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| My partner and I were fishing the WMT championship last week and had a great plan. One issue. We lost three fish . First one was on a jerk bait and when I hit it I came out of my shoes. Hooks were sharp ,steel leader,Power Pro Line . I lost one other fish same situation. I have lost more fish this year year at the hit. Anyone that knows me that my 230/lb 6'2 frame comes out of my shoes when i set the hook. Straight back ,step back and wham no fish. What the heck am I doing wrong? I do not do the side sweep bassmaster hook sets . Everything has been straight back. Any help would be appreciated. Is it my hooks ,bait or something else. All baits had two trebles instead of three. and one was plastic the other wood.
Help Please |
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | what kind of hooks are you using? I use lighter wire mustad round bends. They penetrate with little effort and fish stay hooked. If I were to fish a tournament, I would use a hook like I just desribed and not worry about using a 4X hook that i had to knock my hat off my head to set the hook. |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Muskies come unpinned, and that's just the way it is. I have spent much of my muskie angling life trying to figure that out. There are some things you can do, but muskies WILL come unpinned. |
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Posts: 4266
| I watched a 50+" muskie hit one of my gliders head on last week. She was 15' from the boat, ate the lure and took off on a short run. I saw the head of the lure next to the side of her mouth, so I was sure that I had the front treble buried in the corner of her mouth. Then she stopped and did a head shake and a "gator death roll", and now I'm 10' from her and I can see that now the rear treble is stuck above her gill plate near the back of her head, and the front hook is free. She swam past the boat with the treble sticking in her head, so I gave it a little pop, and came back with some scales. I was using Eagle Claw 5/0 Laser Sharp hooks that I had sharpened. If the same thing would have happened 20 yards away, I'd still be wondering what happened, but I saw it all. Sometimes they just get away. Hooks work against eachother and big fish get the right leverage. Little pike however will eat all the hooks on every lure that you throw. You'll spend more time getting them unhooked than fighting them.
Beav |
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| On wooden baits you need to split ring the hooks and replace the originals with Eagle Claws that penetrate easily, or I prefer to use VMC hooks for my modifications. That reduces the torque the musky can leverage during your retrieve. Keep your rod up and line tight, your hook set sounds full body and powerful. What about your drag, is it locked down tight or do you thumb the spool? 
Steve |
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Posts: 75
Location: ft wayne, IN | I agree w/ Sworrall. Also it does seem to me as well that there have been more "short strikers" rather than eaters this year for some reason. This has been consistent throughout all lake systems that I've been on. Maybe it's pressure, maybe they're better fed this year, not sure.....don't blame yourself!!
JK  |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | are you feeling the weight of the fish before you sock it to 'em? Nothing worse than setting the hook at the sound of a blow-up and having a 4 ouncer come whistling past your head.
Also, especially on a wood body but even on a plastic body, the Muskie can chomp down hard enough to sink teeth in and never feel a hook. Now you fight them for a minute or two and they decide to spit it out and you are left crying and mystified.
My buddy landed a 24 pound northern pike that had clamped down on a light flutter spoon, just had the spoon in its mouth. As he got it close to the net he saw the treble swinging free on the outside of the fishes mouth. In the net the pike just let go of it, never was hooked at all.
Edited by lobi 9/29/2004 11:05 AM
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | 6-2......230?????
Cmon Rick, next time pass the rod off to Bill, he'll set the hooks for you!
Sometimes, believe it or not, duller hooks find the corner of fishes mouths easier that ultra sharp ones. They slide easier, without catching on thin skin, to the fish's jaw. I cant explain it, but Ive seen it when I take brand new baits out of the box and use them right away with no sharpening.
I'm to the point now where I dont know if I should be sharpening hooks until thier razor sharp or not. I too have lost a few fish this season for no other reason other than an Act of God. |
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Posts: 156
Location: Oconomowoc, WI | My recommendation is for smaller, sharp hooks. This goes for everything, including quickstrike rigs.
Let me explain with this, try to imagine....If you throw a walleye size rapala, with those little hooks, at somebody's shirt, the bait will stick to them no problem. Now imagine tossing a Jackpot at somebody's shirt, they may get poked, but more than likely the bait will fall to the ground..... |
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Posts: 1939
Location: Black Creek, WI | SWorrall is correct..... some fish will just unbutton themselves. Period. No fault of your own... just sometimes the connection wasn't meant to be. Learn to accept it!!!!
Learning to accept it helps you stay mentally prepared for the next one. You can't let a lost opportunity hurt your confidence. Put a positive spin on it by telling yourself.... you are ON fish that are willing to BITE..... so go get another one!!!
I have lost more BIG fish than I'd care to admit. Thus, I've lost many hours of sleep trying to find a solution to the problem. In the end, I've settled on SWorral's viewpoint. However, I do feel there are SOME things that can be prevented. First, use as soft of a rod action as the lure will allow. I was a stubborn mule for years and would use nothing but the stiffest rods available. No more of that. Second, I believe people set the hooks too HARD these days. Speed is good... but POWER isn't necessary in my opinion. With sharp hooks, long rods, no stretch line, and superman polarized sunglass... there is no need to set the hooks like an APE. Sure, Joe Bucher's latest article on this topic had some good pointers... but the biggest point of all was that a small man like Joe Bucher is capable of delivering one heck of a powerful blow to the fish. Be quick and give the fish enough tension... but not too much power. If you are straightening hooks on BIG fish... then you are tearing them free from smaller fish. Those are signs that you need to CHANGE what you are doing or alter your equipment.
Hope that helps ya stick the next one.....
jlong
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | I like Kevin's analogy......Rick, at the IMTT on the 23rd, let each one of us toss a bait with different size hooks at you, the one that sticks, you have to use! |
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Posts: 346
| It is obviously going to depend on different factors (line diameter, stretch, distance from rodtip to lure), but how much pressure is actually transfered from the hookset to the lure? From years of pike fishing and minimal musky fishing, I never set the hook hard at all. In fact, I barely set the hook and always seem to connect and stick fish that hit.
MJB |
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Posts: 2427
Location: Ft. Wayne Indiana | Rule #1 of Musky Fishing, YOU DON'T CATCH THEM ALL
I, like Jlong, hate to admit it, but I have lost my fair share of BIG fish as well.
This weekend was a perfect example. During the PMTT, I lost a fish on Saturday in the 47-49 inch range. It hit, not a crushing strike by any means, but a strike none the less. She opened her mouth as wide as it would open, and starting shaking her head until the lure came out. Nothing I could do, sometimes muskies win, sometimes we win.
Heavy lures such as Hughes Rivers, for example are very easy for fish to throw. Once they start shaking their head, that heavy lure is working against you.
Big hooks are also another thing that I really don't like.
Just remember you can't catch them all. It is a heart breaker, but like Jlong stated, put a positive spin on it. You are on fish, and you are making them eat. Get your butt back up and start casting!!! |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Here's what I hate the most about losing a fish in a tournament....all the work, casts and anticipation fly right out the window, it's like starting the day all over again, but with the thought of what you just lost hitting you in the gut...over and over again.
#*^@ You Mrs Musky!!!! #*^@ You!! |
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| JLong, never thought I'd see the day...
I'll second that long soft rod thing, but still can't figure out how Bob M. has caught so many big fish with those pool cues.
Also, the type and brand of (sharp) hook does seem to matter in my mind. Use Eagle Claw 774's (sharpen them), with long, soft rods, and superbraids and watch you're success rate increase dramatically. Mustad round bends are good for use on some jerkbaits. Also, when you can get away with multiple single hooks, like on bucktails, use those in place of trebles.
BrianF.
Twin Cities
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Posts: 75
Location: ft wayne, IN | Not so sure hook size is all that impt--I seem to do better w/ larger ones though. I've been using smaller baits w/ smaller hooks of late and definitely have a lower hooking %. I think those bigger hooks on the med-large baits tend to grab better and often result (unfortunately for the fish) in multiple hooks in them. I agree that larger single hooks on bucktails worked correctly do well (get more action/easier to use in heavy cover/more lifelike/but less hookup % vs trebles). I prefer the medium to softer hookset (using a powerbraid and softip rod) as well unless it is a larger fish then a hard hookset rams it home to those bony/leathery mouths. Trolling for instance has a fairly high hook up rate, especially at slower speeds in my experience--it creates steady sustained pressure. Don't forget to bury the rodtip under water when they come up w/ those heavy jerkbaits in their mouths! Like Jimmy Saric says, make sure your hooks extend out beyond your baits outer edge and place split rings on them to reduce torque pull out. Always keep pressure on them on the way in as well--never give 'em slack! I've also noticed out on st clair that guides using smaller baits/hooks get many more misses trolling vs the larger baits/hooks.......ok the preacher is done! |
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Posts: 333
Location: menasha wi 54952 | Guys,
It must have been the weekend for lost fish. I too lost fish in a tourney while using a "NEW" tackle setup. Tried out my new 7'6" jerkbait rod and lost a mid 40" and a 38". Solid hookups.....game on....goodbye!!!!! After the second one tossed me aside I wondered if it was the rod and went back to my favorite 8'er. A 34" ate it a short time later and found the bag. Too little too late............
Was it the rod? Operator error? Bad luck? Fate? I will give it another shot and let you know.
I am sure Bob M. has lost his share of fish over the years...........he only lets us see the ones he wants us to see
Mike |
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| I agree with what someone said above--this year there have been more fish that are just nipping at the bait rather than crush it--especially bigger fish. I just got done loosing about 6 fish that we were never able to get hooks into. Rule of thumb: some fish just get off. I hooked enough pike and bass over the last 10 hours on the water to know the hooks could sink in, but the muskies just would not crush the bait--two swam off with tiny spots on their noses where they glanced the hooks?! Other than that, I, too, think that the 4x hooks are a bit thick and like the thinner wires. |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | Is it possible the fish had the bait in its mouth but no hooks? I have fought fish all the way to the boat to see them just let go of it, give me the finger and be gone in a flash. In Quebec my buddy landed a 24 pound pike on a spoon that was not hooked. When he got it close to the boat he could see the treble hook swinging freely out the side of the fishes mouth. In the net the fish let go of the spoon. Esox can clamp down that hard on a lure. The wood baits, especially the bigger ones have a lot of surface area for them to sink their teeth into and hang on with the death grip. You can sock it to them with a superman hookset and not move the lure and no hooks are caught. The plastic lures are harder but they can still grab on no problem.
I'm also not a fan of the super duty hooks as they are just too much metal. They can be made more effective with a lot of filing but it takes a lot of work. |
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| Wow! Alot of ideas. Thanks for all the replies. I think I have tallied the votes and the Eagle Claw hooks will be tried. I have questioned if I am hitting them to hard . Everyone had good points.(No Pun intended)
I do however think when I see Gander at the IMTT tournament October 23rd. I will be wearing a Kevlar vest. That dudes nuts!
I prefer to try my new eagle claws on Gander before the tournament.
Let the games begin! |
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