Hooking up

[Bad Habit]

Had a decent day on the lake today. Lots of bites off the Gennesee river. Unfortunatly we lost more fish then we boated so the question was raised should you "set the hook hard" or let the weight and fight of the fish set it and hope the soft mouth doesn't rip or pull out? I would be interested to here what everyone thought. Thanks, Rick

[ray koziatek]

just a little hookset is all thats needed then baby in the browns,salmon a little more agressive ...........If you resemble a bass fisherman in a tourny with the over head rip(hookset) ya done probly loosened some teeth as well as lips..and it depends whatcha fishing for and with,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, sharp hooks are a must rather their small or large..

[W.W.IV.]

Rick, I'm assuming you losing most of the fish off the boards, Its hard to get a good hook set long lining off the boards with the line stretch if there not hitting hard, you have to get the slack out of the line as fast as you can or they will throw the hooks, and like Ray said sharpen the hooks. I also think braid with no stretch is better off the boards. When I run spoons I offset the hook points on treble or single point hooks. Just take pliers and twist the point to one side so the point doesn't line up with the shank and then sharpen the point. Don't over do it. I'm not one fore setting the hook but I think its important to get the slack out as fast as you can no matter what line your running and sharpen those hooks. Hey don't forget to sharpen the hooks.

[rshubuck]

I have found that Sharp hooks are a must The other thing I suggest is to tighten your releases or use a heavier release. I don't ever set the hook. The release and fish usually do all the work. But as mentioned early sharp hooks and I don't even pull the rod out of the rod holder untill the slack is out of the line. I just do a quick power reel to all the slack is out.

[W.W.IV.]

Good point tighten up that release, hope my fishing buds are reading this post, we lost 6or8 last week. There in training but there fast learners.

[Luke510]

WW, do you think sharp hooks will help? Going out with my buddy Johnson this weekend, I'll talk to him about that.

[Legacy]

Sharp hooks and really tight releases

[rocketman]

Good quality, STICKY SHARP hooks is one of the most important, if not THE most important aspects of successful salmon fishing, & one of the most overlooked. Start with a good quality hook(my preference is Owner, but there are many others). If it doesnt cost at least one dollar each, I probably won't use it. Lure Jenson makes a good hook file(yellow handle), & they only cost $7-$8.00. Resharpen after every fish, so it's always sticky sharp. Combined with a tight release, as previosly mentioned, & the hook sets itself. It can not be stressed enough, as without it, your chances of successfully boating a fish are greatly diminished. Most tackle manufacturers do not use GOOD quality hooks, but an inexpensive hook file will increase your hits to hookup ratio. Hope this helps, & good fishing.

[ray koziatek]

Oh yea forgot to mention "sharp hooks"

[W.W.IV.]

Ya Ray let us know how you and Johnson make out.

Sorry Luke510, got you and Ray mixed up.How did you and Johnson get along, did he do as well as you hoped. Hey Greg, glad you and John read this post.

[W.W.IV.]

Bad Habit,

Hope there's something in these posts that help you out some days you lose fish no matter what you do.

[mcds7]

Thats the nice thing about the chamberlians releases,you can tighten them right down and load the tips right to the water.basically two tensions,one from the release up to the rod tip and the other from the release to the lure.

p.s.

Owner hooks=re-assured hook-sets!!!........get some!

mike m

[slimyfish]

sometimes the fish bite in such way that good hookups dont happen.

seen it last summer

fish were getting off or breaking/bite threw fly leaders. who knows maybe attack from side instead of from behind..

sharp hooks are GOOD

[Bad Habit]

Thanks for all the replys. went out again today with much better results. Boated 8 fish and lost 2. Not as much action as yesterday but alot better hook up percentage. Didn't really do anything different then yesterday but the fish cooperated a little better. maybe just one of those days. back out tomorrow to test it again. Tough job but someone has to do it.