Thread: I lost multiple fish yesterday on "rising bites"??? What am I doing wrong?

I'd set the hook harder. One thing I've noticed in my fishing is that a limber rod, like my BnM TCB, absorbs a lot of that hookset energy compared to a stiffer rod. Depending on what the action is on your particular rod, you made need to compensate for that loss.

I set the hook like bass fishing.
Gotta have the correct rod to do that.


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Imagine your cell phone is on the table and you get a call. The same speed you use to pickup and answer the phone is the speed you want to use when setting the hook on a crappie.

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

Imagine your cell phone is on the table and you get a call. The same speed you use to pickup and answer the phone is the speed you want to use when setting the hook on a crappie.

Good advice that I hadn't heard before. Also, try to keep the rod tip pointed directly at the float and parallel to the water if possible. (less slack in the line). I usually crank a few turns while I'm setting the hook- especially if the fish are deep.

Amazing what is discovered by accident as far as hooksets go. Last week I fished this lake I hadn't fished in a year. Windy as all get out in the afternoon so you can imagine feeling for when to set the hook which wasn't a problem in the morning. First, set up:
5 1/2 and 6 foot light action rods (my 6 1/2' rods are in storage unless fishing for bass)
8-15# test braid (4-8# test mono equiv.) (no leader ever)
1/64 - 1/16 oz unpainted ball head jigs; hook sizes 8, 6, 4
various soft plastic shapes and acitons retrieved very slowly mid-depth
areas fish caught: 3' - 6', many - few weeds; steep drops to large shallow flats with weeds 1' beneath the surface

The usual hookset sequence: feel for any change in line back-pressure or retrieve speed of the light jigs used. Once a strike is felt: a rise of the rod tip overhead or slightly to the side, combined with 1/4 reel handle turns does the trick. But on that windy afternoon, like with a float, slight lure p/ups were difficult to feel and worse - when felt, the fish got off more times than not.

Tried out of desperation: larger hook (#4) and 1/16 oz jig - the heaviest I ever use. Got fish hooked far more often from small to decent size sunfish to 11" crappie and a 1.6 lb bass; no change in lure size or action. 42 fish for the day (not great but good for this lake).

Except for jig weight and hook size, the above is my standard for hook sets. That day proved much different than usual - not only for finding fish in the am but hookseting in the pm. (Even saw a 15' water spoutwhich kinda tells you wind speed.)

Suggestion: take off the float when that action happens and try my hookset retrieve.

My feet leave the ground when I set the hook , I use really small hooks most of the time and about NEVER have them come unbuttoned,
Mono and set the drag properly and absolutely NO slack from first blood , most folks lose crappie do to slack in the line after hookups and even if it isn’t noticeable to most people , I see it all thru the ranks from pros down to novices , the amount of times I see rods dip a split second is astonishing.
Lightly setting the hook will cause you to miss and lose LOTS of crappie for sure .

I ain’t set a hook in years. Catch plenty of crappie and very rarely will lose a fish. Part of it is due to the method I use and the other part is the hooks on the jig heads I use. Also the tips on the rods I use are super soft. Don’t set the hook on any other specie of fish either…Smallies….largemouth….white bass….KY bass…..bluegill. Used to set the hook like a madman……but that was years ago.

Regards


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It's more difficult to get a good hook set when fishing a float. You have a slack line to start with, and the float will drag across the surface as the line straightens out. A rod on the longer side will help for sure.

I always get a kick out of the guys that swing their heavy action pool cue rods with 50lb braid like Babe Ruth on a 12" bass. Seems excessive to me, doesn't take much.