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Posts: 1828
| I had a long stretch last year of missed hits and hooked-but-lost fish. Then there was a turning point and I started landing them. I attributed it to better focus and better hooksets, but I'm wondering if the fish themselves played more a part, or if my retrieves changed without my awareness.
Anyway, on to present time. From opener through this weekend (one full month) I fished 8 times, saw a fair amount of fish, but no hits. Not even close. All follows were rather nonchalant. Then Monday night, had a storm blowing in, and I thought, by the books, they should be biting. Well they were, kind of.
I had FIVE DIFFERENT FISH attempt to eat. Two of those fish "hit" twice, so that's SEVEN strikes. I consider that to be very good action. Sadly, I only hooked and landed one. That was on double 10's. Four of the other hits were also on 10 blades. Three of them hit way out, I felt the hit, set the hook, nothing there, but I saw the fish boil as I set. One of those fish kept coming even after hitting steel. I went fast into the 8, two slow corners, and on the third floated corner she nipped the tail, but got enough of the bait that I felt it, set hard, but no connection.
The two other hits were just seconds apart from one fish on a hawg wobbler. I was retrieving very slow, saw the wake push up, dorsal fin poked out, fish moved side to side. I knew it would eat. Kept coming in slow, then she made a rather slow advance and slurped at it. Bait moved sideways but didn't get in her mouth. I felt nothing, as she got no hooks. Two seconds later she was back on it, more aggressive, back and forth. I twitched it, paused, then slowly forward again. Another slurp, but this time from the side. Bait disappeared, but again, I felt no weight, and in a half second it was back on the surface. It's like the thing has a shield around it.
I'm not worried about it right now, but I want to be cognizant of possible tactic changes to make if a trend of missing them develops. What are some things to consider with the bucktails if you're missing big hits, or if the fish are consistently just nipping? Topwater - if they're swiping but missing, or seemingly hitting with a closed mouth, what might you do to make em inhale it?
OR was that just a string of not-fully-committed hits, and I shrug it off and wait for the next bites to be more forceful?
My hooks are sharp. Thanks for reading and considering the questions! |
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Posts: 20179
Location: oswego, il | Often times its the mood of the fish as you stated. I have caught quite a few fish this year from fish just grabbing the very back of the bucktail. Half arsed attempts at swiping baits, biting baits and just missing and not committing. Then you have fish that bite and won't clamp down, no.chance at a hookset. Then there are those times when they t-bone, clamp down and turn their head. Sometimes its the anglers fault but often times its the fish. |
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Posts: 255
| just hang in there. I've noticed when the fish wants something they don't miss much. Saw the same fish three days in a row and it followed aggressively one evening numerous times around, nose on the small bulldawg. Next morning it only had the tips of shallow invader tail showing out of it's mouth and made no chance of missing the bait. That was just timing I think. I'd downsize to smaller presentation and see if you get a fish to commit. A lot of the questions and comments in forums define musky fishing: it's not that easy, but then a newbie nails a huge one first time out. Ya never know. |
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Posts: 1000
| Do you sharpen your hooks? I missed three strikes in ten minutes last fall (2 fish) on the same lure fresh out of the box. I never miss a hook point now. |
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Posts: 1970
| bony mouths!!! - everyone misses these fish! Largemouth hits a muskie lure its stuck 99% of the time ... I've seen muskies absolutely clobber bulldawgs boat side - never even touch a hook ....bait comes back the shape of a horseshoe. Yes you can get better and yes some miss less hits that others but EVERY good muskie fisherman miss their fair share of strikes ..part of the game!
Edited by IAJustin 7/9/2014 1:07 PM
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Posts: 1828
| tolle141 - 7/9/2014 12:52 PM
Do you sharpen your hooks?
Yes sir, I do.
IAJustin - 7/9/2014 1:05 PM
bony mouths!!! - everyone misses these fish! Largemouth hits a muskie lure its stuck 99% of the time ... I've seen muskies absolutely clobber bulldawgs boat side - never even touch a hook ....bait comes back the shape of a horseshoe. Yes you can get better and yes some miss less hits that others but EVERY good muskie fisherman miss their fair share of strikes ..part of the game!
Yeah, I know. But missing 6 out of 7? And when there are stretches like 10 or more missed/lost fish, followed by stretches of hooking/landing 8 out of 10 hits, I can't blame their mouth. I'll just chalk it up to non-committal fish the other night.
It always amazes me, though, when your bucktail with 6 razor sharp hook tips DISAPPEARS in their closed mouth at boatside, you let it rip, and the thing slides right out like a ghost walking through a wall.
Thanks for sharing. |
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Posts: 8719
| Sometimes they just aren't hooked good. Sometimes they do just get off. And sometimes we f them up, either by taking the lure away from them when they would have eaten it, not setting the hook hard enough (or at all), setting the hook in the wrong direction, drag too tight, drag too loose, giving them slack line, hooks not sharpened...
Missing fish is just part of the deal. I think the key is A. Being able to figure out when you blew it and trying not to make that mistake ever again, and B. Being able to figure out when there really wasn't anything you could have done, and letting it go.
All the lost fish and missed fish used to haunt me. Now the only ones that do are the big ones I screwed up and knew better. That hurts. The rest? Bah. That's fishing. |
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Posts: 1937
Location: Black Creek, WI | You are on the right track by trying to learn from your missed opportunities. However, this is musky fishing and sometimes you lose fish at initial contact. Many of which, are due to variables you cannot control. Thus, shrug it off an get ready for the next opportunity. Don't let it hinder your confidence. Losing confidence will cause you to lose more fish. If there is something you are doing that is contributing to the losses.... you will eventually figure it out.... by analyzing each situation as you have been... Until then... keep casting with confidence. Good luck! |
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Posts: 897
| If they're nipping blades, trim the skirt so it's not covering the entire hook. That way when they nip they get hook point instead of skirt/hook shaft. Sounds like you're doing a lot of things right and probably just in a streak of bad luck or have fish that are just about ready to go off and give you a multi-fish night. |
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Posts: 720
| Loosing fish is part of the game. Its musky fishing not musky catching. (I'd like to punch the person who invented that phrase right in the mouth). On the flip side to you loosing those fish. You're at the very least contacting them and at some point a fish will be back at that spot. Remember a good spot is a good spot. I don't always look at lost fish as a mistake. But rather an opportunity to learn. (now I want to punch me in the mouth).
I tend to loose fish on new water. Because I'm not fully ready for a strike. But if I do lose a fish. That spot will get marked and I'll try to remember what I was throwing and at what time I was on that spot. I will guarantee you the next time I'm on that spot I won't have my head up my rear end and will be ready. But being ready for a fish doesn't always mean they'll see the net. That's the fishing part of Musky fishing.
Good luck out there!
Edited by Hunter4 7/10/2014 12:15 PM
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Posts: 571
| I seem to have a frustrating streak at least once every year where I'll lose 5 of 7, or something similar. But then, I've gone through streaks where more than a few hit the net that were nippers or very lightly hooked and I probably had no business catching. It always seems to even out in the end.
Personally, I think that as muskie anglers we tend to over-analyze our lost fish. It's natural to do so, since its such a large part of what makes muskie fishing what it is. Assuming mastery of basic fundamentals (proper equip, sharp hooks, proper hookset, keep rod tip low, etc.), about 95% of the equation is determined by what the fish does versus anything the fisherman does or doesn't do. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Stretches like that make the next stretch of landing 8/10 that much more enjoyable.
I lost 4 fish in Canada, 1 of which was flirting with 50. It sucks, but it has me looking forward to the next trip. |
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Posts: 1828
| whynot - 7/10/2014 9:10 AM
If they're nipping blades, trim the skirt so it's not covering the entire hook. That way when they nip they get hook point instead of skirt/hook shaft. Sounds like you're doing a lot of things right and probably just in a streak of bad luck or have fish that are just about ready to go off and give you a multi-fish night.
That's a good point. On some of my bucktails the skirt is pretty long. On those particular ones (that missed the fish), I think the skirt stops short of the rear treble.
Thanks for all the other input guys.
Do you mess with speed when you're missing strikes? I didn't slow anything down because I figured the speed was just right since it made em bite. But I wondered if they'd be more likely to get on it better.
Anyway, the pain is pretty much worn off by now. None of them were too big anyway.
Edited by jaultman 7/10/2014 1:42 PM
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Posts: 177
Location: ON | Type of bait and how they eat it also plays a huge factor. Had a mid 40's totally crush a sledge last weekend from underneath about 15' from the boat. Like a Great White straight up from the weeds.
Pulled it right out of her mouth, needed to set the hook down instead of up/side. Or wait a second.
Thats fishing, when it happens and you have a half second reaction, what do you want.
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Posts: 28
| One thing that works for me with light hits w gliders is to have the point of the hook pointing in toward shank very slightly like a circle hook. My theory is it gets the hook point to "catch" before the set drives the hook in. I'm talking very slight though 2 swipes of sharpener on top enough to change the point angle. Something to try though. Another thing is I make sure hooks stick in my nail from 0 to 90 degrees. Lot people just check at 45 degrees. When it sticks like that its sharp. |
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Posts: 38
| A couple things to also consider is the style of hooks you are using there are a lot of hooks on the market now days, and of course making sure they are very sharp. Sometimes it make take speeding up the bait to get them to strike and usually more of an aggressive strike which will put more fish in the boat. |
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Posts: 243
Location: South Central Wisconsin | After the second "swing and a miss", I would have changed baits. Maybe a different blade style, or maybe a slightly different color. This needs to not be a drastic change but very slight. Maybe going to 8's instead of 10's? There is a reason that they didn't inhale the whole bait and commit. Maybe something as simple as adding a twister tail to your rear treble. |
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Posts: 1023
| I am on an awful fish losing streak too. It is frustrating. Last summer I lost two fish that were over 50 for sure in a row. This spring I am 1 for 7. On Friday,I had 5 fish in a row come off on cowgirls. Every one of them came offin the initial headshake. I got good hook sets but they all just nipped it I think.
I am hoping to go 6 for 7 next week:)
I usually handle these occurrences very well as the initial hit is the most exciting part anyways but the two monsters really wounded me last year:( |
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