Setting the hook

[JLG78]

Ive been putting in a lot of time Bass fishing lately. Im experimenting with a few new techniques mainly drop shoting. Its improved my catch rate quite a bit..but Im starting to notice on average I probably lose 2 out of 3 fish due to bad hook sets. Im being as careful as I can..watching the line rise and give it a second before I apply pressure..im not just trying to rip the fishes face off at the first nibble... I guess I just feel like im losing way to many fish..

Any advice would be appreciated.
[signature]

[futekisenshi]

Instead of setting a hook, try just reeling in, I was having the same problem wacky rigging and I thought, what is wrong? Are they just nibbling on the end of the senko or something? Then I thought, maybe I'm ripping it out of their mouth when I'm setting a hook, tried just reeling in the opposite direction the fish was taking my senko, worked like a charm.
[signature]

[EvilTyeDyeTwin]

Are you using mono? Just how deep are you fishing?
[signature]

[futekisenshi]

Great question EvilTyeDyeTwin, didn't even think of that. I use braid with fluoro leader on nearly everything, if you're using mono as EvilTyeDyeTwin asked, you'll need to set a hook to make sure you actually get the fish hooked, and can't just reel in as I suggested. Straight fluoro will be kind of middle ground and may still require setting the hook some.
[signature]

[JLG78]

Yes im using mono .. I haven't had money to upgrade to a decent bass rod, reel..etc.. Im just using a plain old spinning setup. I also wonder if a better rod with more backbone would help. I guess I should at least upgrade my line.
[signature]

[JLG78]

If im understanding what your getting at braided and fluoro doesn't stretch as much?
[signature]

[RockyRaab]

Braid has zero stretch (you can feel a fish drooling over your lure), Fluoro has some, but much less than mono. The lighter the line, the more mono stretches, too.

With mono, you have to take up a lot of "slack" that's just line stretch before there's any force applied to the hookpoint at all. Try a long sweeping hookset -- not just a short jab or a lip-ripper. Sweep the rodtip back three or four feet, smoothly. That gives you plenty of set power but no sudden jolt to snap the line. A good rod and reel drag will protect you.
[signature]

[Jordanporritt]

A rod with more backbone definately helps. Like others mentioned, good braid or fluorocarbon. Also when you are fishing a dropshot rig you need to make sure your palomar knot is tied correctly so that the hook sticks out and doesn't just hang straight down. I think that's usually the biggest problem people have with drop shotting, If the hook just hangs down a lot of times you will pull it out of their mouth without hooking anything.
[signature]

[UVU_bass]

There is so much more to it than just proper hook set. Timing is a part of it as well, and that, in my experience, is just "feel" so to speak..too early? you lose the fish, too late? you lose the fish. But more important than hook set, technique, and timing are:

hook size, proper knot, line, and rod action.

For drop shotting, a regular old trout rod will catch you fish, but you still need some back-bone to make sure you are maximizing hook ups and not losing fish. I like to use a 6'6- 7' medium action spinning rod (medium light is OK too). Walmart (Orem) has an excellent rig on clearance right now for 20 bucks, its an Abu-Garcia that is a perfect starter drop shot set up.

I like to use a gamakatsu finesse wide gap in 1/0 for most applications. For roboworms I like to use the rebarb hooks. The others have covered the line to use. I know there are pros who fish mono on a drop shot rig, but they also have many,many, more hours than I do in developing the feel necessary to know when and how to set on that rig. Having said that, I use 6-8 lb Sunline sniper fluoro and it has been wonderful. Casts smooth, is stronger than regular 6 lb fluoro with a slightly smaller diameter.

when tying your drop shot rig, make sure you tie a good knot (I like to use the palomar, but others work as well) and that the hook faces up on a taught line. Also make sure you lubricate the line (spit) so that you don't compromise the knot strength.

This time of year when temps go up, drop-shotting is my go to to get those finicky fish to bite. Good luck and tight lines!
[signature]

[JLG78]

Thanks Rocky..That will help me ton.

Sooo new question... I learned how to tie a decent drop shot rig and its working pretty good. my question is how do I judge the amount of weight I need?
[signature]

[morcey2]

Along with everything else that has been said, make sure you have nice sharp hooks.

Matt
[signature]

[RockyRaab]

Happy to help. You're a much better fly angler than I am (proven at Mantua) so any tip I can return is comforting to me.

I use a 1/4 ounce Mojo Rockhopper weight for drop-shotting. It's a long, skinny weight that virtually never hangs up, has enough weight to allow me to wiggle the lure without lifting the whole rig off bottom, and gets the rig down promptly even in fairly deep water. A medium-heavy spinning outfit, 20# braid and a five-foot fluoro leader complete the package. I use a palomar knot and tie the hook in 18" above the tag end of the line - then adjust the position of the weight to have the lure where I want it.

(And do try a Gulp 3½" minnow as your lure. Lightly nose-hooked. Deadly.)
[signature]

[futekisenshi]

Exactly, the mono stretches a lot! I highly recommend braid, it looks pricey from the get go, but lasts a very long time, and to make it cheaper I use a good deal of mono backing(12 lb, so bigger to take up more spool quicker), which is recommended anyways so the braid doesn't slip on the spool, and then I can get the spool of braid to last twice as long since I can use it on another reel too. Some don't change it out for years, no memory, can feel everything, better hooksets even at super long distances, and then use a fluoro leader in 6,8,10,12 lb test depending on what you're throwing and the depth you want. I change out the leader when it looks like I need to by looking at the line and braid-fluoro knot, or usually about every other time I go. Since you only use about 1-2 yards of fluoro leader, the fluoro spools last a long time too.

With my spinning reels I use 10 lb braid, and 30 lb braid on the baitcasters. I've been using power pro with good success, others like suffix 832 performance, once I need to get new braid, which will be a long time, I think I'll try out the 832.

A lot of people are picky with their fluoro, I've tried a lot of them and the only thing I suggest is to not get the absolute cheapest stuff (stren in the silver box) besides that, it's all worked fine, P-line, Bass Pro, trilene 100% Fluoro. I haven't tried the really expensive Seaguar lines, but people love the invisX.

As some others have mentioned, a new combo could help as well. I can see a huge difference in my one combo that is expensive versus another that cost me $80. The $80 combo works good, but that expensive one does everything with ease, casts better without getting backlashes(2 ever on that combo, and I'm positive I was the one that did something to cause them), reels smoother, can feel better, bends in all the right places. Now make sure to read reviews on the equipment too, some pricey stuff is just pricey because of a name, and not because of the technology and materials in the product.

I just recently upgraded my rods to fenwick silver hawks, they were on a great sale at cabelas for $40 a piece , but are now sold out it looks like. That rod is incredible though, you may be able to find one on ebay or ksl or something though. Here is a very similar rod on sale currently, I would recommend the 7' ML: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/F...t104836680
[signature]

[JLG78]

Wow!! Tons of great info from all of you guys. Thanks for all the help.
[signature]

[bassrods]

It may not be your hook set..

What hook do you use??

Is your hook a fine wire type??

Is it a weedless set up??

I use to have the same thing going on..
[signature]

[JLG78]

Im using Gamakatsu drop shot hooks. I cant remember the exact size but their about the size of a penny if I had to guess. Ive been using those hooks with a finesse worm. Not weedless. The more I think about it .. I don't really have any issues when using say a texas rig with like a 2/0 wide gap worm hook. My problems started when I went to the smaller hook for drop shoting.
[signature]

[bassrods]

What I had was a fine wire hook in a small size, and would get a bite and get a few wiggles out of the fish and then lose them or lose them on the way up..

When fishing a tournament with Gary Yamamoto I was doing that and he took the time when we was talking to tell me why I was losing fish (mainly SM)..
He showed me the hook he used and said that my type of hooks will bind ever so slightly and that would let the fish off or throw the hook..

Next time you are fishing and start losing fish off and on take your hook that you are using and see if it is at the point bent as a new hook of the same type being bent out just a little from an unused hook, it may only be as much as the thickness of the hook wire..

Do you live in the SLC area??
If so, we could meet at Fish Tech and I could show you what I mean and what hook I use to eliminate losing as many fish..What hook for how and what you use can make all the difference..

Send me a PM if you would like to..
[signature]

[kastmaster]

For dropshotting, I skip a hard hookset and just reel in, as FTK said. I usually wait until the rod loads up at the tip, reel in, and keep the pressure on. Rods made exclusively for dropshotting usually have a soft tip and loads up on the upper 1/3 of the rod and a strong backbone on the lower 2/3. I agree with others in making sure that your Palomar knot is properly tied (do you put back the end of your line back to the hook eye after cinching it?). This will make sure that the hook sticks out somewhat horizontally and lessens the effect of the worm weighing the hook down. For me dropshotting is like fishing with a circle hook, no eye-crossing hooksets, just constant pressure. Hope this helps.
[signature]

[JLG78]

I think what I might do is at least switch my line over to fluoro for now..and look at my hook situation like you and Bassrods mentioned. Hopefully that will give me some improvement in the short term. Then I can save up for a nice rod/reel combo instead of just buying the first cheap one I can find. And yes I believe im tying my drop shot rig correctly.. Its not always perfect but it gets better every time.
[signature]

[JLG78]

Just and update...

I switched over to fluorocarbon line and made sure my drop shot rig was as perfect as I could get it. those things combined with all the tips on this thread I improved my catch rate dramatically... Not saying I caught a million fish all of a sudden..but I landed just about every fish that hit my line this morning.

Thanks!!!
[signature]