Setting The Hook On Plastics 2025
crankbait2009 reply :
Hi all, I am still trying to fish plastics from time to time. I just want them to work for me like they do everyone else (or at least it seems)
So I am throwing them more and more as of the last couple weeks.
Yesterday, I was fishing a senko, wack rigged. I felt a few tubs/nibbles. Not sure what it was so I jerked to the left like I do with all my crankbaits and I ended up pulling a blue gill out of the water. The thing is, I pulled him out only for the fact that he was holding on to the rubber worm. no where near the hook. Once he figured out that he was out of the water, he released his death grip and back in to the water he fell. so he was never hook set.
So if this were a bass that was trying to take this soft plastic. how do you set the hook so that the hook sets? How do you know when to set the hook? I don't understand that.
Also, when you are t-rigging a plastic bait, whether it be a worm, creature bait, fluke, etc.........most of the time i try it t-rigged. Again, same thing. How do you know when to set the hook????
I can't grasp soft plastic fishing strategies but for some reason, I keep buying them (i don't understand that one, they dont even work!!)
can anyone shed some light on this? (sorry if wordy)
iabass8 reply :
The most basic way for most to understand how to is: Feel/see the bite, drop the rod tip or reel in slack, set the hook. It can take practice to get this down and there are also variations of how to set but it's the easiest to start with. Sometimes it helps to let them take it for a second or two which is why you drop your rod tip and reel the slack then swing othertimes they will take it and spit it out faster than you can see it. My favorite bite is when a fish knocks slack in your line and takes the bait towards you of off to the side, reel like hell and cross their eyes. If you are unsure if a fish is on your bait, set the hook (hook sets are free) or hold the rod tip at 10 oclock and wait till you feel something or see the line move, then give it hell. Set the hook harder if using superline hook. less set is needed for lightwire hooks. you can really just reel set or just a gradual lift set will penetrate the fish.
gripnrip reply :
You set the hook just fine. Wacky rigged senkos or other stick baits simply catch fish. When I feel the oh so familiar tap tap tap, I set the hook. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, then reel in the slack and if the line is swimming off drop the hammer! If you do that be prepared from time to time you'll gut hook the aggressive ones. If you decide not to fish plastics anymore then that just leaves more fish for the guys that like fishing them! Lol
fstr385 reply :
fish rarely smash senkos like other baits. Sometimes I find I fish on the line I didn't know were there because the bite was so minimal. When I do feel the tap, I wait a few seconds. Simetimes they spit it out and its a loss. Many times a tap tap is a take and a spit. But if I see the line goin, or slacking, I make that time to set it. Ive watched fish take senklos quite a few times, and especially smaller ones, they grab it, swim away and gulp it down as they go "takin their time" and don't inhale the whole thing all at once. If you feel one big thud, swing for the fences! The big ones just take it all.
"
GeorgiaBassBros reply :
With t rigged worms i have been known to really whack em on the hookset and i dont hardly miss any fish doin it so thats just what i do. My hookset with jigs and texas rigs is exactly the same, but i struggle with hooksets on cranks and other moving baits.
crankbait2009 reply :
very good.........thank you for the input!! I will definitely take a mental note of this and see what I can muster up next time out......
I will keep you posted.
thank you again
Crankbait09
Frenchman83 reply :
With wacky rigs the tap tap is generally a gill. I almost always wait for the lime to move especially if I am in a great position. Then I real the slack letting my ML rod load before giving an extra little tug. With t-rigged baits I wait less time and have a stronger hook set. I do not use the hook sets are free method as I feel this can take the bait out of a great position for no reason.
Paul
Sam reply :
Treble Hook Baits - Swing rod to the left or right at waist level.
Single Barb Hooks - Hard over your head. Keep rod tip in the air until you get the bass under control.
If the bass jumps place rod tip in the water to stop the jumping.
Remember to take the slack out of the line before setting the hook hard over your head.
Also try not to fall down or out of the boat when setting the hook hard over your head as everyone will point their fingers at you and laugh.
crankbait2009 reply :
On 5/28/2013 at 5:54 PM, Sam said:
Also try not to fall down or out of the boat when setting the hook hard over your head as everyone will point their fingers at you and laugh.
HA HA HA
mg4u2nv reply :
patience is a very hard thing to learn with soft plastics. cranks and spinners create the reaction bite and fish usually hook themselves. Soft plastics they inhale it and hold on bc its a more realistic feel to them i guess. Any time i feel something different with a soft plastic, whether it be a "bump" or even if the bait feels mushy, i stop and lift the rod up a little and wait a second or so. If a fish has it they usually let you know. And when i'm convinced its eaten i lower the rod, reel the slack, drive it home!
Matt
Bama55 reply :
I'm still fairly new to bass fishing, but 90% of my fishing to this day has been with soft plastics, which is how I learned to catch bass.
Like what fstr said, a smaller bass may feel like a blue gill when it hits your bait. When I feel a lighter tap, or tap tap tap... I usually wait a couple seconds before setting the hook so I know it's taken the whole bait.
I've always heard that hook sets are free, so when in doubt go for it, but like to wait a bit to see if I have one on. A bass will usually hold on to soft plastics long enough for you to see that its on there with all the salt/flavor added. When I'm not sure if it's a bass that has taken my bait, I'll raise my rod tip up to just over a 45 degree angle while reeling in the slack in my line. If it feels heavy or the line is moving at all I'll drop my rod down below parallel while reeling my reel about half a turn which will create a semi-slack line. Then I jerk it back up over my head. The semi-slack line seems to help with a better hook set.
One more thing that has helped me a lot while fishing soft plastics and I'm not having much luck... SLOW down to the point that you let the bait sit 5-10 seconds before giving it a couple twitches, only moving it 6 inches or so then let it set again.
That's just a couple of things that have helped me. The more experienced guys here may have different/better advice.
edit: Seems Matt has the pretty much the same technique, lol.
Tyfisher reply :
I've found that bluegills and really small bass will "tap tap tap" as others have said. Bluegills and baby bass also seem to grab the soft plastic and run in short, fast bursts, whereas larger bass tend to inhale the bait and either sit or move off more slowly.
milt20 reply :
You have already received lots of good advise so I won't add much. Keep throwing the soft plastics because in my opinion it is the best contact you have with the fish. As was stated earlier, with most reaction baits, they just hook themselves.
Best advise I ever heard was that fish don't have hands. If you feel him, it's in his mouth. Set the hook, as stated earlier, hook sets are free! Enjoy.
Catt reply :
The 3 tap theory as explained by Shaw Grisby 
First tap the bass inhaled your lure
Second tap the bass spit your lure
Third is me tapping you on the shoulder asking why you didn't set hook!
The biggest reason the average angle has hookup problems with Texas rigs or jigs is because they are to slow.
Believe me the average bass is way faster than the average angler!
The lightest/smallest tap will be the biggest bass!!!
NC_Bass6 reply :
as far as wacky rigged senkos go, most bass that grab it will not try to rip the rod out of your hand. as it has been explained many times before, most times you will see your line either go slack, get tight, or drift to one side. as for other plastics, if you feel a thump you believe to be a bass by all means set the hook. i think glenn explained in one of his videos that if you werent sure you could put your rod at 10 o clock and if you see your line move in a direction set the hook. happy fishing!
Kyle Mahaffey reply :
When I was starting out everyone told me to start with plastics. But I wasn't catching a thing. Then I found this pale and everyone was like hook sets are free. Then I went out and felt a soft hit and set the hook so hard I knocker my glasses and hat into the water lucky for me it was a four pounder and I'm. Bank fisherman so I could retrieve my hat and glasses
Grizzn N Bassin reply :
If I feel a knock or tap I set the hook.. unless I know I fishing around wood/ brush piles
Jigs 4 Pigs reply :
On 6/1/2013 at 8:59 AM, Catt said:The lightest/smallest tap will be the biggest bass!!!
Most of the biggest bass I've caught on soft stick baits (senko type baits) including my p.b. 4lbs 9oz, there was a very light tap or no tap at all, just felt different when I did the "pressure test" (raising the rod tip a little to see if anything was on the other end). You always gotta be a line watcher fishing soft plastics and can't wait too long to set the hook, they're gonna spit it or swallow it!
Clark617 reply :
That's funny. I typically use plastic senko/swim baits as my go-to bait. Use a t-rig, can't really get the movement down on a whack. Anyway, it's mostly about getting accustomed to how it feels. Sometimes it's a little tough to judge but if you give it a quick second, more often than not (for my anyway), you'll be able to set the hook. I'm usually a little itchy when it comes to setting hooks haha but i rarely fail with my t-rigged senko. Hope this is helpful!
ww2farmer reply :
As Catt said, the big ones rarely "thump" the bait. Especially senko, jig, or worm fishing. You have to be a line watcher. if you see your line "tick" but don't feel a thing (because it's falling on slack line)............set the hook. If your bait stops sinking.............set the hook, if your line slowly moves off to one direction..........set the hook, if you go to reel the bait back in and it feels "heavy".........set the hook and hold one, that's usually a good one. Macnine gun taps, usually, = bluegills..................BUT not always.
WRB reply :
I use soft plastics to teach new bass anglers how to bass fish, because they are very effective in regards catch rates per hour fishined.On 5/28/2013 at 7:34 AM, crankbait2009 said:Hi all, I am still trying to fish plastics from time to time. I just want them to work for me like they do everyone else (or at least it seems)
So I am throwing them more and more as of the last couple weeks.
Yesterday, I was fishing a senko, wack rigged. I felt a few tubs/nibbles. Not sure what it was so I jerked to the left like I do with all my crankbaits and I ended up pulling a blue gill out of the water. The thing is, I pulled him out only for the fact that he was holding on to the rubber worm. no where near the hook. Once he figured out that he was out of the water, he released his death grip and back in to the water he fell. so he was never hook set.
So if this were a bass that was trying to take this soft plastic. how do you set the hook so that the hook sets? How do you know when to set the hook? I don't understand that.
Also, when you are t-rigging a plastic bait, whether it be a worm, creature bait, fluke, etc.........most of the time i try it t-rigged. Again, same thing. How do you know when to set the hook????
I can't grasp soft plastic fishing strategies but for some reason, I keep buying them (i don't understand that one, they dont even work!!)
can anyone shed some light on this? (sorry if wordy)
If you are not catching bass using soft plastics it is because younre not fishing the right locations, can't catch them if they re not where you are fishing. Post the lake you fish, the name and state, we can put you where you need to start during this seasonal,period.
Tom
crankbait2009 reply :
On 6/3/2013 at 10:45 AM, WRB said:I use soft plastics to teach new bass anglers how to bass fish, because they are very effective in regards catch rates per hour fishined.
If you are not catching bass using soft plastics it is because younre not fishing the right locations, can't catch them if they re not where you are fishing. Post the lake you fish, the name and state, we can put you where you need to start during this seasonal,period.
Tom
currently I fish the Little Miami River of East Fork on the east side of Cincinnati, Ohio. The main lake I fish is East Fork Lake, again, east side Cincinnati, ohio
WRB reply :
William Harsha lake?On 6/3/2013 at 10:54 AM, crankbait2009 said:currently I fish the Little Miami River of East Fork on the east side of Cincinnati, Ohio. The main lake I fish is East Fork Lake, again, east side Cincinnati, ohio
Tom
crankbait2009 reply :
ya, thats one of the locations I go to
ClackerBuzz reply :
forget about hawgzilla for a second. many fish you'll come across are dinks to medium size. smaller bass will hold on to a senko and don't even mind playing tug of war. bait fish fight like heck when trying to get away so many small fish like the pull/fight of a senko.
strictly for understanding the tap feel... keep ur rod at 10 o'clock and watch ur line tighten. then you'll feel the rod tip bend. this would be a good time to drop, reel up slack and set hook.
you can take it farther and even let the rod tip bend and play tug of war. obviously don't use this method alot b/c if you wait too long you'll gut hook the fish (I'll post hook removal). it will def help you understand the whole process.
getting back to hawgzilla..there is very little chance of you gut hooking his old wise @$# while trying this and if you learn the bite feel/hook set there is a much better chance of you catching the beast
http://www.electric-bass.org/throughTheGill.htm
WRB reply :
One more question; what type of tackle do you fish the soft plastics with?
If you re using bait casting or spinning with a worm rod from shore I would use a finesse C-rig or what I call a slip shot rig. The only difference being the line and weight size.
For casting a 3/8 oz Top Brass Pro-Jo weight painted black, 8-10# FC line, Glass faceted 8mm bead, Peg-It II rubber peg and size 1/0 Owner or Gamakatsu light wire worm hook.
Spinning use a 1/8 oz Pro-Jo eight, 6-8# FC, size 1 hook.
Worms; casting use 6" curl tail, spinning use 5.1/2" curl tail, color Roboworm Oxblood w/lt red flake and MMII.
Both are high% colors this time of year.
Peg the weight about 24" above the hook. Rig the worms weedless and skin hook. Bites tend to feel like a rubber band pressure. The retrieve is simple; slowly drag the weight about 1 to 2' using the rod, reel in slack and repeat.
Fish major and secondary points and fan cast the entire point area. Points near spawning areas are best at this time.
Remember the worm is weightless to the bass, you feel the sinker weight, any thing the pulls back is a bass, set the hook.
Tom
PS; Iovino products carries the Top,Bras painted weight and Peg-It. Don't worms are also good, his Honey worm is hot now.
crankbait2009 reply :
WRB, do things change from what you stated if I fish from a boat? Or does the same principals apply no matter where I fish?
WRB reply :
First I want to let you know that my sat map didn't allow me to look at your lake in any detail.On 6/3/2013 at 6:55 PM, crankbait2009 said:WRB, do things change from what you stated if I fish from a boat? Or does the same principals apply no matter where I fish?
Yes a boat makes a lot of difference, you can go anywhere and set up your casting angles to optimize the presentation. From shore all the angles are casting out and retrieving back to shore.
When you are learning to fish soft plastics keep to 1 or 2 presentations until you are consistant at catching bass before adding other presentations. Depending on the depth you are fishing and the wind conditions, you want the weight as light as possible and still feel the bottom. With a boat you don't need the weight as heavy to cast, you can move the boat, making shorter casts.
Not knowing the depth to fish, which is critical, I would cover 1' to 20' until you start getting strikes, then focus on the depth the bass are more active in.
Tom
TheBassfish3r reply :
What I have figured out is, 99% of the time a bluegill takes your bait, you will feel multiple little bumps. Sometimes they will pull and it may feel like a bigger fish but it is just the bluegill trying to not let the prey get away. If it was a bass, you will feel heavy weight that doesn't move. as soon as you feel the weight and start to pull up slightly to figure out if it's a fish or not, it will pull back much, much harder then a bluegill. One thing I have heard that has really helped me is "hook sets are free, don't be afraid to set the hook. Use them as much as possible". If you set the hook, I tend to pull straight up instead of going to the side. Setting straight up will guarantee a hook set instead of a side hook set which has the chance of pulling the bait out of the mouth of the fish.
BillinDurham reply :
I just started fishing again. After some cranking and spinner baiting I started playing with some T-rigged worms. Kept hearing about this Senko stuff, studied up, bought a bag and started fishing one in an area where I've been unable to raise a single bass on anything else.
On a 2nd or 3rd cast I got the spinning reel equivalent of a bad backlash (flourocarbon on spinning reel can be a challenge). I decided to handline in the worm so I could cut out the knot and re-rig. Hmmm, something seems to be on the end of it. Once I realize it was a fish, I went back to the reel, and ended up with a perfectly lipped hooked chunky 3 pounder. Whoa!
I don't know how that happened, but I'll be working with these tasty sinking salty worms a lot more.
Great thread for us novice worm people. Thanks.
Loop_Dad reply :
On 6/3/2013 at 11:26 AM, ClackerBuzz said:forget about hawgzilla for a second. many fish you'll come across are dinks to medium size. smaller bass will hold on to a senko and don't even mind playing tug of war. bait fish fight like heck when trying to get away so many small fish like the pull/fight of a senko.
strictly for understanding the tap feel... keep ur rod at 10 o'clock and watch ur line tighten. then you'll feel the rod tip bend. this would be a good time to drop, reel up slack and set hook.
you can take it farther and even let the rod tip bend and play tug of war. obviously don't use this method alot b/c if you wait too long you'll gut hook the fish (I'll post hook removal). it will def help you understand the whole process.
getting back to hawgzilla..there is very little chance of you gut hooking his old wise @$# while trying this and if you learn the bite feel/hook set there is a much better chance of you catching the beast
http://www.electric-bass.org/throughTheGill.htm
x2.
Having hi-vis line helps to watch the line move in low light condition. I think about the size of bait vs size of average fish when I time the hook set. I do not want to wait too long with 4" senko. Also I recommend pinching the barb with single hook with small bait as it is easy to gut hook as you are practicing the timing.
Loop_Dad reply :
On 6/10/2013 at 9:15 AM, BillinDurham said:I just started fishing again. After some cranking and spinner baiting I started playing with some T-rigged worms. Kept hearing about this Senko stuff, studied up, bought a bag and started fishing one in an area where I've been unable to raise a single bass on anything else.
On a 2nd or 3rd cast I got the spinning reel equivalent of a bad backlash (flourocarbon on spinning reel can be a challenge). I decided to handline in the worm so I could cut out the knot and re-rig. Hmmm, something seems to be on the end of it. Once I realize it was a fish, I went back to the reel, and ended up with a perfectly lipped hooked chunky 3 pounder. Whoa!
I don't know how that happened, but I'll be working with these tasty sinking salty worms a lot more.
Great thread for us novice worm people. Thanks.
I believe some folks use hand lining technique and call it "twitching".
Edit actually "stitching".
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