|
|
Posts: 770
| Fellas,
I have this horrible habbit of reeling slack line in before setting the hook when using gliders.... And even though I know what the problem is my music lessons memory is killing me ... I have missed hookset on at least 8 fish this season due to that reason. My hooks are sharp and everything else is up to par. Anyone have any tips to breaking the habbit? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2325
Location: Chisholm, MN | Bucktails  |
|
| |
|
Posts: 20219
Location: oswego, il | Set the hook when you feel weight, don't worry about the slack so much, the fish will take it up. Not sure what hooks yoh use but I prefer a good quality black nickle hook. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 358
| i kinda got away from higher speed reels for awhile, and now that I'm going back to them (and there are great options) i am finding hookups improving. I really have the best luck cranking till i feel weight then set. I kinda feel like i lose more fish setting too quickly than setting too late regardless of bait type. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 770
| The only bait I have an issue with is glides. Working the rod to the side when I feel a strike I reel up some slack and set the hook and there's nothing there. The only logical reason is that when I feel the fish, the fish also feels me and drops the bait while I'm reeling up the slack. Rember that I'm running my rod to the side which rlcreates.more slack so I don't feel the fish instantly to begin with
Edited by T3clay 8/29/2018 9:21 AM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | https://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=12...
I see previous advice hasn't helped. I'll expound on why i gave the advice i did. I used to use gliders a lot. Loved them. Fun to work, making them dance. And fish loved them too. Trouble was, i hardly ever netted anything that hit them. Tried a dozen different rod/reel combos, longer pauses, you name it. Didn't matter.
So it came down to numbers for me. I'll take one eat and one in the net over four eats that didn't make it to the net any day. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | I’ve had mostly good luck, or at least better, on softtail phantoms. I don’t know if the rubber component triggers fish to hit it harder, or the fact I run them higher in the water column somehow helps pin them.
When I throw others (Warlocks, Hellhounds, Mantas etc), I run them deeper and seem to experience the same low % conversions many others complain about |
|
| |
|
Posts: 770
| Flambeau- I have the problem figured out I just can't break the habbit. That's more of what I'm asking about. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 187
Location: West Metro, MN | I definitely don't claim to have "figured it out", however, I began using a longer rod for gliders last year and it sure seems like I have lost fewer chances at fish. I had always used 7'6" before and now use 8'6". Admittedly there is a little more fatigue from the longer rod working the lure, but I really think I get better hooksets and definitely feel like I have an advantage fighting the fish once hooked with a longer rod. My 2 cents. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1279
| I would recommend not setting the hook until the fish puts some bend on the tip of the rod. No slack to take up. I don't use sub-surface glides a whole lot, but do like to walk the dog on the surface, and this is what I do. Makes all the difference in the world. You'd be surprised how often they miss it, or just bang into it, but don't get it in their mouth. Instead of setting the hook right away, pause and let the fish put some bend in the rod. If the fish doesn't do this, just start your cadence again, and often they will come back a little more seriously. |
|
| |
|
Location: Contrarian Island | are you working the lure w the rod tip down? I switched to working zig zags working the rod almost horizontal to the side ages ago, my hookup % on zig zags is very good... about the same as any other lure... working the bait w the rod to the side there is way less slack (next to none) when the fish hits, simply pivot your upper body and put the screws to em.....lots of guys say zig zag topwaters or gliders don't hook up well.. I'd bet most use shorter rods working the baits w the rod tip down...
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 770
| I work my rod straight to the side. And I don't necessarily mean I pick up the slack it's that I move my rod towards the bait so that I can get a longer hookset... A bad habit from somewhere that I picked up along the way. for a long time I only fish bucktails so my rod was always pointed towards the bait. Maybe I picked up the Habit from jigging for bass...when I feel the strike I always reel toward the bait and then set the hook although even when you feel the strike your line is tight.
Hopefully that makes sense...
I'm trying to teach myself to set the hook when I feel the strike and the Rod starts to load, rather than reeling forward and then setting the hook
Edited by T3clay 8/29/2018 6:02 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 2015
| Do you throw many rubber baits?..that type of hookset wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world with a mag dawg or swimbait , they tend to hang on to rubber for a bit, I’ve caught 100’s on glidebaits over the years, 20 years ago they were my favorite baits. I throw them less and less every year, if you want to target big fish and keep them pinned I’d throw them as little as possible, crazy slow/tough days I knock the dust off some old wood phantoms. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 54
| If you've fished a lot of jigs/plastics for bass, the instinct to reel down first may have come from that.
I used to miss a lot of fish on glide baits for the same reason and it came down to one thing for me - as soon as do a 1/2 crank or whatever to take in some slack between rod twitches, I open my hand so my thumb and first finger are off the reel handle, if a fish hits, by the time I get my hand back on the reel handle, my rod arm has instinctually already started moving into the hookset. When my reel hand touches down, it seals the rest of the deal.
I have no idea how many more fish I've hooked on glide baits this way, but it's a lot, lot more.
Twitch, crank, open, twitch, crank, open, twitch, twitch, crank, open... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 770
| 1VW - exactly my problem... I fish rubber often but I would like to fix my glider bait issue so that when the glide bait is on I can hookup on the eaters.... I will have to try opening my hand... What I have been trying in the meantime is pointing my rod at the bait between twitches and watching the slack line for a strike, I'm not a big fan of that method so I will have to try the open hand. And yes I used to fish hours and hours of jigging for bass |
|
| |
|
Posts: 612
| When fishing glide - jerk baits (baits that require a twitch_jerk -pause technique). I reel up the slack however not to the point of effecting the baits movement, if I reeled it in any further It would.
Lost fish when I didn't reel up the slack or reeled it in to fast. Note: in summer when warm the amount of slack is nil since I keep the baits moving fast. However in spring fall I often give them some time.
It took me several year to really get the hang of it and some of the friends I've taken out never seem to get it. Be patent w yourself. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 770
| Thanks N Pike, usually if I'm running glides I'm running them slow with long pauses, just my style of fishing, I don't run them fast, I choose other bait options for faster fishing, I will definitely keep at it though |
|
| |
|
Posts: 3868
| Fast or slow, you need to keep a tight line to feel the strike and set the hooks. Start with a 9" 240# straight wire leader on all your glides. I made and experimented with a #*#*load of leaders for glides: fluoro, braided wire and straight wire. The 9" heavy solid wire was by far the best I found. With that leader you can make the glide ****ing dance, from deep water in a slow cadence all the way up to crazy slurping the surface like a Jackpot. Bunch or reasons why it works best, I'll spare you the lecture. Cant use a long rod for this, a 6' medium heavy is perfect. A shorter rod will prevent you from effectively fighting a big fish. A longer rod will force you slap the water on the downward twitch which will make unnecessary noise and you'll lose that constant contact with the lure.
So, 9" 240# straight wire on a 6' medium heavy rod is where I suggest you start. Works on Undertakers, Phantoms, Mantas, Milk Run drop bellies and by far my fav, Timber Wolves. The 9" leader will work for 6" to 16" glides. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 612
| Ranger - 9/9/2018 11:09 PM
Fast or slow, you need to keep a tight line to feel the strike and set the hooks.
When the fish are somewhat neutral or when the waters cooler I focus on just keeping slack out of the line. However if you reel in to the point where you don't give the bait a chance to pause I've found I scare em off or just plain don't get any hits. Not sure what you mean by tight? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 3868
| "Tight" simply means enough slack out of the line to feel the strike. Constant slow retrieve while tap tap pause, tap tap pause, etc. Keep the rod tip pointed at the bait, achieve the tap by snapping the rod tip straight down toward the water surface. Reel in line as you lift the rod tip back up after a tap, on the pause don't lift the rod tip as much while keeping the rod pointed at the bait.
Consider how the metal leader will quickly sink on a sloppy slack pause and begin to pull the nose of the bait down. Lack of a tight line will mean setting the hooks with not just slack in the line but you'll also have to recover the slop created by allowing the leader to sink. All that slack means you will be a second or two late on setting the hook. Keeping a tight line will also allow you to NOT set the hook if the fish strikes but doesn't actually grab the bait. Slack line results in jerking the bait away from and probably losing a chance for the hot fish to come back and hit again. This idea is the same as fishing topwaters like Jackpots - you need to feel the weight of the fish before setting the hook. Can't feel the weight without a tight line.
If you want to fish REALLY slow, don't use gliders at all. Rather use weighted-to-suspend cranks like Grandmas or Jakes on a flouro leader. That set up allows crazy lure movement but the bait doesn't travel very far and on the pause it just sits flat in the water. To make a weighted-to-suspend crank drill a hole in the belly, attach your leader and then place it in a tub of water and jiggle it upside down to allow water to begin to fill the cavity. Let some water in (bubbles will come out), flip the bait rightside up and see if it floats, suspends or sinks. If the bait suspends but the ass end wants to rise (common) wrap some lead thread on the rear hook shank to balance it. Once it's right pull it out, let it dry, plug the hole with epoxy and paint the lead thread with nail polish.
There's some science for you, b$tch.
ps - weighted to suspend cranks are very useful when you want to troll a crank 6 or 8 feet deeper than what the floating crank can achieve without modification. Weighted to suspends are great to run a 8" or 11" Jake/Grandma just above the thermo, assuming the thermo is around 16'. My PB came trolling a weighted-to-suspend 8" Granny. I'll try to post a pic of the lure.
Edited by Ranger 9/11/2018 12:57 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 3868
| there you go, my 2 hottest weighted-to-suspend cranks. Note the lead thread on the rear hook shanks. I once caught a 40"er on the Jake trolling under fireworks on the 4th of July on a small MI lake. (yes, I have no friends.)
Edited by Ranger 9/11/2018 5:47 PM
Attachments
----------------
 wts baits 2.jfif (180KB - 377 downloads)
|
|
| |
