Am I setting the hook wrong?

[Ryan N]

When I set the hook, I usually press my thumb on the spool to not let the drag slip since the hookset force is greater than pulling the fish in.

But recently I've snapped two 3/0 EWG hooks on instances where I suppose the fish was huge and therefore didn't have any "give" when hooksetting; It felt like a brick wall. It wasn't a snag because I could see line swimming away.

My setup is 30lbs braid to 15lbs fluoro. The breakpoint was an undone knot.

What do you guys do? Do you thumb the spool when hook setting or rely on your drag to hookset?

[WRB]

You see the line moving your are already late hook setting.

I use my reel set with rod firm sweep hook set.

Set the drag at 4 to 5 lb and trust it.

Today’s hooks are extremely sharp and strong. Your rod MH or H power rod can’t withstand more then 5 lbs of force.

Don’t believe me… try lifting 5 pint plastic water bottles in a grocery bag that weigh 1 lb ea.

Tom

[Woody B]

If the breakpoint is a knot, then it's a knot problem.   If you have sharp hooks you don't need a hookset that almost capsizes the boat......but I'm guilty of that too at times.   

[Pat Brown]

9 hours ago, WRB said:

You see the line moving your are already late hook setting.

I use my reel set with rod firm sweep hook set.

Set the drag at 4 to 5 lb and trust it.

Today’s hooks are extremely sharp and strong. Your rod MH or H power rod can’t withstand more then 5 lbs of force.

Don’t believe me… try lifting 5 pint plastic water bottles in a grocery bay that weigh 1 lb ea.

Tom

 

 

This.

 

I'll only add:

 

Match the power of the rod to the bait/hook that you're throwing and set the hook hastily but use torque more so than snapping the rod upward. 

 

Try to reel the slack out of your line - feel the fish load up - pull the hook hard into the fish and reel quickly at the same time.  But do it  instantly.  😎👍🏻🎣

 

 

 

 

[Ryan N]

5 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

 

 

This.

 

I'll only add:

 

Match the power of the rod to the bait/hook that you're throwing and set the hook hastily but use torque more so than snapping the rod upward. 

 

Try to reel the slack out of your line - feel the fish load up - pull the hook hard into the fish and reel quickly at the same time.  But do it  instantly.  😎👍🏻🎣

 

 

 

 

In other words, set the hook not from slack but a sharp gradual set. I usually do this for treble hooks but for those 3/0 hooks I believe I need the leverage of setting from slack. Someone said it was a knot problem, so maybe I'll try another knot.

[Pat Brown]

Yeah you would be incorrect unfortunately.  You do not ever benefit from snapping a hook. It just weakens the penetration for the most part.  The only benefit to snapping is sometimes quickness, but in general it's not going to help you catch fish. 

 

In my opinion, if you're forced to snap on the hook set to catch up with the fish, then you didn't react fast enough to begin with - which happens to all of us and sometimes we get lucky and catch the fish but it's not ideal and it's not the most high percentage scenario.

 

The sharp gradual set really drives the hook in past the barb and very rarely do you blow the fish's mouth out on the hook set or break them off.

[Ryan N]

3 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

Yeah you would be incorrect unfortunately.  You do not ever benefit from snapping a hook. It just weakens the penetration for the most part.  The only benefit to snapping is sometimes quickness, but in general it's not going to help you catch fish. 

 

In my opinion, if you're forced to snap on the hook set to catch up with the fish, then you didn't react fast enough to begin with - which happens to all of us and sometimes we get lucky and catch the fish but it's not ideal and it's not the most high percentage scenario.

 

The sharp gradual set really drives the hook in past the barb and very rarely do you blow the fish's mouth out on the hook set or break them off.

I see. What about drag, do you thumb the spool while setting?

[Woody B]

Disclaimer, I'm certainly not an expert.

 

I thumb my spool when setting the hook....but I keep my drag fairly loose.  I set it by "feel" but I have checked it with a scale.  It's usually around 2 1/2 to 3 pounds.   

 

I also experiment with knots, ect, and what it takes to break the line I use.  Tie up your normal rig.  Bury the hook in a tree limb or something.  Practice hook sets, as well as see just how much pressure it takes to break your line.  (don't break your rod)   Try it with the same rig, after a fishing trip...meaning the knots/line ect have been fished with a bunch.  Let it sit a week and try it again.   I use mono 90+% of the time.  Tom (WRB) and testing in my yard convince me that fresh knots are necessary.  I suspect fresh knots are even more important with fluoro.   

[Catt]

47 minutes ago, Ryan N said:

I see. What about drag, do you thumb the spool while setting?

 

Nope! And I never lock my drag down, not even punching or frogging. 

 

I set my drag at 6-10 lbs., never had it slip on a hookset. If a bass takes drag its usually a turn or two of the handle & a lean on the rod.

 

I let my hook, line, rod, & drag work in unison; that's what I bought em for.

[Ryan N]

2 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Nope! And I never lock my drag down, not even punching or frogging. 

 

I set my drag at 6-10 lbs., never had it slip on a hookset. If a bass takes drag its usually a turn or two of the handle & a lean on the rod.

 

I let my hook, line, rod, & drag work in unison; that's what I bought em for.

I see. I'll set my drag that tight and see how it works. Also no slack hooksetting.

Speaking of which, I was watching a youtube video and they had the same situation I did lol.

 

[Bazoo]

An interesting discussion, thanks all for sharing.

[Catt]

There's nothing wrong with locking you drag down. Lot of anglers on this site do, lot of guys I fish with do, & lot of Pros do. 

 

I'm fairly certain most make adjustments with their rods & hookset to absorb shock. 

[Pat Brown]

20 minutes ago, Catt said:

There's nothing wrong with locking you drag down. Lot of anglers on this site do, lot of guys I fish with do, & lot of Pros do. 

 

I'm fairly certain most make adjustments with their rods & hookset to absorb shock. 

 

 

I find that your way is better overall for me.  I like a little ability for fish to pull some drag - less likely to tear a hole or turn a hook around in their mouth on a run.  I have caught some BIG fish that I hooked in open water on super long casts and I know the only reason I caught them is they could pull some drag throughout the fight.

 

I do not ever thumb my spool on a hookset.  

[Swamp Girl]

Like others in this thread, I want my drag to slip with a big bass.

[islandbass]

@Ryan N: I think that is not good practice. You need to convince yourself to get rod of that kind of thinking. What you are doing means you do not trust your gear and/or understand what is going on during the hook set. 
You are not trusting the following:

1) The sharpness of your hook. Today’s hooks are so darn sharp you almost don’t have to to anything except pull back.

2) The reel’s drag. Set it to about 25-33%!of your line as a start. 
3) The rod’s power. 
All of these items are your tools and the best way is to make your tools do the work.

 

I believe that is most cases, a “cross their eyes” hook set is hardly ever needed. But then again, I don’t live down south, or fish extreme junk/cover where it may be warranted but I can’t say with certainty. 
 

Hopefully, it is clear that hooks snapping isn’t the way to continue. A heck of a lot of force would have had to have been applied for that the happen.

 

Lastly, may I ask what brand of hooks you are using? What I said about trusting hooks is contingent on using quality hooks (owners, vmc, Grammies, etc.). 

[Ryan N]

What I'm reading is a bit contradicting. I thumb my spool on the hookset because I usually have my drag pretty light (around 2 lbs) because I want the fish to run and take line if it's big enough. This has nothing to do with the reliability of my gear.

My main revelation is that I was always hook set from slack, instead you should pull into the fish to drive the hook. Ignore drag, knots, and hook sharpness.

 

I went out to the pond recently and put my drag pretty tight (Around 5lbs), caught a fish relying on the drag but I noticed the poor fella had a huge hole in his mouth.

 

So in conclusion, I'm going to still run my drag light and thumb the spool on hookset, but drive the hook in and try not to get too excited.

[islandbass]

@Ryan N: Ah. I get you now. I see I misunderstood you in that I was picturing you having your thumb on the spool in a way that didn’t let the spool move at all. 
 

I also don’t like it when hooks pop a big hole in the lip/mouth. From my own experience, it seems the thicker the wire gauge, the greater potential for a larger hole. I try to use thinner gauge hooks when I can. They still pop through but the hole is usually smaller. It might just be part of the game that it’s a possibility. I’ve even seen a hook go through the bony upper jaw. 😢
 

The remaining mystery is the hooks being broken. 
 

 

[Catt]

On 8/9/2024 at 10:15 PM, Ryan N said:

But recently I've snapped two 3/0 EWG hooks

 

This should never happen!

[Ryan N]

5 hours ago, Catt said:

 

This should never happen!

My phrasing is god awful, I mean they snapped off as in the knot gave way 

[Catt]

3 hours ago, Ryan N said:

My phrasing is god awful, I mean they snapped off as in the knot gave way 

 

Was the end of your line curled?

 

If it was that's sign your knot slipped. If your line simply broke it would be straight.

[Ryan N]

4 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Was the end of your line curled?

 

If it was that's sign your knot slipped. If your line simply broke it would be straight.

Yes it was curled, but it’s still a knot issue. I was using improved clinch which always worked for me. I’ll try a uni knot and see if i have the same issue

[Bird]

Can't remember ever thumbing the spool on a hook set, braid user here.

Can't remember snapping a 3.0 hook either......you must workout 😁

Correct knot / drag should correct this.

[Susky River Rat]

I set the hook like that fish owes me money. I don’t know how tight I run my drags. I do like them to slip when I set the hook on a snag though lol. 

[Ryan N]

On 8/9/2024 at 11:27 PM, WRB said:

You see the line moving your are already late hook setting.

I use my reel set with rod firm sweep hook set.

Set the drag at 4 to 5 lb and trust it.

Today’s hooks are extremely sharp and strong. Your rod MH or H power rod can’t withstand more then 5 lbs of force.

Don’t believe me… try lifting 5 pint plastic water bottles in a grocery bag that weigh 1 lb ea.

Tom

I’ve tried not waiting for the line to move (feeling for a bite) but the fish can feel the rod pressure on the lure. Where I live, the bass are incredibly finicky and if I can feel them, they can feel me. So it’s best I have a visual indicator rather than catching slack to feel twitches.

[Catt]

7 hours ago, Ryan N said:

the bass are incredibly finicky and if I can feel them, they can feel me.

 

And you should have already set hook.

 

Feeling a worm/jig bite requires keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amount of slackness in your line.