So I have officially committed 4 hours in total  dedicated to pure swimbaiting, one rod, one reel, and one bait. So I was throwing the jackal ganterel Jr today and finally got my first hookup. I caught him near a layed down tree and just erratically worked the handle fast and jerky. The fish was easily 3-4lbs, not pushing my pb but was close. The fish felt heavy even on the swimbait rod, had him on for 3 seconds, jumped, and lost him. I tried to keep the rod tip low and grind him in, anyone have any reccomendations. I did set the hook pretty hard but the hooks are thick wire. I'm kinda heartbroken and was livid, but at least it happened on a small fish and not a 8+ pounder that lurks in there. 

Happens to the best of us, doesn't matter if it's swimbaits, jigs, cranks, jerkbaits, worms, whatever, we all lose a fish from time to time, it's awful, and it's irritating, heartbreaking and all the rest of it, but unless you have the opportunity to see how/where it was hooked, and whether it was ripping holes in his lip, fully penetrating, etc you'll never know for sure, one thing to keep in mind is fish being able to bind up hooks on split rings, I think folks have used a second ring to help reduce this problem, but it's really not even possible to say for sure that this was your problem to start with. 

When they jump off...check your hooks...check you line...cast again.

Time and time again I found there are more than one fish there.

So don't beat yourself up and keep pluggin. (pun inteneded)

Sounds like you did everything right. Hard hook set, lowered rod when surfacing and keep the pressure on. Hey at least you got a thrill on using a swim bait. “That’s fishing “

29 minutes ago, Sphynx said:

Happens to the best of us, doesn't matter if it's swimbaits, jigs, cranks, jerkbaits, worms, whatever, we all lose a fish from time to time, it's awful, and it's irritating, heartbreaking and all the rest of it, but unless you have the opportunity to see how/where it was hooked, and whether it was ripping holes in his lip, fully penetrating, etc you'll never know for sure, one thing to keep in mind is fish being able to bind up hooks on split rings, I think folks have used a second ring to help reduce this problem, but it's really not even possible to say for sure that this was your problem to start with. 

I see, I have heard it is common for swimbaits to be thrown when a fish jumps and binds the trebles.

24 minutes ago, Chris Catignani said:

When they jump off...check your hooks...check you line...cast again.

Time and time again I found there are more than one fish there.

So don't beat yourself up and keep pluggin. (pun inteneded)

Thanks for the positivity!

24 minutes ago, GaryH said:

Sounds like you did everything right. Hard hook set, lowered rod when surfacing and keep the pressure on. Hey at least you got a thrill on using a swim bait. “That’s fishing “

That's true, it was a bite on a reaction bait and was a fun 3 second fight.

Don't set hard with treble hooked swimbaits, just sweep into them. 

 

That heavy bait gives them lots of leverage to toss the bait though, you'll lose fish and there's nothing you can do about it. 

IIRC, the Gantarel line comes with rotating hook hangers, so I wouldn't worry about hooks binding there.

 

Like others said, it's just the name of the game. You can do everything right and you're still going to lose some, especially with heavy baits like that. Sounds like it was good fun, even if a little heartbreaking. Just sounds like an excuse to get back out there to me.

Yeah, don't knock yourself out. I've lost some nice fish, those kinda fish that stick with ya for a long, long while and never seem to let go LoL. Just like with any fish, the heavier and bulkier baits tend to be at a higher risk of coming loose, especially on those wild head shakes and jumps. Seems like you did all things right, and that's all you can do, given the situation. Sometimes, even, doing all the wrong things can be all the right things...in a sense, so to speak. Each moment plays out differently. 

On 10/17/2021 at 10:04 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Don't set hard with treble hooked swimbaits, just sweep into them. 

 

That heavy bait gives them lots of leverage to toss the bait though, you'll lose fish and there's nothing you can do about it. 

Maybe I'll try a sweeping hookset, worth a shot