Hookset yips?

[Texas_Rig]

If any of you play much golf or haved played then you know what the yips are. You kind of get this stressful mental block and your brain spazzed out at the point of contact. Well for some reason I'm having something similar happen with my hooksets. I'm not doing a very good job on setting the hook and I'm losing a lot of fish either on the hookset or some point on the way to the boat. I make a conscious effert to do a better job but when I get bit it's like I freak out and forget everything I've thought about and it's happening over and over. It seems most of the time I just end up reeling the bait to put pressure on the fish and that doesn't really work with the baits I'm using. Anyone ever have this issue and have tips to stop it? I know I could use other lures but most of these bites are in 20-30 fow so my options are limited.

[Buccaneer]

Yeah like this great exhibition reminds of a Skillet hookset;
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qvpwG50fLnU

Cross their eyes, use braid and if it creature bait type rig tie a snell knot so the hook pivots upward on the hookset.

[notorious]

...fish don't have hands.

Gami G-Loc

[spottedbass]

Take me out with you and I will give you some on the water demonstrations. :D

[bfish]

What type of set-up are using that is giving you problems? Lure/Bait setup, line type/size, hook type and placement, rod specs (short/long, fast/slow action, heavy/UL).

[skillet]

[QUOTE=Buccaneer;84115]Yeah like this great exhibition reminds of a Skillet hookset;
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qvpwG50fLnU

Cross their eyes, use braid and if it creature bait type rig tie a snell knot so the hook pivots upward on the hookset.[/

You ain’t ever been in the boat with me, so you don’t know how I hook them. And it all depends on what I’m using. Moving baits I sweep to the side, plastics I go straight up and cross their eyes!! Always use braid with a flouro leader and I try my damnedest to pull them out of the water and straight in the boat!! Like Fatcat Newton...BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!!! 😂😂


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[luckystratos]

Wish I could be of help but never been man enough to fish deep water like that. I'm assuming you are fishing light line and spinning tackle and that's something I need to try myself.

[Texas_Rig]

What type of set-up are using that is giving you problems? Lure/Bait setup, line type/size, hook type and placement, rod specs (short/long, fast/slow action, heavy/UL).

My problem is in deeper water say 18-30 feet. The 2 setups I mostly use are 7 ft med/heavy with 14lb sunline sniper flouro with a 1/2 texas rigged grub or a 7'3" heavy with 16lb sunline sniper flouro with a 11/16ounce biffle head with a craw type bait. Both setups using a 7.1/1 gear ratio. I've been fishing CH and Dale Hollow mostly the last couple weeks. Most of the fish I'm losing I'm not really feeling the bite. It's just like your line gets heavy. This is my biggest failure scenario. If I just feel the fish on there I just start reeling and never set the hook. For the life of me I can't make myself stop and set the hook.

[Texas_Rig]

Wish I could be of help but never been man enough to fish deep water like that. I'm assuming you are fishing light line and spinning tackle and that's something I need to try myself.

I'm not using spinning tackle, but like you I need to get more proficient at it.

[Texas_Rig]

Take me out with you and I will give you some on the water demonstrations. :D

The bite has been tough so I'm not sure you wanna do that. That said at least at Dale Hollow the average size smallmouth has been 3-4.5 lbs when you catch one. I can't figure out how to catch any largemouth up there the last couple weeks. Center Hill is the opposite. Not hard to get bit but catching quality has been tough. Me and a couple buddies had a tournament on the hill last Friday afternoon and I won with 4 fish(1 little spotted bass) that weighed just over 7lbs, but I probably caught 15-20 fish. Most of the fish were on a little spook up in hurricane creek and that area of the lake. But you can get bit all the way out to 30 feet.

[Texas_Rig]

[QUOTE=Buccaneer;84115]Yeah like this great exhibition reminds of a Skillet hookset;
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qvpwG50fLnU

Cross their eyes, use braid and if it creature bait type rig tie a snell knot so the hook pivots upward on the hookset.[/

You ain’t ever been in the boat with me, so you don’t know how I hook them. And it all depends on what I’m using. Moving baits I sweep to the side, plastics I go straight up and cross their eyes!! Always use braid with a flouro leader and I try my damnedest to pull them out of the water and straight in the boat!! Like Fatcat Newton...BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!!! 😂😂


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is one funny dude. Have you seen the video where a reporter interviewed him at the classic last year? Hilarious. I may try the braid to flouro as I imagine I will detect more bites in deep water and have less stretch. I think part of my problem is I love to make long casts and add that with fishing deep might be an issue.

[bfish]

Braid should help, as you mentioned, less stretch. Different brands of flouro stretch more than others; some copoly/mono will actually stretch less than some flouro.

With smallies, they tend to either inhale it in place, or grab it and run. If they are just inhaling, maybe try some scent to keep them hanging on longer. Also if you can get away with it, try lighter weight to keep them holding it longer. Similarly, can you get away with exposing the hook? Maybe your crowding the hook gap, say upsize your hook or slim down your bait, just a thought.

You don't mention the action of the rods, but faster action will help too (i.e. bends closer to the tip, rather in the middle of the rod when loaded). For me, this means lower power rods for the sensitivity, in my price range (say medium). Heavy powered rods, just don't transmit that initial vibration very quickly for me.

For deep water, I like pointing my rod tip at them. Then I sweep to the side (parallel to the water), with a wrist snap at the end. A lifting/upward hookset doesn't work well for me in deep water.

[luckystratos]

I'm not using spinning tackle, but like you I need to get more proficient at it.

This is so true. I never seem find time or make time to get out there and drop shot. Usually if I go deep I'm cranking,c Rig or big jig.