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Howdy all,
Got a question. Im not a die hard bass fisherman. Im more opportunistic. If I know there are bass I will target them so I dont really have a dedicated bass set up.
Anyways I was out this weekend at a local reservoir for the first time just checkin out what was in it. I started hooking into some smaller large mouths. They were all in the 8-12" range. Nothing worth taking pictures off but still fun to catch. My problem was that for ever one that I was able to land I had 2 or 3 get away. When they would hit my spinner (Blue Fox Vibrax) I would set the hook good and hard, harder than I would with a trout and while some I thought were hooked they still seemed to get off.
Im just trying to figure out why this could be, I sometimes have this issue on other waters but generally speaking the only bass I catch consistantly are smallies.
My rod is just an Ugly Stik Lite 7' Medium action (8-15lb) It is also a spinning rod if that would change anything.
Is it my rods lack of backbone? Hook Sharpness? Me not setting the hook hard enough.
Im curious because I am really starting to enjoy bass fishing and if its the rod I would like to upgrade ASAP.
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Won a expensive rod at a raffle and now the ugly sticks only go bait fishing. Now I own Dobyns, Lamiglass, Lews all have a specific job, some use braided line. Sharp hooks are a must, using braid may be the cheapest way to a better hook set. Big bass like to stun prey before they eat it. With my crankbait pole I can feel a fish chase my bait, half a second stop will draw a strike. They'll whack it then eat it. Meet me in burley I'll let try a few different rigs.
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I wish I was still remotely close to Burley. Im going to school up in Moscow.
The Ugly Stick was great at first, it was the first real fishing pole I bought myself and at the time its the best an unemployed 10 year old could afford. I love the fact that I can throw it in the bed of the truck or in the tool box and it holds up great but I think its time for an upgrade.
Before I spend too much money though I do want to try some Gamakatsu or some other nice hooks and see if that helps. What sort of hook should one use for rigging soft plastics? My whole life I have always used Rubber tube Jigs Carolina rigged on a Snelled hook, it worked and it was cheap. Now I bought myself a "Lockett Lures" Sampler pack and Im not sure what hooks to use. See what I like from the sampler then buy a little more.
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As far as the hook set goes and being able to consistently land bass that bite it comes with practice. If you are having a hard time hooking them with the Blue Fox try putting on a larger treble hook. I use a Gamakatsu treble hook that has one hook wider than the other two. Be careful, they are dangerously sharp...trust me.
Soft plastics-there are a hundred different ways to rig them. The most versatile is a Texas rig, an easy Google search should show how to do it. I use this for everything from tubes to grubs to worms, etc.
Nothing wrong with the Ugly Stick, gotta start somewhere. Hooks and line are most important to me...than rods and reels...and the list goes on.
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I plan on starting small. If Better hooks give me higher hook up rates then that will be a place to start. With Steelhead season beginning and bass season ending I dont want to drop any major money on a rod or reel, but I still want to begin watching for maybe a sale.
I actually dont run trebel hooks on my spinner baits. I hate playing fishy facial surgeon in order to remove trebels from upper and lower jaws at the same time. Specially when fishing in waters that have trout, or worse yet little sun fish thats bellies overload their mouths. I have had to many trout pretty much hook their mouths shut and not been able to remove the hooks without either cutting the hook with wire cutters or just killing the fish. I know I may miss a hook up a little more often but it really make releasing fish faster and easier.
I know how to rig the plastics one thing I cant find is what style/size hook. When they say a "worm hook" are there litterally hooks called worm hooks or are they referring to something like an octopus hook. Im just curious because I have not spent much time looking at hooks all I really know are my octopus, siwash, and baitholder hooks that I use for snells.
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If your not running treble hooks on your lures, that's your hookup problem. That rod is great for fishing lures. Look for a #3 or 4 wide gap hook to use for plastic.
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So are bass striong enough to hold a hook in their mouth without it getting pulled out or hooking them? I was starting to set the hook twice and they still got away. The fish weren't getting off/spitting my hook right away. I was literally able to reel them all in to viewing distance and it seemed that as soon as they saw me they were gone. I was not giving them slack and I made sure I didn't let them jump.
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What kind of hook are you using on your spinners?
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Generally I don't use spinners for bass. I usually always just use my tube jigs. But my spinners just have their factory hook, all I do is cut to points off of the trebel so that its like a single hook.
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Sounds like they are pulling it out when they see you. One small hook on a lure is not enough to hold them. Don't pull to much on the retrieve that's why a med action rod is good because it gives some. If you stop cutting off those trebles you'll see it will being in more fish. You need more small hooks in their mouth to hold them.
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That is a lot of bass catching Paul, is it always that good there? I'm surprised that those circle hooks work so well on lures, I might have to give them a try myself. Thanks for sharing your pics and video.
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Yes especially the canals which open up into lakes.
Thanks cool give it a shot!
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Thanks! Maybe it was circle hooks that someone told me about. All I know is a met a guy one time that swore by single hooks and said he hadn't fished a trebel in years.
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Noticed lots of anglers using circle hooks on their lures,some with a single hook in the back and also a double circle hook. 
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