What was happening when you find out that your lure was pull half way down the jig ho

It happens quite often that my hook set did not catch the fish. After I retrieved the jig back, I found that lure has been pulled half way down the jig. I always had many question on this finding.

What happened at the moment when I set hook?
Set hook too late or too early?
Is crappie or some other fish pulling the lure?
How can I increase the success rate for hook setting ?

I appreciate the insight you can provide.


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I think that happens a lot when small bluegill bite the tail. I have downsized the jig and caught them after that happens.

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Originally Posted by Clint

I think that happens a lot when small bluegill bite the tail. I have downsized the jig and caught them after that happens.

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Spot on Clint. That also happens on 6+" plastic worms while bass fishing. Small gills really like the way them tails wave.

Guys, thanks for your reply!


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It can also mean that your "lure" (plastics) is loose on the hook ... and even a "swing & a miss" hookset can push the plastics down on the hook.

This used to happen to me, back when I used hollow tubes. My first reaction was to use a super glue & glue the head of the tube to the head of the jig. That worked OK, but also meant retying every time I wanted to change colors. It also meant that Bluegills would systematically remove strands of the "skirt", until I was basically using just the hollow body of the tube. :Doh:

I stopped all that by starting to use solid body tubes & other styles of solid plastic bodies.

Bluegill are generally "rat-a-tat-tat" biters, hoping to nip off a leg or fin & cripple/kill the object so it can eventually grab it & swallow it without fear of injury. Crappie, on the other hand, due to their larger mouths, can inhale the bait ... which normally shows up on your line as a single "tic" or "thump" line movement (or feeling transmitted thru your rod). Whenever you get the "single" hit, it's likely a Crappie, so you should set the hook immediately upon seeing or feeling it.
I usually ignore the "machine gun" bites, & continue reeling .... knowing that if it is actually a Crappie "munching" on the bait that is causing that feeling, the rod tip will usually load up (start bending), and then I will set the hook. Sometimes I catch Crappie, sometimes I catch Bluegill when that happens. But, rarely does my jig come back with the plastics pulled down on the hook. It may come back with the tail section missing, or some of the tendrils of the skirt missing ... in which case the bite was likely from a Bluegill, and I don't worry about the missed hookset.

I've also noticed that when it's a Bass hitting the jig, it's usually a single thump, followed by the line moving off slowly. When it's a Catfish or Drum, it's usually a hard thump, followed by the line moving off much faster. That is, of course, IF I haven't already set the hook, thinking it's a Crappie. :biggrin

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

It can also mean that your "lure" (plastics) is loose on the hook ... and even a "swing & a miss" hookset can push the plastics down on the hook.

This used to happen to me, back when I used hollow tubes. My first reaction was to use a super glue & glue the head of the tube to the head of the jig. That worked OK, but also meant retying every time I wanted to change colors. It also meant that Bluegills would systematically remove strands of the "skirt", until I was basically using just the hollow body of the tube. :Doh:

I stopped all that by starting to use solid body tubes & other styles of solid plastic bodies.

Bluegill are generally "rat-a-tat-tat" biters, hoping to nip off a leg or fin & cripple/kill the object so it can eventually grab it & swallow it without fear of injury. Crappie, on the other hand, due to their larger mouths, can inhale the bait ... which normally shows up on your line as a single "tic" or "thump" line movement (or feeling transmitted thru your rod). Whenever you get the "single" hit, it's likely a Crappie, so you should set the hook immediately upon seeing or feeling it.
I usually ignore the "machine gun" bites, & continue reeling .... knowing that if it is actually a Crappie "munching" on the bait that is causing that feeling, the rod tip will usually load up (start bending), and then I will set the hook. Sometimes I catch Crappie, sometimes I catch Bluegill when that happens. But, rarely does my jig come back with the plastics pulled down on the hook. It may come back with the tail section missing, or some of the tendrils of the skirt missing ... in which case the bite was likely from a Bluegill, and I don't worry about the missed hookset.

I've also noticed that when it's a Bass hitting the jig, it's usually a single thump, followed by the line moving off slowly. When it's a Catfish or Drum, it's usually a hard thump, followed by the line moving off much faster. That is, of course, IF I haven't already set the hook, thinking it's a Crappie. :biggrin

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When I fish for LMB, I will wait for about 1 second or feel for the weight first before set hook.
LMB, like crappie, inhales the bait. I wonder why you need to set hook immediately.


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Originally Posted by parfume4

When I fish for LMB, I will wait for about 1 second or feel for the weight first before set hook.
LMB, like crappie, inhales the bait. I wonder why you need to set hook immediately.

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I don't set the hook immediately unless I'm thinking it was a Crappie hit. I've just learned the differences in how certain species will hit a jig, usually from NOT immediately setting the hook ... either being mentally distracted, or physically distracted when the initial "thump" occurred.

I'm just relating my experiences ... and using the overall percentages of how bites have occurred (for me), and what fish was most likely biting that way based on what I usually caught when I did set the hook. Sure, I've had Bass hit my jig and just sit there, not moving ... I've had Crappie peck & peck at my jig while reeling in (& wouldn't have known they were Crappie until I got tired of what I thought was a Bluegill biting & set the hook). But, those times are in the minority percentage category. The majority percentage category is what I explained in the other post.

There are few, if any, hard rules when it comes to determining what's biting ... so if setting the hook immediately or after a short pause catches that fish, then do it. That being said, I remember casting marabou Roadrunners around a bridge pillar, down on Watts Bar Lake in East Tenn. When the fish stopped biting right next to the pillar, I drifted out away from it and began fan casting the open water out in front of the bridge. I kept getting this "electric" feeling through the rod, sort of like what you would feel if you dragged your jig on a concrete sidewalk when reeling it in. And every now & then I'd have some Shad following the Roadrunner back to the boat. I thought maybe it was the Shad bumping the lure, or possibly they were some of the "Tenn Tarpon" young (Skipjack Herring) that were actually biting at the lure ... since in prior years I had actually caught several of them on minnows or jigs, while Crappie fishing. It kept up for over a dozen or so casts, and it finally got on my nerves to the point that I was ready to leave the area & go fish somewhere else. But, instead, I decided to try and pop a hook in these little critters, just for "revenge" for getting on my nerves. Well, was I surprised when the hookset stuck a large Crappie !! I went on to catch several more, that were "biting" the same way. Why I didn't hook one of them while reeling in, or why they were biting that way, or even "how" they were biting to produce that feeling through the rod .... :dono
It's never happened since, down there or on any lakes in KY that I fish, so who knows how or why ... I sure don't. But, you can be sure that if it does happen again, wherever/whenever ... I won't wait for it to get on my last nerve before setting the hook !! :ThumbsUp

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

I don't set the hook immediately unless I'm thinking it was a Crappie hit. I've just learned the differences in how certain species will hit a jig, usually from NOT immediately setting the hook ... either being mentally distracted, or physically distracted when the initial "thump" occurred.

I'm just relating my experiences ... and using the overall percentages of how bites have occurred (for me), and what fish was most likely biting that way based on what I usually caught when I did set the hook. Sure, I've had Bass hit my jig and just sit there, not moving ... I've had Crappie peck & peck at my jig while reeling in (& wouldn't have known they were Crappie until I got tired of what I thought was a Bluegill biting & set the hook). But, those times are in the minority percentage category. The majority percentage category is what I explained in the other post.

There are few, if any, hard rules when it comes to determining what's biting ... so if setting the hook immediately or after a short pause catches that fish, then do it. That being said, I remember casting marabou Roadrunners around a bridge pillar, down on Watts Bar Lake in East Tenn. When the fish stopped biting right next to the pillar, I drifted out away from it and began fan casting the open water out in front of the bridge. I kept getting this "electric" feeling through the rod, sort of like what you would feel if you dragged your jig on a concrete sidewalk when reeling it in. And every now & then I'd have some Shad following the Roadrunner back to the boat. I thought maybe it was the Shad bumping the lure, or possibly they were some of the "Tenn Tarpon" young (Skipjack Herring) that were actually biting at the lure ... since in prior years I had actually caught several of them on minnows or jigs, while Crappie fishing. It kept up for over a dozen or so casts, and it finally got on my nerves to the point that I was ready to leave the area & go fish somewhere else. But, instead, I decided to try and pop a hook in these little critters, just for "revenge" for getting on my nerves. Well, was I surprised when the hookset stuck a large Crappie !! I went on to catch several more, that were "biting" the same way. Why I didn't hook one of them while reeling in, or why they were biting that way, or even "how" they were biting to produce that feeling through the rod .... :dono
It's never happened since, down there or on any lakes in KY that I fish, so who knows how or why ... I sure don't. But, you can be sure that if it does happen again, wherever/whenever ... I won't wait for it to get on my last nerve before setting the hook !! :ThumbsUp

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That was an interesting story about setting hook.


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I assume you're fishing a tube jig when this happens. I have done several of the above mentioned methods but one I have done that wasn't mentioned that has put fish in my hand is trimming the skirt back a bit to bring the 'tail' of the bait closer to the barb of the hook. If downsizing, solid bodies and super glueing don't get you results, pull out the scissors and trim back the skirt. I've also switched to curly tails when the tube jigs were getting beat up.

~J. Babcock

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Originally Posted by Babweiner

I assume you're fishing a tube jig when this happens. I have done several of the above mentioned methods but one I have done that wasn't mentioned that has put fish in my hand is trimming the skirt back a bit to bring the 'tail' of the bait closer to the barb of the hook. If downsizing, solid bodies and super glueing don't get you results, pull out the scissors and trim back the skirt. I've also switched to curly tails when the tube jigs were getting beat up.

~J. Babcock

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Thanks for sharing. I was mainly using Bobby Garland or Lake Fork baby shad.


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I couldn't tell you what is pulling your tube down. I will say that crappie do that to me often even the strike that feels like a perch yields a crappie most of the time. I will give a tip on what to do about it without changing jigs. Assuming you are using a tube jig you can remove the tube and rotate it 120 degrees and put it back on the tapered hook. In doing this the same tube can be recycled 3 times before it gets where it won't stay on the hook.

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Originally Posted by crappie wrangler

I couldn't tell you what is pulling your tube down. I will say that crappie do that to me often even the strike that feels like a perch yields a crappie most of the time. I will give a tip on what to do about it without changing jigs. Assuming you are using a tube jig you can remove the tube and rotate it 120 degrees and put it back on the tapered hook. In doing this the same tube can be recycled 3 times before it gets where it won't stay on the hook.

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I see. Thanks for sharing


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I noticed today that if the crappie nibble at the tube and pull it down I couldn't get a hookset until I pulled it back into the jighead. Sometimes if they are more aggressive it doesn't seem to matter. Tubes are still good lures just depends on what the bite is like I'm guessing.

A trick I've used while ice fishing, if the fish are short striking, is to drop the rod tip slightly for about a two count on the first thump then set the hook. This usually results in a hook up. I'm thinking the lack of tension lets them suck the bait in farther and start to turn away, most of the time the hook is buried in the upper lip. I tried it last fall while crappie fishing in Louisiana, using a 12' jig pole and 1/16 oz jig and it worked there as well.

I'm one that believes you can not set the hook too fast . Crappie inhale a bait no nibbling . But only time will teach you which is a fish and which is cover your bumping . :twocents

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

I'm one that believes you can not set the hook too fast . Crappie inhale a bait no nibbling . But only time will teach you which is a fish and which is cover your bumping . :twocents

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So far you are the only one mentioned that you can not set the hook too fast. For the lure being pulled half way down, many times I felt the thump but not nibbling. I suspect that this thump is crappie while I set the hook too fast. This is especially the case that I fish with lake fork lure which has impounded strong garlic smell. I suspect that crappie won't want to spit out with the feeling of soft body of lure and the taste of garlic :)


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i agree with nimrod, i don't think you can set a hook too fast on a crappie bass drum or catfish.

I also don't think you can set the hook to fast when using artificial bait. As far as I understand how crappie feed they don't run a bait down and attack it like a bass ( except during the spawn when protecting a nest) but rather swim up and pop their mouths open creating a "vacuum" in the water and suck the bait in. That is where the thump comes from. There is an awful lot of video out there showing this procedure from crappie. That would be why you can't set the hook to fast when using artificial bait.