Fishing 101: Setting the hook?

Perhaps this is a stupid question, and something that can't be
explained but I am wondering if someone can explain the process of
properly setting the hook. This weekend I watched 2 good size
Northerns hit my lure near the boat and take off. I feel that if I
had reacted better I might have hooked them. They may have been just
bumping my lure, but it's hard to tell. I watch the fishing shows and
see the guys ripping their rod back like they're swinging a bat.
Most, if not all, fish I've caught I've barely had to set the hook.
Where should I start? I've tried setting the hook harder when I think
I have a strike, but I believe I'm ripping the hook out of their
mouths. Certainly, I'll keep refining but if anyone can give me some
idea of where to go with this I'd appreciate it.
Thanks!

"werlax" wrote in message
om...
Perhaps this is a stupid question, and something that can't be

Remember, there really are no stupid ?'s, just ones that you do not yet know
the answers to.

explained but I am wondering if someone can explain the process of
properly setting the hook. This weekend I watched 2 good size
Northerns hit my lure near the boat and take off. I feel that if I
had reacted better I might have hooked them. They may have been just
bumping my lure, but it's hard to tell. I watch the fishing shows and

If you are using hard lures, i.e. wood, hard plastic or metal, those bumps
could have been strikes. It is amazing how fast any fish can spit out a lure
that does not feel right to it, and any hard lure just does not feel like
food to the fish. One other problem, that I am guilty of ;-), is "sight
setting" the hooks when I can actually see the fish. Just because I can see
the fish coming towards my lure, AND they have their mouth open, does NOT
mean that they have the lure IN their mouth. That fish can still be up to a
foot behind the lure at that time. For me, this is the single biggest
problem I have when fishing waters that are clear or only lightly stained.

Any of these types of lures work on triggering the strike reflex in a fish,
sometimes by just irritating the fish and sometimes by exciting the need to
feed in them. Of course, this also means that the reactions from fish and
from you will be different if you are using soft plastics or live bait.

see the guys ripping their rod back like they're swinging a bat.
Most, if not all, fish I've caught I've barely had to set the hook.

I have had many strikes where the fish self-hooks itself, but the best
reaction on your part is to set the hooks, and as hard and fast as possible.

Where should I start? I've tried setting the hook harder when I think
I have a strike, but I believe I'm ripping the hook out of their
mouths. Certainly, I'll keep refining but if anyone can give me some
idea of where to go with this I'd appreciate it.
Thanks!

There are three possibilities here. One is that you are getting some strikes
from the side, and unless the fish really hits the lure hard, it will not be
well hooked if at all. The fish may be hanging onto the lure, but the hooks
can actually be outside the mouth of the fish. Two is that you are not
reacting fast enough and the fish is already spitting the lure out before
you are setting the hooks. Three is that you are bumping the bottom, or
other underwater structures.

With the exception of a few species of fish that have very soft mouths such
as Crappie, no rod, reel, and line combination that I have ever used, can
actually rip the hooks out of the mouth of any game fish. Bass, Northerns,
Walleye, Muskie, etc., all have a mouth structure that is boney and more
than strong enough to keep the hooks in, if they are set well.

Some ideas to help;
1 - Use a hook sharpener regularly on all of your hook sets.
2 - React immediately to anything that even feels remotely like a strike.
Even after you get used to what underwater timber (logs, stumps, etc.) and
rocks feel like, you will still occasionally "set" your hooks into these
items. In these cases you may very well lose some lures, but this is just
part of the game.
3 - Keep your hooks sharp. If necessary, replace your hooks, as some lures
come with hooks that cannot be sharpened to your satisfaction.
4 - If you do miss a fish, keep doing EXACTLY what you were doing when the
strike occurred. The fish may still be there to try another swipe at your
lure.
5 - Do not pause when you feel a strike, react NOW. And as the old saying
goes, "Try to cross their eyes"! After the fact, then you can analyze the
strike, if it was one. And if it was a log that you hooked, or a rock that
your lure scrapped over, try to memorize the feel so that you can learn what
is going on with the lure.
6 - Practice often, go fishing as often as necessary, or even more often.

Did I mention sharp hooks and reacting fast? :-)

Good luck
Cast far
Leave a few for the rest of us
Bob

Bob wrote:
If you are using hard lures, i.e. wood, hard plastic or metal, those
bumps could have been strikes. It is amazing how fast any fish can
spit out a lure that does not feel right to it, and any hard lure
just does not feel like food to the fish. One other problem, that I
am guilty of ;-), is "sight setting" the hooks when I can actually
see the fish. Just because I can see the fish coming towards my lure,
AND they have their mouth open, does NOT mean that they have the lure
IN their mouth. That fish can still be up to a foot behind the lure
at that time. For me, this is the single biggest problem I have when
fishing waters that are clear or only lightly stained.

I should have mentioned that I typically use soft-bodied spinner baits or
tubes rigged weedless. I've had the best luck lately with my chartreuse
twister and jig head with a spinner blade... crappies, northern, bass,
perch. It seems to be the lure for the spring.
The waters I fish are mostly clear and, in the case where I've missed them,
I was looking at the fish so it's possible I reacted visually before feeling
the strike. In retrospect, it's hard to tell which happened first.

There are three possibilities here. One is that you are getting some
strikes from the side, and unless the fish really hits the lure hard,
it will not be well hooked if at all. The fish may be hanging onto
the lure, but the hooks can actually be outside the mouth of the
fish. Two is that you are not reacting fast enough and the fish is
already spitting the lure out before you are setting the hooks. Three
is that you are bumping the bottom, or other underwater structures.

With my tubes I was considering adding a trailing treble hook because I
believe I'm getting hits but they only hang on for a second. I'm wondering
if they're grabbing the tail of the lure and not getting far enough up to
get the hook. I'm not sure how it'll affect the action of the lure, but I'm
curious to try it. Of course I wouldn't be able to do this in a weedy area,
but we'll see.

With the exception of a few species of fish that have very soft
mouths such as Crappie, no rod, reel, and line combination that I
have ever used, can actually rip the hooks out of the mouth of any
game fish. Bass, Northerns, Walleye, Muskie, etc., all have a mouth
structure that is boney and more than strong enough to keep the hooks
in, if they are set well.

I didn't realize this. I guess I should pay closer attention when I remove
the hooks. I always assumed it was soft tissue (despite my trouble removing
the occasional hook). I'll keep this in mind.

Some ideas to help;
1 - Use a hook sharpener regularly on all of your hook sets.

I don't currently own a hook sharpener. I never figured sharp hooks would
make a difference. They're sharp enough to jab me so I imagined they were
sharp enough to take a fish. Really, though, wouldn't they have to be
pretty dull to be a problem? I'll have to head over to the tackle shop
again. Thanks. I'm always looking for excuses. My wife wonders why I have
duplicates of some things. I tell her because I just can't leave the place
without a new pack of hooks or something.

2 - React immediately to anything that even feels remotely like a
strike. Even after you get used to what underwater timber (logs,
stumps, etc.) and rocks feel like, you will still occasionally "set"
your hooks into these items. In these cases you may very well lose
some lures, but this is just part of the game.

Of all the things you wrote, I think this clicked with me the most. I
realized I do actually wait for a second to see if it's a fish or bottom. A
lot of times I am bouncing through weeds so I'm always thinking, "Weed?
Fish?" I fish in close quarters so I've been cautious about yanking back
too hard to avoid the hook in the face problem. I will make an effort to
more definately set the hook though. I'll just keep low to avoid flying
lures.

3 - Keep your hooks sharp. If necessary, replace your hooks, as some
lures come with hooks that cannot be sharpened to your satisfaction.

Will do.

4 - If you do miss a fish, keep doing EXACTLY what you were doing
when the strike occurred. The fish may still be there to try another
swipe at your lure.

If I think it was a fish that I just missed, I try a couple of things.
Pause for a second to see if they'll take it, and reel fast to try and
trigger a strike.

5 - Do not pause when you feel a strike, react NOW. And as the old
saying goes, "Try to cross their eyes"! After the fact, then you can
analyze the strike, if it was one. And if it was a log that you
hooked, or a rock that your lure scrapped over, try to memorize the
feel so that you can learn what is going on with the lure.

Yeah, this is what I'm not doing. I'm pausing to think and then pausing
some more after I think it might have been a fish. Should I just reel in
fast after I think I might have yanked it away, or leave it out for a
second?

6 - Practice often, go fishing as often as necessary, or even more
often.

I get out as much as I can, but not often enough. Although with Father's
Day coming I'm going to make sure to get out there (along with everyone
else).

Did I mention sharp hooks and reacting fast? :-)

Good luck
Cast far
Leave a few for the rest of us

Pretty funny considering my questions. I wish I didn't leave so many.

Seriously, though, I really appreciate your response. Your information was
just what I was looking for. I go fishing often enough, but I needed some
analyzing of what I've been doing to clarify my errors. I will make sure to
pay more attention to the bumps and hits and react right away. I'll see if
my hook-ups improve.
Thanks for all your time posting.
Mark

Werlax wrote:

Bob wrote:

snipped
With the exception of a few species of fish that have very soft
mouths such as Crappie, no rod, reel, and line combination that I
have ever used, can actually rip the hooks out of the mouth of any
game fish. Bass, Northerns, Walleye, Muskie, etc., all have a mouth
structure that is boney and more than strong enough to keep the hooks
in, if they are set well.

I didn't realize this. I guess I should pay closer attention when I remove
the hooks. I always assumed it was soft tissue (despite my trouble removing
the occasional hook). I'll keep this in mind.

Some ideas to help;
1 - Use a hook sharpener regularly on all of your hook sets.

I don't currently own a hook sharpener. I never figured sharp hooks would
make a difference. They're sharp enough to jab me so I imagined they were
sharp enough to take a fish. Really, though, wouldn't they have to be
pretty dull to be a problem? I'll have to head over to the tackle shop
again. Thanks. I'm always looking for excuses. My wife wonders why I have
duplicates of some things. I tell her because I just can't leave the place
without a new pack of hooks or something.

Mark

In my experience sharp hooks make a BIG difference. I often sharpen the
new ones before using them as straight from the factory they aren't
always as sharp as I prefer. I test hooks by dragging the point across
the back of my thumbnail. As Bob noted the mouths of most game fish are
quite hard and bony; similar to consistancy of a fingernail. If the
hooks catch and dig in they are sharp enough. If they skip on your nail
they are likely to do the same in fishes mouth.

Jon