Today on my first cast, I cought a nice 2lb LM, mabey it was that that doomed me. Anyways, back to the question, I "hooked" 4 fish, caught only ONE. before I landed the fish and was about to bring the fish out of the water, it would come off the hook by magic somhow.

I only caught a few fish with the hook i was using the day before, so I don't think the hook would be dull.

Can anyone tell me somthing that might be happening to cause this madness?

What were you fishing with and how were you setting the hook? Some lures or rigs require different hooksets.

I was using a 7in Berkly Power Worm, with an offset worm hook, size 2/0.

thats a very small hook for that size of worm, try using 6/0 hook at least

The 2/0 is fine, although I'd probably use a 3/0. I could ask for more particulars (like line weight and type, hook point exposure, rod particulars,...), but I'll take a shot at it already.

Fish on a short line (close to hand) you should be a little more careful with -not to pull too hard. I know you see pros lifting fish into the boat, and this'll work, provided the fish is well hooked, the fish is oriented correctly (facing you -coming in toward you or the rod tip, and not still thrashing).

As I fight a fish, when I finally get a look at it, I try to judge how well it's hooked. But, in general, I go easier with them when they get close. A short line provides less stretch and the rod angle is steeper so mistakes are more critical. I'd venture that most fish lost are done so on a short line at boatside -the hooks popping free. The trick is to keep the rod bent enough to keep the hooks in, not pull too hard, be ready for sudden bolts. You should also lead or guide the fish's direction with the rod. When he's moving smoothly and calmly at the surface, guide him to your thumb, net, or swing him aboard.

You'll also see people grab the line above the fish, and this works fine, but if your new to fighting fish I'd land them from the rod until you are used to leading and landing on a short line.

Other things to think about:

Rod stiffness -a very fast rod is more critical, a soft rod can be too forgiving.

Check hook sharpness on your thumbnail. It should stick, not slide. Get a hook file.

My guess though is that it's the short line thing.

I think its probably going to be a combination of the hookset and hook size. 2/0 will work but the 3/0 or 4/0 will give you better hooksets. I'd say go with a 3/0 but I'm kinda biased, thats my favorite hook size lol

It could also be the diameter of your hook.  If you're fishing on spinning tackle and lighter line a thinner hook will work wonders for you.

Could be one of 3 things....

1) You never got a good penetrating hookset to begin with and the fish simply spit out your worm.

2) You didn't keep constant pressure on the fish and it took advantage

of a moment of slack line to shake free.

3) You have crappy luck.

thats a very small hook for that size of worm, try using 6/0 hook at least

I'd agree.  I would recommend upping your hook size and trimming off an inch or two off your worm. That should help.  I'm gonna assume you've been keeping your line tight and all that too  

May I suggest taking Bassenbratt's suggestion and go to either a 3/0 or 4/0 size STRAIGHT SHANK hook.

Use a MEDIUM HEAVY rod.  One that cost over $100 can be an excellent investment.

Use a GRAPHITE rod when fishing crankbaits to feel the bait and hits better.

Point rod tip towards the water and reel in all the slack and then SET THE HOOK. HARD!

When setting the hook make the fish's EYES POP OUT OF HIS HEAD but setting the hook very hard.  Throw yourself out of the boat or on the ground.  Hold the rod high and reel like crazy.

Keep rod tip IN THE WATER if the fish jumps.  This will stop the jumping.

Keep rod tip HIGH IN THE AIR to keep the line tight, even when you "lip" the fish or pull him out of the water if he does not jump a lot.

CHECK HOOK POINTS and make sure they are sharp.  A sharpening stone is a very good investment.

And if you are fishing a Senko or a finesse worm, you may want to watch your line and see if it moves.  The fish then has the bait in their mouth and you need to wait two or three seconds and then set the hook VERY HARD.

If you feel the "tap, tap, tap" set the hook.  SET THE HOOK HARD. If you do not have a fish we want your bait to fly back to you and either hit or fly over your head.

Chatterbait hooks are not sharp and you need to sharpen them.

You may want to consider changing your crankbait and topwater hooks to more sharper varities.

And consider using a straight shank worm hook for your plastics, as mentioned above.  

And did I say SET THE HOOK HARD WITH ALL OF YOR STRENGTH AND THROW YOUR BODY INTO THE HOOKSET?

Good luck.

thxs, i'll take everything into consideration next time i go fishing

yea i consider catching one on the first cast bad luck but if you are having trouble just switch up hooksets   if you are setting hard try just loading up on the fish     also when fighting the fish let it fight but dont have any slack in the line. and if you get the fish on top of teh water, the largemouth' mouth will open and fill with water keeping it from fighting  so if you get it on top just keep reeling in

When fishing plastic baits such as a worm/lizard/brush hog a straight shank round bend hook will give you a higher percentage of solid hookups verse an offset hook or extra wide gap hook.

Six to eight inch worms require a 3/0-5/0 hook depending on the diameter of plastic you're trying to penetrate.

Speed is what is needed for solid hook sets and I don't mean reel speed; I mean moving lots of line fast with your rod tip.

Since you were using a Berkeley Power Worms one would assume a Texas Rig?

With the Texas Rig one should set hook by dropping the rod tip parallel to the water, reel as much slack as possible with out the bass feeling pressure, and the snap the rod tip straight upwards as fast a possible.

The only time you should not set hook straight up is when fishing shallow water where you can absolutely tell which was the bass is moving. This is when you want to set hook in the opposite direction from which the bass is moving.  

thats a very small hook for that size of worm, try using 6/0 hook at least

I'd agree. I would recommend upping your hook size and trimming off an inch or two off your worm. That should help. I'm gonna assume you've been keeping your line tight and all that too

I don't agree. The 7" power worm is my favorite creek bait for smallies....almost to a fault where I don't change up to something else when there not biting....anyway.....  A 3/0 hook is the hook you want for this bait. Its a very skinny bait and a 6/0 is just way too big. But different things work for different people.

I was using a 7in Berkly Power Worm, with an offset worm hook, size 2/0.

1. Buy some Gamakatsu or XPoint 4/0 EWG Offset Worm Hooks.

2. Use a "snap set" hook set. When you detect a bite, lower your rod tip as you reel down quickly. Snap your wrists to raise the rod tip to 11 or 12 o'clock without moving the position of your hands relative to your body.

3. Always maintain tension. The fish should be either moving your way or pulling drag. Bring the fish to you.

If you follow these suggestions explicitly, your hook-up and landing ratios will improve dramatically.

8-)

I haven't seen, or perhaps I missed, any mention of what kind of line you are using. Particularly with distant fish, monofilament line stretches a lot. Perhaps you could use heavier mono or switch to braided line. Plastic worms require a good solid hook set and line stretch will diminish that.

Although a 2/0 hook will sometimes work, I'd increase to a 4/0.

Maybe this type of rigging?

Tex-posed, skin-hooked for all my soft plastics

except in the rare instance where I fish a jig head.

8-)

I like EWG hooks myself but I always use 4/0 Eagle Claw autorotating hooks for worms. They can make up for a bad hookset sometimes. They are cheap and sharp. Never sharpen them, replace them and never use them twice unless you have to.

What kind of line are you using?  I don't consider myself an expert fisherman but I do consider myself to be pretty darned good with Texas rigged plastics and I stunk it up Saturday.  After cussing the hooks and cussing the fish and cussing the worms I slowed down and started thinking about what I was doing differently.  I realized that I had recently switched brands of line and this was my first outing with the new line.  That is the only difference that I could think of.  I have always used mono for nearly all applications but when I really started questioning wether or not this line had more stretch than my previous line I decided to put the stretch issue to bed for good and switch to braid.  I have now spooled my T-rig rod with 30 lb. Sufix and I'll let you know how it goes when I hit the water this weekend.  I think the stretch issue will be resolved and I also believe from what I have read on here that I will also be pleased with the sensitivity of the line.  The only concern I have is wether the braided line will bite into itself very often.  Won't know till I try.

Could also be that you just had a bad day.

What im using:

Line: Berkly trilene xl smooth casting, 12lb test.

rod power: MH

reel speed: 6:1(i think) with 10 ball bearings,

i also have a 1/16oz bullet weight

I'm casting 1-2ft off the weed line and reeling it in parralel to the weeds. in about 2-3ft of water

also the worm is t-rigged.

im leaving the worm inside the worm, just a 1 or 2 milimeters deep

Problably more important than the line is the rod. What kind of rod are you using? Texas rigging you really need a high modulus MH rod with a fast to x-tra fast tip to really cross their eyes. IMO.  

i have a MH rod that is fast action and has 45million modulus

i had the same problem tonight! i would even watch them bite it, eat it, and then set the hook and i would still lose it! or i would get it to the boat and would come off. > >

Ahh...did you say the hook was only 1 to 2mm deep in the worm? Do not bury the hook point inside the worm. The point should stick out or come out and then be skin hooked as in the photo offered by another siteatick.