Great read, glad yall came away smelling like fish.

On the subject of missing shallow fish and on lighter action rods, I feel your pain. I miss my B&M C&C rods everytime I have one do it to me, but at 16 ft. long, when ya got 2 fish on while simultaneously fighting a 12 mph crosswind by yaself, the fun only had begun once the hook set was complete- hauling in a sow with those 16 ft. long limber things was a challenge!

I have tried many things and the cork idea is a good one. Another thing I'll resort to (after ensuring that the basics are covered, like checking hook sharpness) is putting on some of the Rockport Rattler 3 hook jig heads. I'll also try opening up the gap and also pinching the barb down.

Another thing I'll do- and this ain't far from the cork technique in the fact that I gotta teach myself to WAIT a split second before I take action- is to put a SMALL OFFSET circle hook on. Small because the fish will suck it down their gut easier with the minner. Once the fish feels and spits the hook, it is at that time that the hook- by design- rolls out into the top/side of their mouth. As we know, a circle is intended for just this purpose: inhaled into the gut and exhaled without harming the fish. The caveat is that the fisherman must train himself to WAIT and then ease pressure into the fish. If he does that, hook sets are just as high as normal j hooks. From my rod and reel flathead catfishing days, I got better at waiting, but it can still be hard to do. Bank on it: The first couple I'll pull the hook out on.

I use the same circle hook technique on windy days to combat bouncing rods and finicky fish. With a normal Kentucky rig tied up, I use circle hooks instead. The main factor is that I am essentially drop shotting because I have a carolina keeper above and below the drop lines; that way I can slide the bait to the depth I want. So fish in 20 FOW holding 10 ft deep, I put weight on bottom, slide hooks to 10 ft and rod bounce is no longer an issue. The issue then is seeing line movement which usually happens when the hook is spit out. Solution? Self-hooking Circle hooks.

If those techniques fail, I say screw it and reach for the dynamite.

Again, great read!