hook set on senko

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

I don't think theres a set rule here, I've waited the ol 1-2, and they spit it before I could hook them, and I've not waited and pull it right out. Usually if I miss on a quick hook set, I'll wait on the next one or vice versa, I find it depends on the mood the fish are in.

I agree. Sometimes you got to set the hook right away and sometimes, it takes a few pexks before setting the hook. I use thin wire hooks so, much power isnt needed

[mark poulson]

I don't think theres a set rule here, I've waited the ol 1-2, and they spit it before I could hook them, and I've not waited and pull it right out. Usually if I miss on a quick hook set, I'll wait on the next one or vice versa, I find it depends on the mood the fish are in.

I agree. Sometimes you got to set the hook right away and sometimes, it takes a few pexks before setting the hook. I use thin wire hooks so, much power isnt needed

I snell both my T rigged and wacky rigged senkos, and that helps me get a good hookset with both. I'm 71, so my days of lip rippin are behind me, but a snelled hook and braid put a lot of zip back in my step.

[poisonokie]

I usually like to feel the weight of the fish before I set the hook. That's how I fish everything practically. I tend to use larger hooks to help keep them from swallowing it.

Sometimes you can tell by the way they hit it whether you can go for a hook set or not, but there's no harm in reeling up slack and putting a little bend in the rod before you drive it home. I don't think they typically spit it out immediately if they went to the trouble of striking it in the first place, just because they feel a little resistance from the bait.

[CaptPeteJ]

I usually like to feel the weight of the fish before I set the hook. That's how I fish everything practically. I tend to use larger hooks to help keep them from swallowing it.

Sometimes you can tell by the way they hit it whether you can go for a hook set or not, but there's no harm in reeling up slack and putting a little bend in the rod before you drive it home. I don't think they typically spit it out immediately if they went to the trouble of striking it in the first place, just because they feel a little resistance from the bait.

I've had a lot of trouble with this technique, need to be more delicate I guess. When I play a mild tug of war before setting the hook, I tend to lose the fish every time(or gut hook ). Hollow body frogs seem to be the only exception for me, I always just wait until I feel the weight of the fish, then slam em home.

[poisonokie]

I usually like to feel the weight of the fish before I set the hook. That's how I fish everything practically. I tend to use larger hooks to help keep them from swallowing it.

Sometimes you can tell by the way they hit it whether you can go for a hook set or not, but there's no harm in reeling up slack and putting a little bend in the rod before you drive it home. I don't think they typically spit it out immediately if they went to the trouble of striking it in the first place, just because they feel a little resistance from the bait.

I've had a lot of trouble with this technique, need to be more delicate I guess. When I play a mild tug of war before setting the hook, I tend to lose the fish every time(or gut hook ). Hollow body frogs seem to be the only exception for me, I always just wait until I feel the weight of the fish, then slam em home.

What line are you using? I use fluorocarbon and that helps with feeling bites on slack line. I don't wait long once I feel the hit, I just reel up the slack, let the tip load just enough to know they have it, then set the hook and start fighting them in. With braid you're more likely to miss the strike completely and by the time you notice them swimming around with it, they've already either choked it or decided to spit it out.

[CaptPeteJ]

I usually like to feel the weight of the fish before I set the hook. That's how I fish everything practically. I tend to use larger hooks to help keep them from swallowing it.

Sometimes you can tell by the way they hit it whether you can go for a hook set or not, but there's no harm in reeling up slack and putting a little bend in the rod before you drive it home. I don't think they typically spit it out immediately if they went to the trouble of striking it in the first place, just because they feel a little resistance from the bait.

I've had a lot of trouble with this technique, need to be more delicate I guess. When I play a mild tug of war before setting the hook, I tend to lose the fish every time(or gut hook ). Hollow body frogs seem to be the only exception for me, I always just wait until I feel the weight of the fish, then slam em home.

What line are you using? I use fluorocarbon and that helps with feeling bites on slack line. I don't wait long once I feel the hit, I just reel up the slack, let the tip load just enough to know they have it, then set the hook and start fighting them in. With braid you're more likely to miss the strike completely and by the time you notice them swimming around with it, they've already either choked it or decided to spit it out.

you might have hit the nail on the head there. I fish braid to flouro leader 95% of the time. I've had trouble with straight flouro in the past (with way less casting experience), but never gone back since switching to braid to leader.

[mark poulson]

I usually like to feel the weight of the fish before I set the hook. That's how I fish everything practically. I tend to use larger hooks to help keep them from swallowing it.

Sometimes you can tell by the way they hit it whether you can go for a hook set or not, but there's no harm in reeling up slack and putting a little bend in the rod before you drive it home. I don't think they typically spit it out immediately if they went to the trouble of striking it in the first place, just because they feel a little resistance from the bait.

I've had a lot of trouble with this technique, need to be more delicate I guess. When I play a mild tug of war before setting the hook, I tend to lose the fish every time(or gut hook ). Hollow body frogs seem to be the only exception for me, I always just wait until I feel the weight of the fish, then slam em home.

What line are you using? I use fluorocarbon and that helps with feeling bites on slack line. I don't wait long once I feel the hit, I just reel up the slack, let the tip load just enough to know they have it, then set the hook and start fighting them in. With braid you're more likely to miss the strike completely and by the time you notice them swimming around with it, they've already either choked it or decided to spit it out.

you might have hit the nail on the head there. I fish braid to flouro leader 95% of the time. I've had trouble with straight flouro in the past (with way less casting experience), but never gone back since switching to braid to leader.

Try snelling your hooks to see if it help. You won't lose anything, and you may find that you hook more fish, because the hook cams up out of the bait and into the fish's mouth with just the slightest pressure.

[poisonokie]

you might have hit the nail on the head there. I fish braid to flouro leader 95% of the time. I've had trouble with straight flouro in the past (with way less casting experience), but never gone back since switching to braid to leader.

Yeah, if they're hitting it on the drop braid works fine. If it's hitting bottom and you have to either dead stick it or shake it a little to entice them into biting, it's definitely better to have fluorocarbon. You can get the worm to shake in place easier without pulling it back towards you and have a better chance of feeling them pick it up. Plus it probably helps get a good hook set without ripping it out of their mouths, but since you use a leader that probably isn't playing as much of a factor. I don't know, it's worth a shot.

[poisonokie]

Try snelling your hooks to see if it help. You won't lose anything, and you may find that you hook more fish, because the hook cams up out of the bait and into the fish's mouth with just the slightest pressure.

Does that really help? I don't know if I buy the whole snelling/cam action thing. As soon as I stopped doing that with my flipping hooks my hook-up percentage shot way up. It seems to me that the hook point is already turned back 180° toward the eye and in the optimal orientation to penetrate. Causing it to point down 90° away from the direction of the pull seems like it would cause it to pull straight out without grabbing anything. I'm not saying it isn't worth a shot and that some people swear by it, but the only time I use a Snell is when the hook has a turned eye like with live bait hooks.

[mark poulson]

Try snelling your hooks to see if it help. You won't lose anything, and you may find that you hook more fish, because the hook cams up out of the bait and into the fish's mouth with just the slightest pressure.

Does that really help? I don't know if I buy the whole snelling/cam action thing. As soon as I stopped doing that with my flipping hooks my hook-up percentage shot way up. It seems to me that the hook point is already turned back 180° toward the eye and in the optimal orientation to penetrate. Causing it to point down 90° away from the direction of the pull seems like it would cause it to pull straight out without grabbing anything. I'm not saying it isn't worth a shot and that some people swear by it, but the only time I use a Snell is when the hook has a turned eye like with live bait hooks.

Maybe it only works for me because I don't swing as fast or as hard as I used to, so it helps get the hook out of the plastic a little faster.

[poisonokie]

That's true.

Sometimes the rod just loads and they're hooked. Just depends on how active they are and how many other fish are around whether they just pick it up and swallow it or swim away first.

[smallies]

drop the rod, reel the slack, and lean into them with a sweeping hookset

[toddmc]

Try snelling your hooks to see if it help. You won't lose anything, and you may find that you hook more fish, because the hook cams up out of the bait and into the fish's mouth with just the slightest pressure.

Does that really help? I don't know if I buy the whole snelling/cam action thing. As soon as I stopped doing that with my flipping hooks my hook-up percentage shot way up. It seems to me that the hook point is already turned back 180° toward the eye and in the optimal orientation to penetrate. Causing it to point down 90° away from the direction of the pull seems like it would cause it to pull straight out without grabbing anything. I'm not saying it isn't worth a shot and that some people swear by it, but the only time I use a Snell is when the hook has a turned eye like with live bait hooks.

The rule of thumb for snelling hooks is yes for vertical presentations (flipping), and no for longer line horizontal fishing (longer pitching). I stopped snelling my punch rigs because I rarely have mats in SoCal where I can fish vertically. Mark fishes the Sacramento Delta where they fish vertically, and they snell more. Snelling can cause excessive line twist with most hooks on a dropshot rig.

[HobeyBaker]

drop the rod, reel the slack, and lean into them with a sweeping hookset

+1