Setting the hook?

Hey guys. My buddy told me about an area that he has been crappie fishing at lately and he told me to check it out. It's a rocky bank an five been using a slip bobber minnow rig. I've been out about 3-4 times and I haven't caught any yet. I've been taking note of the weather and tide conditions as well as how calm the water is and if I can see bait fish swimming around. Today I noticed grass shrimp hopping along the surface of the water so I assumed there must be something chasing them. Before long I saw a crappie slash up against the rock bank. I casted out about 10 feet past where I suspected the fish would be and I reeled in slowly until I got to that spot. I ended up getting a couple good bites but couldn't hook into a fish. Is there any secret to setting the hook on crappie?

A simple wrist snap is all thats needed. Chances are the fish were just swatting at your minnows, feed them grass shrimp next time if thats what they are feeding on.

Depending on the length of the rod & distance to the bobber ... I usually don't set the hook once I see the bobber go under. I keep reeling until the rod tip starts to bend, THEN set the hook.
And here's the reason :

I don't know which direction the fish is taking the hook, since all I can see is the disappearing bobber .. the fish may be coming right back at me :Doh: :dono
I'm not really pulling that hard against the hook, but mostly against the bobber, until I get the line fairly straight between the rod tip, bobber, and hook.
That "slack" line (or misdirected line) deadens/softens the hookset. And the greater the distance from rod tip to bobber, and/or bobber to hook, the less hookset power is transmitted to the hook ... resulting in a weak hookset, and less likelihood of hook penetration.

(It's also one of the main reasons I rarely use a bobber when casting)

Have you tried simply casting a Roadrunner along that bank, or even a jig (with plastic body or live bait) ... and just slowly, steadily reeling it back ??

... cp :kewl

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

I'm not really pulling that hard against the hook, but mostly against the bobber, until I get the line fairly straight between the rod tip, bobber, and hook.
That "slack" line (or misdirected line) deadens/softens the hookset.

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That's one of the reasons I gave up on traditional bobbers twenty years ago. The waggler "folds over" on the strike, so you get a much better hookset.

Look to The Waggler! :biggrin

I'll try a road runner next time. Hopefully I'll have better luck. And I would use grass shrimp if I could find them at any bait shop! Lol. I have caught grass shrimp out there before so I'll probably go out the day before and catch some grass shrimp so I don't disturb the fish.

I did a little research... Is the thill mini stealth bobber a waggler style? The description says it can be used as a slip float or a fixed float and that it is best used in shallow water, which is perfect for my use. Any experience with this float?

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Originally Posted by GoodToGoGuy

I did a little research... Is the thill mini stealth bobber a waggler style? The description says it can be used as a slip float or a fixed float and that it is best used in shallow water, which is perfect for my use. Any experience with this float?

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"Waggler style" means "attached at bottom only". The mini stealth will work for that. Another option is the 4-5" Thill wagglers:

http://www.fishusa.com/Product/Thill...Stealth-Floats

The bigger floats take more weight so you can cast them farther.

I use a 10' pole and 6 lb test and slam them with a sweeping hook set 9 times out of 10 it sticks in the roof of the mouth

When the fish are giving a solid "thump" a snap of the wrist is enough to hook them. When I am getting "nipping" strikes and I am missing them on the hook set, I use a sweeping hook set and for whatever reason get more hook ups. Just a steady sweep of the rod, like you are moving the rod tip 10' or so.

More over set the hook than under set it IMO. Be carefull not to over set as you can actually tear off light biting lip hooked fish.

When spider rigging I actually just lift the rod due to the rod tip being so close to the boat. I've never found any more than that to be necessary in that instance.

If my float has been cast and is further away from the boat, I take up any line slack and give it a quick light flick of the wrist.
I actually got some practice in yesterday doing this with some bait stealing, hook swallowing little panstinkers. Their only redeeming quality is that they may grow up to be nice slabs one day.

I will snap their heads around with my hooksets. As the oldtimers told me when i was a youngster, " Set the hook hard and cross their eyes ". Still works for me. :cheers2

Let them bury that slipcork then a flick of the wrist works for me. Really according to how finicky they are on the bite.

Has anyone tried the gapen crappie floats? How do waggler floats ride on the water

Wagglers ride UNDER the water with only the tip showing. That's why they're both stable and sensitive.

I use traditional slip bobbers and set the hook one of two ways; either over my shoulder at a 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock angle, or a sweeping set to the 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock angle. Regardless of which angle I use I always take up the slack first. The angle I use is mostly dictated by the type of bite. If the hook suddenly disappeared, 10 or 2 o'clock set. If the hook is slowly going under, a 9 or 3 o'clock set.

10 or 2 o'clock set- If the bobber suddenly disappeared the fish came up to the bait, grabbed a hold of it, and turned to take it back down to the depth it was at before the strike. Set the hook almost straight up and you will catch it in the upper lip 90% of the time.

9 or 3 o'clock set- If the bobber is slowly going under, your bait is at their holding depth, or they are lethargic and in no hurry to eat. Crappie eat up, that is they look up to see and eat their food. So if you pull in the 10 -2 o'clock direction you pull the bait out of their mouth. So you need to set the hook to the side and catch them in the side of the mouth.

Which method is determined by how the bobber went under.

Now, when I have a slow bobber action, I will adjust my bobber stop so the bobber moves up in the water column about 1-2 feet. If I was fishing 8' down and the bobber was going under slowly, I will raise the bobber to 6'-7' depth. Remember, Crappie feed up. They swim up to get the food and swim back down to eat.

Thanks for the tip fellas. What is a good waggler style float for shallow water?

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Originally Posted by GoodToGoGuy

Thanks for the tip fellas. What is a good waggler style float for shallow water?

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See post 7.