Quote:
Originally Posted by FlipaYak
A couple of notes on hook ups and UL gear.
When using Trout Magnets, I get bit by fish of all size. Sometimes, when I am missing fish, it's not my gear; it's the size of the fish. As in, lots of little bluegill. Probably not your problem since you were fishing crappie magnets just something I've noticed.
The other thing is how you set the hook. I've fished mostly for bass and catfish in the past. I'm used to big, powerful hooksets. I've found that a slow, steady pull of the rod works best with UL gear.
This hookset seems to be real important with bluegill. I can't speak for crappie. With bluegill, I feel a tap, pause the retrieve briefly, and then take a step back while sweeping the rod up and back. Doing this really improves my hook set ratio.
Charlie Brewer demonstrates what I'm talking about here:
http://goo.gl/HVSlU6
He reels down to take up slack. I step back because I always forget to reel down. |
That is a good video and I have watched it several times. The Trout Magnet jig head was designed to catch trout without causing injury. While the Trout Magnet is great for catching bluegill you will miss a lot using the short shank hook. Jeff has a new hook coming out for bluegill that has a much longer shank. I field tested about 3 dozen of them a while back. They work great....fished them in a bluegill hole at Pickwick and didn't miss a single fish with them. The hook most of the time had penetrated the lip somewhere on the mouth. When they will be out I am not sure of as the first order of a hundred thousand were made wrong.
Regards