ajschn06 Posted June 22, 2021 Report Share Posted June 22, 2021 I haven't landed anything yet but I've been throwing around a soft 4" jig hook gill swimbait a bit over the last couple weeks. Last night specifically had quite a few hits but they all ended up spitting right away. I got to the point where I felt the bite, set the hook, felt a few tugs and they were gone. I think most of them were Pike, but did have one 15" or so bass come hit it really close to the boat. For reference I'm using a 8' MH rod rated 1-6 oz fast action and 20 LB Abrasx. How am I supposed to be setting the hook on these things- Do I need to pause when I feel the hit so they take it, or just having some bad luck? Maybe I need to set the hook harder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CG_Fishes Posted June 22, 2021 Report Share Posted June 22, 2021 reel until you get tight and send the hook home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajschn06 Posted June 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2021 1 hour ago, CG_Fishes said: reel until you get tight and send the hook home I've just been casting and reeling in all areas of the water column like a spinnerbait, so line is already tight when I get him. I'm trying to jack em like I would a conventional single hook bait in that scenario and I've got em for a bit but then they get off. Maybe I need to go harder... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurejunkie Posted June 22, 2021 Report Share Posted June 22, 2021 First thing you should do is bend your hook out slightly like you do on a frog and when you hook it , reel them in quickly without letting any slack in the line, Your drag should be set really tight and you reel hard until its in the boat. Good Luck CG_Fishes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimbaitrookie Posted June 23, 2021 Report Share Posted June 23, 2021 Regardless of how you're fishing it, when you get bit on a bait like that, or on a weedless beast hook type bait, to me it is critical to let the fish load up the rod tip before you swing. I know it takes an inordinate amount of patience to do that sometimes but I've never gut hooked a fish doing that, but have missed a lot of fish by not. chevro1et and CG_Fishes 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefchris Posted June 23, 2021 Report Share Posted June 23, 2021 3 minutes ago, swimbaitrookie said: Regardless of how you're fishing it, when you get bit on a bait like that, or on a weedless beast hook type bait, to me it is critical to let the fish load up the rod tip before you swing. I know it takes an inordinate amount of patience to do that sometimes but I've never gut hooked a fish doing that, but have missed a lot of fish by not. this is key, i missed so many citizen fish setting too early, to me its like fishing a frog, feel the weight, give it a second or two, reel down and set the hook hard, did that after getting that adice and havent missed one since. sometimes you dont have to as theyll just crush it, but 9 out of 10 times its the other way. another thing that made a huge difference to me was using scents, like the bass dynasty stuff, pro cure or the new wcz bait slick stuff, fish hold longer and the stuff makes the hook slide easier in the bait, causing less rips/tears and better hook sets swimbaitrookie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azfisher Posted June 23, 2021 Report Share Posted June 23, 2021 Agree with both above. If you need a visual reference I believe both Manny Chee and Mike Gilbert have done Youtube videos on how to reel down and set the hook on bigger soft plastics. I know what I'm supposed to do to hook those fish and I still jump the gun more than I'd care to admit... swimbaitrookie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pschueller Posted June 23, 2021 Report Share Posted June 23, 2021 1 minute ago, azfisher said: Agree with both above. If you need a visual reference I believe both Manny Chee and Mike Gilbert have done Youtube videos on how to reel down and set the hook on bigger soft plastics. I know what I'm supposed to do to hook those fish and I still jump the gun more than I'd care to admit... Mike Gilbert hooksets are exactly what the last few posts made me think of. You can tell when he gets a bite about three seconds before he sets. swimbaitrookie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimbaitrookie Posted June 23, 2021 Report Share Posted June 23, 2021 @chefchris hit it on the head - use scent / bait lube! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CG_Fishes Posted June 24, 2021 Report Share Posted June 24, 2021 On 6/22/2021 at 2:39 PM, ajschn06 said: I've just been casting and reeling in all areas of the water column like a spinnerbait, so line is already tight when I get him. I'm trying to jack em like I would a conventional single hook bait in that scenario and I've got em for a bit but then they get off. Maybe I need to go harder... you need to load the rod before you set, wind down until you can't anymore and hit the fish, just hitting it on tight line doesn't do much ajschn06 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tblando Posted June 24, 2021 Report Share Posted June 24, 2021 ajschn06 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle1387 Posted June 24, 2021 Report Share Posted June 24, 2021 Mono/flouro. Reel till you feel em. Braid, Jack em the minute the take it if it's jig hook. Weedless give them 2 seconds then jack em. You'll miss small ones but that's not why we're doing this ZachThomas and ajschn06 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Cindrich Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 If you are fishing pike infested waters. You need to get into the habit of checking for teeth marks every time you think you have been bit. Then you need to remember the pike teeth marks for future reference. It is the only way to tell what is pike and bass. Also many times when throwing small 4” baits, many times small bass are biting the bait. CG_Fishes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobk Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 Ever hooked a pike, Dave?, Ha, ha... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Cindrich Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 1 hour ago, bobk said: Ever hooked a pike, Dave?, Ha, ha... Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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