Low Hooking % 2024
The Bassman reply :
Anybody ever get on a bad roll where it seems you just can't keep fish pinned? I was about 5 for 20 tonight on a weightless wacky Senko. Other times I can do no wrong. Hook, a Berkley 2/0 weedless wacky Fusion was plenty sharp and the fluorocarbon weedguard is usually not an issue. The fishing gods certainly humbled me.
Brew City Bass reply :
I had this issue, then I fixed it. I did exactly what I did when I played sports. I recorded myself to find out if the problem was me. Sure enough, it was. Every fish that came unpinned was my fault, I had a whack hookset.
I ended up working on my mechanics and making a solid hookset muscle memory. Now days I don't lose much fish from coming unpinned. I use fairly heavy rods, some would say overpowered, but I've got a gnarly hookset now that doesn't discriminate. Small or big, every bass is getting it's eyes crossed.
When I was fishing with medium rods and lighter line, I'd sweep the set and it was a guessing game if it'd come unpinned or not. Now I rarely use a medium. I'm usually using a 7ft+ MH with xf tip, or a heavy stick. I switched most of my lines to braid, and I beefed up my hooks on what I could. Gives me all the confidence I need to really jack some jaws.
A-Jay reply :
Yup ~
I was on a school brown bass earlier this spring, all big 4's.
They were fighting over my jerkbait but I couldn't get a hook in them.
I'd get a poke and have one for a second or two and then she'd spit me . . .
Happened a few times.
I eventually started getting the steel in them and did manage to keep 5 good ones pinned up.
But I was pretty frustrated.
Jerkbait strikes for me a usually a done deal - crazy that day.
Made me question my deal. - Hate that feeling.
Went back the next day and hammered a bunch of big 5's & a big 6.
Two on jerkbaits.
All was right in the world.
A-Jay
QUAKEnSHAKE reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 8:36 AM, The Bassman said:Anybody ever get on a bad roll where it seems you just can't keep fish pinned? I was about 5 for 20 tonight on a weightless wacky Senko. Other times I can do no wrong. Hook, a Berkley 2/0 weedless wacky Fusion was plenty sharp and the fluorocarbon weedguard is usually not an issue. The fishing gods certainly humbled me.
Whenever I have an Owner hook tied on. I lose more fish with
Owner hooks than all other brands combined ever.
islandbass reply :
Sometimes I think there are occasions we set the hook but our hook was not in position to get set.
Lets say the bass partially inhaled a bait like a dinger such that the part it is latched on to does not have the hook.
I don't care how good of a hook set you have, you’re going to miss. Some even hold on tight enough to fight with their mouths but it is all over when they open up. Conclusion: fish was on but not by the hook.
As for hard jerk baits, I personally witnessed the horror of watching my bait get struck by bass in the dead center yet somehow they evaded the trebles. Come on, bass!! Give me some love. ????
A-Jay reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 9:45 AM, QUAKEnSHAKE said:Whenever I have an Owner hook tied on. I lose more fish with
Owner hooks than any other brand ever.
Interesting ~
I feel the same way about many Trokar offerings.
And the Owner wide gap plus is my EWG of choice.
It's my confidence hook -
#likeagaff
A-Jay
QUAKEnSHAKE reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 9:57 AM, A-Jay said:Interesting ~
I feel the same way about many Trokar offerings.
And the Owner wide gap plus is my EWG of choice.
It's my confidence hook -
#likeagaff
A-Jay
Its my no confidence hook.
A-Jay reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 10:16 AM, QUAKEnSHAKE said:Its my no confidence hook.
I have to say - that blows my mind a little.
A-Jay
Armtx77 reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 9:06 AM, Brew City Bass said:I had this issue, then I fixed it. I did exactly what I did when I played sports. I recorded myself to find out if the problem was me. Sure enough, it was. Every fish that came unpinned was my fault, I had a whack hookset.
I ended up working on my mechanics and making a solid hookset muscle memory. Now days I don't lose much fish from coming unpinned. I use fairly heavy rods, some would say overpowered, but I've got a gnarly hookset now that doesn't discriminate. Small or big, every bass is getting it's eyes crossed.
When I was fishing with medium rods and lighter line, I'd sweep the set and it was a guessing game if it'd come unpinned or not. Now I rarely use a medium. I'm usually using a 7ft+ MH with xf tip, or a heavy stick. I switched most of my lines to braid, and I beefed up my hooks on what I could. Gives me all the confidence I need to really jack some jaws.
Im with this guy, I try to break their head open, regardless of gear.
I have pulled dinks onto to the deck from 20ft away...
Bluebasser86 reply :
I have zero confidence in weedless wacky hooks. Seems they prevent me from getting hooksets more than they prevent hangups.
I've had days like that though, usually with some kind of topwater, or flipping into heavy cover when I just can't seem to keep one pinned long enough to get them out. It's not a good feeling but if you're doing everything right there isn't much you can do other than wait for the next bite and try again.
TOXIC reply :
I'm never gonna complain about getting bit regardless if I lose them or not. 
Oregon Native reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 11:27 AM, Bluebasser86 said:I have zero confidence in weedless wacky hooks. Seems they prevent me from getting hooksets more than they prevent hangups.
I've had days like that though, usually with some kind of topwater, or flipping into heavy cover when I just can't seem to keep one pinned long enough to get them out. It's not a good feeling but if you're doing everything right there isn't much you can do other than wait for the next bite and try again.
Have gone to using the 2/0 weedless wacky from Gamme with the fiber weedguard that goes over the point. (can't remember number right now) but I (from a friends advice) bend out the hook just a bit to open it a bit and life is good. Very few losses.
Mike L reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 9:54 AM, islandbass said:Sometimes I think there are occasions we set the hook but our hook was not in position to get set.
Lets say the bass partially inhaled a bait like a dinger such that the part it is latched on to does not have the hook.
I don't care how good of a hook set you have, you’re going to miss. Some even hold on tight enough to fight with their mouths but it is all over when they open up. Conclusion: fish was on but not by the hook.
As for hard jerk baits, I personally witnessed the horror of watching my bait get struck by bass in the dead center yet somehow they evaded the trebles. Come on, bass!! Give me some love. ????
I think this happens to us more than we think, especially with longer 6"+ plastic.
Our equipment is fine.
More times than not we feel them and go.
Personally, I have to remind myself to "weigh" the fish first before hitting them.
Mike
Hook2Jaw reply :
I think it just happens sometimes, I had a wolf pack of bass attacking my jerk bait the other day and couldn't get a hook in them. Shortly thereafter I started catching them back to back to back, and the day before that had a small double on it.
All my hard baits have VMC hooks because they come stock with them, or, in the case of my Red Eye Shads, I switched to them. I like lighter wire and set my jerkbait rod to 2# of drag with my scale. 10# fluoro.
My soft baits all get BPS XPS hooks, and I use them with soft plastics in the inshore salt as well. I don't miss many fish with them and when they're hooked, 19 times out of 20, they're in the boat.
I do keep a diamond stone in my pocket and often brush my hooks down until they pass the nail test.
My suggestion is to keep a sharpener handy, use it, and realize that sometimes, **** just happens.
Catt reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 8:36 AM, The Bassman said:Anybody ever get on a bad roll where it seems you just can't keep fish pinned?
ROTFLMAO ????
Why certainly!
I quite often ask myself, "are you sure you know what you're doing"?
I've also had everything feel "perfect", felt the bite, minimal slack, rod position fine, solid hook set & have bullet weight/hook come flying at you!
Log Catcher reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 10:29 PM, Catt said:
ROTFLMAO ????
Why certainly!
I quite often ask myself, "are you sure you know what you're doing"?
I've also had everything feel "perfect", felt the bite, minimal slack, rod position fine, solid hook set & have bullet weight/hook come flying at you!
My problem is I can feel the bite set the hook only to end up being hung up. That has happened to me many times.
Choporoz reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 10:52 PM, Log Catcher said:My problem is I can feel the bite set the hook only to end up being hung up. That has happened to me many times.
I learned long ago that bass are quite adept at picking up my lure and planting it in a branch...it isn't an accident
As to the OP, I feel that some days, the bass just have what I refer to as a 'soft bite' -- feels like they're gently picking up lures to check them out without committing such that I can get a reliable set
928JLH reply :
Last outing lost multiple bass. Very frustrating. Hooksets were solid but they all went straight up out of the water and popped off. Water is 85 so maybe their mouths are softer not sure. Sometimes it happens.
Troy85 reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 8:36 AM, The Bassman said:Anybody ever get on a bad roll where it seems you just can't keep fish pinned? I was about 5 for 20 tonight on a weightless wacky Senko. Other times I can do no wrong. Hook, a Berkley 2/0 weedless wacky Fusion was plenty sharp and the fluorocarbon weedguard is usually not an issue. The fishing gods certainly humbled me.
Oh yeah. Just like you have those trips where it seems like you snag every piece of cover you throw near, regardless of how weedless your hook is.
Fishes in trees reply :
On the subject of weedless wacky hooks, the ones that work best for me are the Falcon K-Wacky weighted weedless hooks - 3/0 size. I haven't found that the mouse trap style wire weed guard costs me any fish. I always use senkos with an 0-ring. It has been a dozen years now, and I still haven't decided if a single 0-ring ( which puts the hook point in line with the bait) or a pair of 0-rings crossed ( which puts the hook point at a 90 degree angle to the bait )
is better, so sometimes I do it one way and sometimes the other. I generally use the 1/16 oz weighted hook. My strike to landing percentage overall is in the 70 to 80 % range, and of course that varies from day to day. I've had those days when I couldn't stick anything and I've had months when I seldom missed. It is a mystery.
Sometimes I will fish with one buddy of mine, who seems to be opposed to the whole notion of wacky rigging, he will fish all brands of stick baits tx rigged and he lands & misses fish in roughly the same percentages as I do. Even more of a mystery.
scaleface reply :
My first few outings this year I lost very few fish . This past week I lost as many as I caught , in every way imaginable . The one that hurt was on a ribbit frog . It was a heck of an explosion , I paused before setting the hook and the hook-set was solid , too solid , line snapped .
BassNJake reply :
I hate breaking off fish.
Right after I break one off, I know I'll miss the next one by setting the hook like a wimp.
N Florida Mike reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 9:57 AM, A-Jay said:Interesting ~
I feel the same way about many Trokar offerings.
And the Owner wide gap plus is my EWG of choice.
It's my confidence hook -
#likeagaff
A-Jay
I’m that way with Gamakatsu hooks. I have a very good catch rate % with them.
A-Jay reply :
On 6/14/2019 at 3:23 AM, N Florida Mike said:I’m that way with Gamakatsu hooks. I have a very good catch rate % with them.
X2 ~
I use the standard Gamakatsu EWG a ton as well.
But in applications where I want a little beefier wire - that Owner Wide Gap Plus ewg gets the nod.
A-Jay
N Florida Mike reply :
I recently tried a beefier off brand hook because they were so much cheaper than the Gammies.Wont ever do that again. Hook up and catch rate went way down.
WRB reply :
The OP was successful using what he had on prior outings, it wasn't the hook!
Ole Catt once said somedays we are hero's and some days we are zero's, it happens.
Tom
The OP was successful using what he had on prior outings, it wasn't hook!
Ole Catt once said somedays we are hero's and some days we are zero's, it happens.
Tom
Bankbeater reply :
On a trip last year I had 5 bass in a row come unhooked half way to the boat. I don’t know what was going on, but I didn’t dwell on it. I just switched ponds.
QUAKEnSHAKE reply :
On 6/14/2019 at 3:56 AM, WRB said:The OP was successful using what he had on prior outings, it wasn't the hook!
Ole Catt once said somedays we are hero's and some days we are zero's, it happens.
Tom
The OP was successful using what he had on prior outings, it wasn't hook!
Ole Catt once said somedays we are hero's and some days we are zero's, it happens.
Tom
Nobody has said it was the hook!
Nobody has said it was hook!
WRB reply :
On 6/14/2019 at 9:43 AM, QUAKEnSHAKE said:Nobody has said it was the hook!
Nobody has said it was hook!
You had the post blaming Owner hooks!
Tom
QUAKEnSHAKE reply :
On 6/14/2019 at 10:52 AM, WRB said:You had the post blaming Owner hooks!
Tom
Your reading comprehension is lacking!!!
My reply was 100% relevant to the question posed.
WRB reply :
On 6/13/2019 at 9:45 AM, QUAKEnSHAKE said:Whenever I have an Owner hook tied on. I lose more fish with
Owner hooks than all other brands combined ever.
Sounds like you are stating a hook issue to me. Owners cutting edge hooks haven't been a issue for me and tokar is now capalizing on the same design. Haven't used Tokars but have fished Owners for decades without any issues.
Tom
QUAKEnSHAKE reply :
You need to get some sleep you dont understand the question asked!
WRB reply :
On 6/14/2019 at 12:41 PM, QUAKEnSHAKE said:You need to get some sleep you dont understand the question asked!
I understand the question but you are right not focused on this thread.
Tom
QUAKEnSHAKE reply :
On 6/14/2019 at 12:29 PM, WRB said:Sounds like you are stating a hook issue to me. Owners cutting edge hooks haven't been a issue for me and tokar is now capalizing on the same design. Haven't used Tokars but have fished Owners for decades without any issues.
Tom
If you would quit trying to get a dig in on me or spin the words around you would realize I didnt blame THE BASSMANS issues on his hooks. I just answered his question.
On 6/13/2019 at 8:36 AM, The Bassman said:Anybody ever get on a bad roll where it seems you just can't keep fish pinned? I was about 5 for 20 tonight on a weightless wacky Senko. Other times I can do no wrong. Hook, a Berkley 2/0 weedless wacky Fusion was plenty sharp and the fluorocarbon weedguard is usually not an issue. The fishing gods certainly humbled me.
Answering the question, in my particular instance, CORRECTLY.
When I use owner hooks.
Cant be debated cause its my own experience, doesnt matter what your or others experience with same brand is, doesnt negate that when I use owner hooks I cant keep fish pinned that is if they get hooked in the first place.
Give me 4/0 Gammy Deep Throats for IKAS...no issues.
The Bassman reply :
Really didn't mean for this to be a war of words about hooks. FWIW I try to rationalize when I'm losing fish that it's all for fun and if they get loose I still enjoyed the fight without having to deal with a deep hooked fish. (Easy to say that at 5:00 AM when I'm not fishing). I appreciate the input but it's time to take a deep breath and relax.
Sam reply :
Bassman, all of the above is true and you can take from it what you believe will help and give you confidence.
What I have found follows:
PLASTICS
The bass picks up and holds the plastics by their tail as they swim away.
A strong hook set will not set the hook as the hook is not in a position to hit the bass' mouth.
A bass, as stated above, can hold onto your plastic and fight you until it lets go. Usually right at the boat to drive you crazy.
TREBLE HOOK AND MOVING BAITS
Short strikes and strikes to move or kill your treble hook/single hook moving baits will cause you to go nuts.
Add a trailer hook to your buzzbaits, Chatterbaits and spinnerbaits.
Sometimes they will not want to eat your treble hook baits and there is nothing you can do.
SLACK IN THE LINE
If you do hook a bass you never want to have any slack in the line.
You can put slack in the line without even knowing you are doing it.
Be sure to keep a tight line with the rod tip up.
If the bass starts to jump you then put the rod tip in the water to stop the jumping.
PATIENCE
We all have a tendency to set the hook too fast.
Frog fishing is an excellent example of missing fish by setting the hook too fast.
Give the bass time to work the plastic into its mouth, about three to four seconds after they pick it up.
Use MegaStrike or a scent of your choice on all plastics and moving baits. Yes, you put it on all baits, even treble hook baits.
When you see your line move away or do something "strange or out of the ordinary" you reel in the slack, point the rod tip at the place the line enters the water, and set that hook after three or four seconds.
When your moving baits stop or you feel the hit, swing your rod tip from right to left (left to right) at waist height and never, never, never allow any slack in the line for one second. After swinging your rod you hold your rod tip to around 10 or 11 o'clock and the fight is on.
Remember, when fishing topwaters, if the bass short strike your bait you throw a wacky rigged Senko at the location where the topwater was hit. The bass may pick it up as it falls thinking it injured the topwater when it hit it.
My friend was fishing a major tournament on Buggs Island lost six straight bass at the boat. Yes, six in a row. He said he was doing everything correctly but the bass came unbuttoned just the same. He has never figured it out nor has his nonboater.
It can happen to us all. It has happened to me, too. You just have to keep on fishing.
Weedless reply :
I would make sure you are using O-rings (I like 2 crossed) and slide your hook just under the rings and not in your worm at all. This allows most of your hook exposed. Also, I always reel down hard on them until my rod is bent enough I have some of the fish, then i finish with a firm set.
Naticedog04 reply :
I only use Gamakatsu 2/0 and 3/0 if I know the bass are big. I don’t have a problem setting the hook, I’m usually patient depending on how the bite feels and if they’re pulling slack. My problem is setting the hook but my leader is gone from the swivel or my leader is there but my hook is gone. So it’s probably a knot issue?
hawgenvy reply :
Guys, I think Bassman knows how to rig a bait and set a hook. I just think he means some days you lose more fish on the way back to the boat than on other days. For me, those frustrating days make me feel like I'm doing something wrong, even if it's just that the fish are not biting down as aggressively. We've all been there, I think.
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