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Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | The topic of "Freespool" got me wondering about Hooksets,
When I first started Muskie fishing 30+ years ago the general rule was Three good
hook sets, Today with better Drags and 8Ft. rods I prefer One good sweeping hookset and then keep the rod loaded to not allow any slack, what method do you use?
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Posts: 82
Location: deep in the slop | blast the side of their face off. one hookset and keep the rod loaded. |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | What HappyMusky said. |
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Posts: 468
Location: Not where I wanna be! | HappyMusky - 7/22/2008 7:34 AM
blast the side of their face off. one hookset and keep the rod loaded.
True |
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Posts: 133
Location: BLOOMINGTON,IL | Silly question but how tight to do you guys keep your drag? |
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| swivel hips, upper body clockwise, rod tip at level or below level...never up...keep rod loaded, line tight and one good one should do it...
i prefer drag not locked down completely...
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Posts: 8866
| I like a pansy hookset, like you're fishing for bass. Saves me the trouble of netting and unhooking them!
I've never tried multiple hooksets, John. Seems to me it would be a good way to lose a lot of fish.
As for the drag? I like mine tightened to where you can pull line off the reel, but if it was any tighter you'd cut up your fingers on the line trying, if that makes any sense. That way if you get a good fish that wants to run it can take some line. That's what a drag is for after all, right? |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | esoxaddict - 7/22/2008 12:15 PM
As for the drag? I like mine tightened to where you can pull line off the reel, but if it was any tighter you'd cut up your fingers on the line trying, if that makes any sense. That way if you get a good fish that wants to run it can take some line. That's what a drag is for after all, right?
unless your reel sucks |
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Posts: 344
Location: Musky Country | HappyMusky - 7/22/2008 7:34 AM
blast the side of their face off. one hookset and keep the rod loaded.
He said it the Best.
Drag cranked tight so you can barely pull line out. |
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Posts: 4266
| I think that if you actually think about your hookset, you're thinking too much. It should be a reaction bred into your DNA.
Slam the hooks as hard as you can, (I've been known to scare people in the boat when I set the hook, right Steve?) once and only once, keep the line tight and the rod loaded, even if it means geeting on your knees and shoving the rod into the water up to the reel.
One time it came back and bit me in the butt though, when a huge fish made my 10" glider disappear just 15' from the boat. I saw her eat it, and I set the hook as hard as I could and buried the line deep right along the side ot the spool. Had her on for maybe a minute with lots of boatside activity, but I was alone and had no net help. I couldn't reel in line or give her line when she took off to the depths, even with the reel in freespool and me tugging at it. 6'9" St. Croix bent over to breaking and then the hooks ripped free. That is the only time that I regretted setting the hook that hard. She had the whole lure in her mouth, I probably could have lifted the rod tip and set the hook, but seeing the size of the fish, I think that I left my feet when I set the hook.
Edited by Beaver 7/22/2008 1:14 PM
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Posts: 341
| andracke - 7/22/2008 10:02 AM
Silly question but how tight to do you guys keep your drag?
I always thumb the spool by reaction, so the drag set doesn't effect my hook set. One rip and my sharp hooks take care of the rest. |
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Posts: 8866
| jonnysled - 7/22/2008 12:20 PM
esoxaddict - 7/22/2008 12:15 PM
As for the drag? I like mine tightened to where you can pull line off the reel, but if it was any tighter you'd cut up your fingers on the line trying, if that makes any sense. That way if you get a good fish that wants to run it can take some line. That's what a drag is for after all, right?
unless your reel sucks
Jon, my reels never seem to last long enough to suck 
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | this is a good post because there is a change in success ratio now with longer rods and newer equipment .... i for one was a trained free-spooler and although it served me well, on big fish it was nerve-wracking. with 8'6" and 9' rods and good quality reels you can fish with confidence with tight but not locked on drag with a higher probability of hooked fish finding the net. also, the longer rods put more umphhh to the hookset on the front end too ... the old physical law of T = F x D
Edited by jonnysled 7/22/2008 2:02 PM
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Posts: 336
Location: Wheeling, IL. | just pull it hard enough, but not so you break your hand!!!!! |
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Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | Sticking with that Story Bob 
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Posts: 1939
Location: Black Creek, WI | My hookset is like most stated above. One single powerstroke to load the rod and that's it.
With longer rods and low stretch lines, I have transitioned my drag setting from locked tight to "medium". If a 30-40 inch fish strikes, the drag is tight enough to pull them through the water after the hooks are seated. If a 40+ incher strikes, my drag slips about mid-stroke. My belief is that this provides some "pressure relief" once the primary job is done (seat the hook) and prevents bending hooks or ripping larger holes in the fish (creating opportunity to lose them during battle).
Plus, if my drag slips on the hookset.... I know I"m dealing with a bigger fish right from the start. Oh yeah... and I don't want to TURN the fish so its facing me and promote that "boat charging alligator shake" attack. Once enough energy is applied to bury the hooks... any excess can only cause problems... in my opinion.
Despite the "looser" drag setting.... I still use FREESPOOL during battle any time I am not turning the reel handle. Old habits die hard, I guess. |
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Posts: 584
| OK, I'll go against the grain a bit by suggesting that the power of your hookset isn't as important as the quickness of the hookset. I believe that 9 times out of 10, when using traditional, artificial baits, the fish will set the hook on themselves upon the strike. The angler's quick reaction of "setting the hook" will immediately get pressure and tension on the line, which is necessary to prevent the fish from getting any slack line that would allow it to throw the bait, or allow the hooks to pop out or wiggle-free. An incredible-hulk-type hookset is fine, but not at the expense being quick on the draw.
I once attended a seminar given by Lee Tauchen where he gave a demonstration regarding hooksets. He had a volunteer from the audience come up and hold a rod rigged with an 8" reef hawg (complete with sharp hooks). He let about 30-40' of line out and held on to the reef hawg with his bare hand, with his arm down at his side. He then instructed the volunteer to set the hook as hard as he possibly could....everyone in the audience was sure that Lee was going to get trebles buried into his hand, but when the guy "set the hook", Lee's arm hardly moved. I've tried this little exercise myself to show others that I don't think we are doing as much as we think we are when we "set the hook" on these big fish.
A good hookset is important, but my advice would be to not worry so much about the amount of strength of the hookset. Just concentrate on having a quick reaction-time, and the best way to do that is to avoid too much daydreaming and be as focused and ready as possible on every cast...
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| I think the bait being used should be part of the discussion.
I don't think their is nearly the need to hammer the fish that has taken a bucktail or hard plastic lure (phantom) as their is for a soft wood like a suick or jackpot.
A quick snap may do the job on a bucktail, but that same hookset may not move a suick at all in the teeth of fish. |
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