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To set the hook or NOT to set the hook.......

G

got fish?

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That is my BIG question for the day.

I'm using a 4" Power Bait "Camo" worm on a Carolina rig.
I feel the tap, tappity, tap, tap.

I yank that SOB like my life depended on it, no fish.

OR

I wait a bit and start reeling, no fish.

Where's the middle of the road here?
Why does my palomar knot keep slipping?
Why am I getting goose bumps all over as I'm writing this?
Who is going to take me out on a boat to do some fishing? (here comes some more goose bumps) :D
 
Dang GotFish. I thought I was the king of back-seat sucks. Guess I'll have to turn over my title to you.
What hooks are you using? Here's a link for the knot, maybe you're trimming it to close.
http://members.cox.net/del-mart/knots/palomar.gif
What type of line are you using? You might want to go with one that has less stretch. You could always try a double palomar. Loop the line through twice before going over the hook.
I know when using senkos, as soon as feel a tap-tap, I reel down and set the hook. Don't know if it is the same for a C-rig.

Hopefully Westy.. will chime in, he's been doing real good on C-rigs lately.

Steve
 
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I feel the tap, tappity, tap, tap<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


The tappity part has me a little concerned, that must be on saguaro lake or tempe town lake ? if it is then your getting bit by gay bass...

seriously you always set the hook.. even if you think its a bite and not sure....

The trick it so set the hook the second it bites.. not after you think about if its a fish or not... if you have to wait do it the second or third bite... if you wait till it stops biteing then set the hook , you might as well reel it in and toss it back out there and try it again... If your having a time delay problem try putting some kicken bass or something else on there that will keep the bite going a little longer...

hook sets on carolina are the toughest. second being split shot and mojo rigged... texas rig is pretty easy...

Another thing is make sure you have you hook poked thru the bait a few times then just bring the point back into the hook.. If you have to go thru plastic to get to the fishes jaw you will loose lots of fish...

Delw
 
On c-rig with try 1 & 1/0 Gamakatsu extra wide gap hooks you will find that you will not have to set the hook very hard if at all and most anything that hits it is hooked. I use this same hook for almost all my 4" worms & lizards
 
I agree with all of Del's suggestions. If you are feeling a tap, tappity, tap, tap. Make sure of your bottom it could just be small rocks or a very hard rock bottom. Sometimes they feel like a bite especially with brass & glass.

When ever I set the hook on a C-Rig I reel up slightly and sweep the rod sideways. If you pull straight up 9 times out of 10 you will end up pulling the plastic straight out of the fishes mouth. By sweeping the rod you get them in the lips most times.

Another type of bite on a C-Rig is the loss of feel bite. You want to keep the sinker in contact with the bottom as much as possible sometimes all of a sudden you loose the feel of the weight. When that happens sweep the rod and start reeling. Many times the fish will just pick the bait up and sit there especially if you have a good scent on the bait.


Jigmaker posted while I was composing. He has a good point (no pun intended) that I forgot. Hook size and type are very important. I also use mostly #1 and 1/0 for 4" baits in either the Gamakatsu Extra Wide Gap or the G-Lock's


Westy...

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 05-31-2002 18:14: Message edited by: Westy... ]</font>
 
No bowing necesary. We all learn from each other. That's what this board is all about.

The C-Rig was the first rig that I caught big fish with so it is still my confidence technique. Zoom watermelon seed 6" lizards are by far my favorite bait to drag around Lake Pleasant.

I try to work on one technique each year that I haven't been real sucsessful with. This year I have concentrated on Senko's and it has really paid off. Of course it hasn't paid off as well for me as it has for SteveM.

The toughest part of bassfishing is the searching for the active fish, and then getting them to bite on one of the thousands of baits that we drag around with us.

When I get to where I can go to Pleasant anytime of the year and catch a limit of bass then I will feel like an accomplished angler. That day hasn't come yet.

Westy...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>The toughest part of bassfishing is the searching for the active fish, and then getting them to bite on one of the thousands of baits that we drag around with us.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well said westy....


Big fish are the big question.. especially when fishing tourny's..... I know for a fact big fish are pretty much everywhere in lake pleasant. I have seen them caught in places I wouldnt expect... its like the lottery on big bass.. you have to put in the time and the effort then just hope your in the right spot...
However big baits dont always work for big bass... I have seen some pretty big ones caught on panther martins and a few others....
@ years ago all my bass over 6lbs at pleasant came off of 4" lizzards... 6" westy's at canyon... a buddy of mine caught 5 fish over 8 lbs in 3 hours at canyon using westy's one was 12.97 lbs the the rest I lost with his net...


Delw
 
I agree with you Del 100%. Most of my fishing is done with what on the "Pro" board called sissy baits. I almost always fish a smaller bait than most and to pretty good success. At current a 6" senko is the largest in my collection of hundreds. I do think that if I want to target larger fish I should work a larger bait for a larger fish. Not to win a tourny but to put a nice one on the wall. What are your guys thoughts.


I can't saay that I'm an acomplished angler either Westy. at least not on the new lake. how did you guys do on the old lake


J.D.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 06-01-2002 12:16: Message edited by: 2fastnaz ]</font>
 
Not to horn in on GF's lesson but what do ya'll use on 8" or 10" baits?

Hey Aj I tried that kmot your so proud of... Did you know the water is so clear at pleasant you can see fish laughing.
Thanx
J.D.
:D

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 06-01-2002 00:26: Message edited by: 2fastnaz ]</font>
 
I like to use the 4/0 or 5/0 Gamakatsu Extra Wide Gaps for the larger baits. Remember to do what Del said: run the hook all the way through the bait and just skin hook the point.

It's a good idea to super glue the head on to the hook. I start out without glueing the head and when after a couple of times of being dragged through the brush and the bait starts slipping down the hook I super glue it. This gives me a few more casts that I wouldn't normally get with each bait before it has to be replaced.

Westy...

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 06-01-2002 00:41: Message edited by: Westy... ]</font>
 
Thanks westy I normaly only worm or senko bu reading Dels posts have got me thinking of trying a lizzard and I think I'm gonna start hunting a real trophy. Big baits for big fish my best to date is 8.2# (Otay lake SanDiego) and 6.8 I'm ashamed to say from Encanto. I'm no slouch (no brag) but I bow to Ya'lls superior skills and experiance.

THANK YOU MUCH.

J.D.
 
believe it or not back when it was the old Lake Pleasant I was into going fast,sking and thong watching.

I still catch a glimps of a thong now and then.

Westy...
 
When using any worm or lizard to help keep them from sliding down the hook i will tell you a secret of mine get a hole punch punch out a bunch of holes out of a plastic lid from a can. place the head of your worm on the hook then a one of the pieces of plastic lid on the hook slide it all the way up to your worm this will help hold your worm in place. only drawback its not easy to get the plastic off to put on a new worm. I use this any time i am working in brush or grass. The bigger the bait the bigger hook is needed 3/0, 4/0, 5/0 but you have to set the hook hard with bigger hooks.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 06-01-2002 19:06: Message edited by: jig maker ]</font>
 
Buddy of mine told me that the first "tap tap" is the fish taking in the worm, the second "tap tap" is the worm being spit out.

I know at Bartlett Friday night I kept missing good bites but he didn't. Wormin, him ten me one.

PS. Westy are you still spooning cause it doen't work ;) :D
 
Hey LG,

I look for you all the time on Pleasant.

The summer spoon bite is a well kept secret that if I showed you I would have to kill you afterwards.

So, ya want ta go spooning? ;) :D

Westy...
 
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