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| Ok we or I seemed to have a problem, I have the fish to hook up and only to lose them, be it be at the side of the boat or on the strike and on the run.
Total Last year:
Judy 1 in the boat and lost 6, Me none in the boat and lost 17
And yes are hooks are sharp!!
Is it that we need to set the hook more than once?
We had a blast last year and trying to make this year a even better one.
Need advise
Matt and Judy
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| Matt,
I'm pretty sure the only logical reason for losing that many fish is your drag setting. You decide on what you want to do and what feels right. Either adjust your drag so that line can come out fairly easy. (but be careful if you do that you will need to put your thumb on the spool when you do a hookset) You can also just put the drag as tight as possible but make sure when you get a strike do a hookset then make sure you hit freespool and have your thumb on the line. When the fish runs let your spool let out line and then when you feel that it stops running, reel in some more then if it trys to run again put it on free spool. Make sure you keep a lot of tension on the line because if their isn't enough tension the fish can roll the line and give it leverage for it to pop the hooks out of its mouth. If you having problems with keeping your line tight when reeling in the line may I suggest a faster reel? By faster reel I mean a higher gear ratio.
I'm no pro but I'm sure they can add tons onto it[:)]
hope this helps? Good Luck next year |
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| Matt,realy sorry to hear that Judy beat you last year! Ha-Ha!Where are you loosing most of your fish;just after the hit,close to the boat or durring the retrieve?One thing is to set your hook with your rod going off to the side into the fish,not straight up because you will pull the bait from the fish insteady of sending the hooks home.Always keep tension in the line between you and the fish,never allow even the slightest bit of slack,slack line usualy means a shook hook.Don't over tighten your drag durring the fight either,can rip the hooks out.Any bent hooks durring those losses or breakoffs?If the fish comes to the surface keep your rod tip down,if they jump some of your line will still be in the water and they will get less slack to shake the hook.If your trolling get ahold of the rod and have tension on the line between you and the fish before you stop the outboard motor.If going into the wind,turn out to the side till your even with the fish before you stop the motor,this way your drifting with the fish instead of to the fish,less chance of getting slack in the line.
Capt. Larry |
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| Matt,
Ignoring outright equipment failure, there are generally 4 reasons why fish are lost.
#1 is hooks; be they unsharpened or too small. I do not use a hook smaller than 4/0 because they do not have a wide enough gap to guarantee catching flesh on mid-sized and larger fish... and I prefer 5/0 and 6/0 hooks (or bigger). Hooks should be needle sharp.
#2 is hooksets. If you are trolling you should NOT be using multiple hooksets. If your rod is mounted in a rodholder and the drag is set right, you don't have to set the hook at all... the weight of the boat does that for you and very capably. Even casting, I do not believe in multiple hooksets. Sharp hooks will bite if they have sufficient gap.
#3 is drag. For trolling I went to an even lighter drag this year 11 to 13 pounds, and my loss rate dropped significantly. I believe that a tight drag rips the mouth and can cause the hook to pull or work out. For casting, I used to crank my drag down tight, but this year I backed it down a little so that I have about 25 pounds of drag. That's still a crunching hookset with a long rod! Check your fish when you land them and look at the area around where the hook is buried. If you see signs of tearing, it means your drag is too tight.
#4 is bait selection. Fact is, if you use wooden baits, your loss rate is going to be significantly higher than someone who uses hard plastic because it is much harder for a muskie to bite down on the plastic bait. If your loss rate is high using conventional-sized muskie spoons and bucktails, then your problem is likely your drag setting.
Try experimenting. Use a scale to set your drag, don't guess! And don't let anyone mess with your drag once it is set. Periodically check your drag throughout the day to ensure it hasn't got banged accidentally (this can and does happen).
Good luck in 2002!
Steve Wickens |
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