pigmurkerz Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Hey guys I wanted to get your thoughts on fighting fish with heavy rods and hard baits with trebles. a few months ago I went on a 3 day fishing trip and managed 12 bites without landing a single fish. I was using a deps 250 on a lowdown customs xh production rod and 30# mono. I had my drag cranked all the way down and all of the fish I stuck pulled off half way back to the boat. in hindsight I feel that I should of given the fish a chance to strip drag? I am interested to see what you guys think about this. My friend that was with me was able to land every fish he hooked..he was using an Okuma guide select that had a little more play in the rod. Is the xh just to stiff of a rod for to with big baits and trebles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCMD Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 I'm sure some of the other guys with more experience will chime in here. My .02 is that treble hook baits are better on rods that have more of a parabolic action. If the rod isn't loading down farther into the blank (i.e. all the play is in the tip), the head shakes cause a higher frequency of oscillation because only the tip of the rod is in play, so to speak. That higher frequency of oscillation means more moments of slack in the line, thus more opportunities for the fish to get off. I've had the same problem throwing treble baits with stiff rods. I've never used a Low Down XR production, so I can't speak specifically to that rod. In general, a more moderate or parabolic action is preferable for the treble baits. I switched to a Phenix M1 swimbait rod for my glides and other trebles, which has a more moderate/parabolic action, and I've had far fewer problems. Plenty of the guys on here throw the LDC rods, production and custom, so I'll be interested to see what they have to say from first-hand experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MA Frog Man Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Could be a combination. When the fish head shakes with a 6 ounce bait it's already tough enough to keep trebles stuck. Any slack in the line caused by too stiff a rod/locked down drag is going to make it even worse. I know a lot of guys on here fish lock down drag but I tend to fish lower drag with treble hooks now MarkH024 and pigmurkerz 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigmurkerz Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Those are good points CCMD! I Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkH024 Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Why do you have your drag locked? I'd be 95% sure you're tearing out the hooks. The drag is meant to help you fight the fish so you should try to loosen it up. It also will tire them out, in return make it easier for you to land them. This is the same concept as fishign braid with trebles, you need to loosen the drag so you don't over power. remember it's bass, not big saltwater fish or musky/pike. most of the equipment we use is overkill to the fish we catch but necessary for the baits we throw. I don't think your line, rod, or reel is the problem, just a drag adjustment. pigmurkerz, northeast_trev, Ong Jim and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilcatfish Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 I think you may have 2 issues: 1. Line: What line are you using? Personally with hard/treble baits I like something with a bit of stretch 2. Drag: Don't fish it locked down. In my experience I fish the drag locked down with soft baits then loosen up for hard baits Don't take my suggestions as gospel, they're just what's worked for me. Plus here in MO I'm not catching the monsters the TX/Western guys are pigmurkerz and MarkH024 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigmurkerz Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Ya I guess my reasoning for locking the drag down was to just get the fish in as fast as I could so he never had a chance to throw the bait. I was using 30# Berkley big game so the line did have some stretch. thanks for the great responses guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Nothing wrong with locking drag down Dink whisperer, bdpettit, Mossypumpkin and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceaser Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 locking the drag isn't your problem if your losing fish halfway back to the boat on big game. I use 25lb and that is plenty strong to toss any baits I've thrown up to 10oz. Big game is like a rubber band and works well with the production xh. Lately tho, i feel the H does a better job with hard baits. That being said I have fished both style rods parabolic and regular and its a preference, they both land treble fish equally. I actually don't like the parabolic styles anymore because they lack the back bone i like to feel when a really big fish is hooked up. I also fish in cover all the time, if a fish get control or its head turned it will be buried up so drag and under powered rods lose fish. every situation is different, but if your not losing them all boat side or short line id guess maybe you weren't getting the hooks in them good enough from the start pigmurkerz, Mikey99, biggfeast and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigmurkerz Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 That is a good point Ceaser.. one of them actually did make it boat side and he was barely hooked by one treble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkH024 Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 locking the drag isn't your problem if your losing fish halfway back to the boat on big game. No but if he is pulling so hard because there is no give by rod, line, or drag, those big hooks could be creating bigger gaping holes than the initial penetration. The next time that fish creates slack by head shake or run at the boat could be enough to let those hooks back themselves out. If you're losing the fish half way to the boat, you never do get to see its mouth or where it may have been hooked so there's no real way to prove the theory of both not setting hooks good enough or if they're getting ripped/pulled loose. I prefer to be "safe than sorry". The only applications I lock a drag or come close to it is punching matted veg or frogging because of the vegetation. Bass have relatively soft mouths compared to many other species. With all the heavy beefy stuff we use, setting these razor sharp hooks shouldn't be that big of an issue. In my experiences, I use the same big bass swimbaits for musky fishing and haven't had issues setting hooks and a musky's mouth is about 10x tougher than a bass. Again, my .02 on the topic and i believe everyone should fish they way they comfortable. I'd still put money on it that if he loosens the drag he'll land more fish in the future. pigmurkerz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Az_urban_swimbaiter Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) I fish drag locked down 95% of the time . No problem . Reason for locked down drag is I winch fish in. to many variables can go wrong when playing out a big bass to tire it out with expensive baits and possibly the fish of a lifetime / state record / world record / lake record ect what ever your goal is . Edited February 10, 2016 by Az_urban_swimbaiter Ceaser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigmurkerz Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 last spring I was successful wenching them in but I was using an Irod large swim and a deps 175 or a gancraft 230. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganBassman Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 interesting stuff, where you and ur buddy using the same baits during these few trips? pigmurkerz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigmurkerz Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 yep same exact baits... both using deps 250 ..even same color and same line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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