1st- what kind of rod are you using?
2nd- trailer hook on the buzzbait?
3rd- Keep the rod down to keep the fish from jumping.
4th- If your not fishing tons of thick stuff with the senkos, consider
adding a small treble to the hook
5th- Want some practice with the hookset? Come on up.

"Rich P" wrote in message
news
I've been having some trouble with larger fish getting off the hook. I
had 2 tournaments a few weeks ago (Saturday and Sunday) and at the end of
each I lost a 3 and 4 pounder respectively. Both were caught on 5"
T-rigged Senkos with Gammie EWG #3 hooks on 10lb mono and at the far end
of a long cast. Both jumped a couple of times and shook the hook. At
first I blamed the mono for stretching and not giving me a solid enough
hookset.
Then this past Friday night I hit a local reservoir to do some midnight
fishing. I had the same rod and reel but I respooled with 10 lb. Power
Pro (which I love BTW) to eliminate stretch. Well first I bag a 2.5 pound
smallie and soon after a 3 pound LM. A half hour later, I get a hit and
set the hook and buzzzzz, the drag starts going. It was a BIG bass (at
least for NJ) and in the shadows it looked like an oversized football
when it jumped (3 times). Recently I've hooked a few 4 pounders and this
was clearly quite a bit larger. By the fight I'd say well over 5 or maybe
6 pounds, who really knows. Anyway, after a minute of fighting and a few
jumps this one also throws the hook.
Now I don't know what to think. What am I missing? In the past I
rarely lost fish, but I've gotten better at finding them and I've been
hooking bigger ones lately. Is this just par for the course with bigger
bass, you just lose some? Or should I be doing something else? I'm not
letting the pressure off when they jump and the hook comes flying back at
me, should I be easing up? Should I be clamping down more? Am I fighting
them too hard and opening a hole in their mouths?

Any help would be great.

Rich P