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| Had a fish nip 4 or 5 times at my topwater the other day and on the 5th time he took it all the way under. I thumbed the reel and set the hook extremely hard and came up empty handed. finished the retrieve and figure eight-ed for quite some time... i know topwater fish are always tricky, but did i do something wrong? |
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Posts: 32935
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Nope. Just with till you feel the fish, reeling at exactly the same speed, and if the fish seems to lose interest, try slowing down...if nothing, speed up. Don't set the hook till you feel the fish, keeping the rod in the same position all the time. I pop 'em once on topwater, any more than that and I seem to lose fish. |
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Posts: 2385
Location: Chisholm, MN | Thats the way she goes..........
Lots of little tricks to get them to eat any given bait. I don't think anyone has them all figured out. Sometimes I feel that setting the hook too hard on topwater is a mistake though. If you have sharp hooks, a solid hookset will do the job. Thats just me though..... |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Wait,........ Untill you FEEL the weight of the fish and then Ram the hooks home !
I've lost dozens of fish and finally figured it out..... Maybe.......
G-Rome |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | Top H2O - 6/6/2012 10:37 PM
Wait,........ Untill you FEEL the weight of the fish and then Ram the hooks home !
+1 |
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Posts: 415
| Definitely wait until you feel the fish on a topwater strike before you set the hook. But youre still gonna just miss some fish, they all hit differently, and no matter how perfect you may handle a situation some just aren't going to stay hooked. It happens |
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Posts: 793
Location: Ames, Iowa | >>Thumbed the reel<< Does that mean you went free spool there??
With topwater- "when you feel the weight, you set the bait". |
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Posts: 270
Location: brooklyn park mn | Second that. Does that mean free spool or something else? |
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Location: Contrarian Island | i tell all newbies or less experienced dudes in my boat when they get a topwater hit to simply keeeeep reeeeling..don't really "do" anything...once weight is felt I don't particularly think a standard superman hookset is required like on a mag dawg hit, for topwater a simple sweeping action of the rod to one side will get the job done..Lee Tauchen who knows a thing or 2 about TOP H20 hits showed me that 10 yrs ago....more fish are missed on topwater from simply reacting to quick than too slow...."just keeep reeeeling" !!!!
Edited by BNelson 6/7/2012 7:28 AM
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Posts: 720
| Great advice BNelson!! |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | BNelson - 6/7/2012 7:27 AM
i tell all newbies or less experienced dudes in my boat when they get a topwater hit to simply keeeeep reeeeling..don't really "do" anything...once weight is felt I don't particularly think a standard superman hookset is required like on a mag dawg hit, for topwater a simple sweeping action of the rod to one side will get the job done..Lee Tauchen who knows a thing or 2 about TOP H20 hits showed me that 10 yrs ago....more fish are missed on topwater from simply reacting to quick than too slow...."just keeep reeeeling" !!!!
+1 sometimes i think it's best to tell rookies to NOT watch their bait. |
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Posts: 8844
| Don't look, don't listen, just reel. It takes all the fun out of topwater fishing, but it will keep you from taking the lure away from them at least.
For me it's just part of the game. I know better, but I still set the hook on blow-ups a couple times a season. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | It can be tough to wait to feel the weight when they explode on a bait. Have that problem myself sometimes, especially when they zigged just as my Weagle zagged and they miss. I agree with not needing a superman hookset on these baits. Most of them are wood or hard plastic and slide easily. Sharp hooks should find home easy enough with keeping the line tight and a medium hookset. One last tip I would give is try to set to the side somewhat rather than straight up.
Also, I never did agree with not looking at the bait. I've caught several after speeding the bait up after seeing one waking up behind it. Wouldn't have known to speed up had I not been watching the bait.
Tucker |
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Posts: 1150
Location: Minnesota. | Thanks all. I'm not a rookie but do appreciate all the "experienced" replies.
I'm guilty of yanking the bait away a bit too soon on occasion 'cause my springs would a bit tight but I try to maintain. Tough sometimes.
I'm usually fairly mellow, 'cept when it comes to topwaters over where you just KNOW a fish is going to see it!
Also the info given on the hardness of the hookset...appreciated. I've lost a few really big fish on ultra-sharp trebles taken on a heavy hit (M/G bucktails, not topside) and had the fish come 1/2 out of the water, red gills flared and huge mouth open after a heavy, hard, drag-slipping set (set my drag reasonably tight) and she simply tossed it aside!
I looked at my son and said "Geez Nate, what do we keep doing this for ????"
I'll use this topic. And I'll still likely try to break my rod on the set. Guess I can't help it. But I'll think on this some!
Good topic.
Jeremy. |
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | Nothing works all the time.
That's the joy of musky fishing. Wait till you feel the fish? Yeah, but what happens when you hear a sucking noise, the lure disappears and you feel nothing? It's happened to me twice and both times I reamed the fish with everything I had. Got one, missed one. So what else is new? Normally I'd agree with the "it's easier to pull the lure away from the fish than hook it when you are really watching the lure" mantra, but once in a while you need to just react. I kind of agree with the statement just keep reeling, sometimes. Sometimes that doesn't work either.
Razor sharp hooks and experience help, sometimes.
Nothing works all the time. Enjoy the hit on surface lures, and consider the fish as a bonus. If it wasn't fun we wouldn't keep throwing surface lures.  Maybe we should not worry about the number of fish in the boat as much as enjoying the heck out of the experience. I'll remember with awe some of the fish I missed, and probably a lot longer than most of the ones I catch. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | BNelson - 6/7/2012 8:27 AM i tell all newbies or less experienced dudes in my boat when they get a topwater hit to simply keeeeep reeeeling..don't really "do" anything...once weight is felt I don't particularly think a standard superman hookset is required like on a mag dawg hit, for topwater a simple sweeping action of the rod to one side will get the job done..Lee Tauchen who knows a thing or 2 about TOP H20 hits showed me that 10 yrs ago....more fish are missed on topwater from simply reacting to quick than too slow...."just keeep reeeeling" !!!!
Brad has it correct for sure. |
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| another alternative to not watching your bait is to reel with your rod tip up between 10 and 11 oclock, kind of the same angle you'd use if you were working a bass jig. having your rod tip up will force you crank down and gather yourself if you have a habit of overreacting. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Guest - 6/7/2012 12:59 PM
another alternative to not watching your bait is to reel with your rod tip up between 10 and 11 oclock, kind of the same angle you'd use if you were working a bass jig. having your rod tip up will force you crank down and gather yourself if you have a habit of overreacting.
Here's a good example of different strokes for different folks. I think if I fished like this it would just cause me to start my hookset from the 10 or 11 o'clock position, and get nothing on the hookset, especially if I was already prone to setting on the first blowup rather than waiting to feel the fish.
But if it works for you run with it!
Tucker |
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| Bnellys correctola! |
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Location: Contrarian Island | thx guys but i can't take credit for it..Lee T is the guy I learned a lot from back in the day..and the seemingly 100s of fish I blew in the mid 90s from reacting way to quick...my buds now think I have ice in my veins as I barely flinch when a big fish blasts a topwater...100s of lost fish later you learn to just keeeep friggin reelin when the big girl eats. go git em.
Edited by BNelson 6/7/2012 2:04 PM
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Posts: 393
Location: Hopefully on the water | A few years ago Saric talked about this and with the hookset to sweep down and to the side. If there is a miss it still keeps the bait infront of the fish in the water instead of a traditional hookset sending the bait back to or past the boat. I can think of one particular fish that I had this happen to. Finally on the third strike/blow up I closed my eyes, counted to 5 and finally felt the fish to put the hook into it. Keeping the bait infront of the fish and as BNelsen said "keep reeling the bait". That put the monsterous 35" into the net that day. But it was a lesson learned on my part to keep the bait moving and infront of the fish. Now I just have to fish topwater more again as I got a away from it for a while now for no real reason. Good luck fishing. |
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A very good topwater guy told me once to not set the hook until the fish is pulling the rod out of you hands.
Works for me.
JS |
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| Sometimes, you can feel the fish, and still miss. I had a fish last year hit on a Weagle, maybe 15 feet from the boat. I saw the strike and knew the fish had missed the lure but it still jerked the rod hard. The reason? The fish had hit the solid wire leader and it was in it's teeth. When I got the lure back the boat the leader was bent almost in half. Had it been a long ways from the boat, I would have been wondering what happened. |
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Posts: 833
| I cannot agree with not watching the bait. I learned that lesson last year the hard way. Missed a 45", she had her mouth wide open and head out of the water 10' away from the boat. Came all the way up to the boat, saw the boat, probably saw me, and away she went. If I had seen that fish 10' out like my partner did, I would have spead up and had an opportunity to trigger her. I'm certinaly not a pro, but in a sport of uncertainty I am certain I will have no opportunity to trigger a fish if I do not know it is there.
Edited by Brad P 6/8/2012 8:47 AM
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Posts: 2385
Location: Chisholm, MN | Brad P - 6/8/2012 8:45 AM
I cannot agree with not watching the bait. I learned that lesson last year the hard way. Missed a 45", she had her mouth wide open and head out of the water 10' away from the boat. Came all the way up to the boat, saw the boat, probably saw me, and away she went. If I had seen that fish 10' out like my partner did, I would have spead up and had an opportunity to trigger her. I'm certinaly not a pro, but in a sport of uncertainty I am certain I will have no opportunity to trigger a fish if I do not know it is there.
Good point. I watch the bait but I've never had a problem with hooksets. For those that want to try not watching the bait, maybe only do it with baits that you cannot vary the speed. Hogwobbler, creeper etc |
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Posts: 994
Location: Minnesota: where it's tough to be a sportsfan! | I had a fish folowing a prop bait right up on top for a full bomb cast. About three times she buldged the water right behind the bait. Every time I tightened up knowing she finally ate it, but felt nothing. She came all the way to the boat and I took her into a figure 8 with the TW underwater. She would like charge the lure snapping her jaws but stop about a inch off of hitting it. She did this about three times, dropped off. Then came back into the 8 as I never stopped. I knew she would go this time...Never got the bite outta her. Haunts me still..... |
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Location: Contrarian Island | yah definitely want to keep your eyes ON the bait and 2-5 feet behind it for any swirls, wake forming etc...if you aren't watching your bait you will miss the cues to play a lil "cat n mouse" w em...which is as fun as it gets musky fishin.... |
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Posts: 8844
| I tried not looking. I made it half a cast. I'd rather see the mayhem and blow it by setting the hook on a fish that just swiped at the bait. It does work for Samantha, though. Birdwatching. 45" on a topraider. It was by far the coolest topwater strike I have ever seen. Flat calm and sunny, dead quiet. Sounded like someone dropped a bowling ball in the lake. Water flying everywhere. I don't know what she would have done if she saw it all happen, but it was perfectly executed otherwise. She set the hook and started reeling like mad when the fish just about took the rod out of her hands. With two of us yelling at her "REEL REEL!! YOU GOT HER REEEELL!!" and her swearing like a trucker. |
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TOPWATER MISTAKES