out of their mouth. Or if you are flipping you need a minimal amount of slack to let them eat the bait.

Like stated, I believe double setting the hook accomplishes nothing except making the set weaker because you just ripped the hole open more. This could be different for other fish that don’t jump (like bass) but I would NEVER double set a hook on any bass.