11-24-2002, 01:06 AM
Hey Road. You gotta perform up to the level of your new fancy schmancy reel. If you pay attention to the fish and not your reel you will hook more. Sorry. Couldn't resist a shot.
A couple of potential remedies to the no-hookum problem. First, you might be throwing plastics a bit larger than the fish can comfortably chomp. I always scale down in the fall, using mostly 1 1/2" or 2" stuff, on light heads, rather than the bigger 3" or 4" stuff they hit when the water is warmer.
Second, most members of the striper family...including white bass...are notorious for following along behind a lure and nipping at it, without taking it. If you set the hook every time you feel a bump, you will hook a lot of water. If you find this happening, try continuing a slow retrieve, at the same speed, while you get a series of bump, bump bump. Then, when you either feel a solid take, or some weight against your retrieve (with that nice new reel), go ahead and set the hook.
A third suggestion is to put a couple of drops of shad scent on the lures about every 10 or 15 casts. Just like ice fishing, fishes in cold open water hit more aggressively if there is some "sweetener" on the lure. Even a small bit of crawler will get more solid takes than a bare lure. If you look closely at the folks who put the most fish in buckets, you will see a lot of them "decorating" jigs with something more edible.
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A couple of potential remedies to the no-hookum problem. First, you might be throwing plastics a bit larger than the fish can comfortably chomp. I always scale down in the fall, using mostly 1 1/2" or 2" stuff, on light heads, rather than the bigger 3" or 4" stuff they hit when the water is warmer.
Second, most members of the striper family...including white bass...are notorious for following along behind a lure and nipping at it, without taking it. If you set the hook every time you feel a bump, you will hook a lot of water. If you find this happening, try continuing a slow retrieve, at the same speed, while you get a series of bump, bump bump. Then, when you either feel a solid take, or some weight against your retrieve (with that nice new reel), go ahead and set the hook.
A third suggestion is to put a couple of drops of shad scent on the lures about every 10 or 15 casts. Just like ice fishing, fishes in cold open water hit more aggressively if there is some "sweetener" on the lure. Even a small bit of crawler will get more solid takes than a bare lure. If you look closely at the folks who put the most fish in buckets, you will see a lot of them "decorating" jigs with something more edible.
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