Losing'em at the jump

[JCFin_S]

Hey guys, what is your take on keeping the fish on at the jump? Last time i was on the float i lost 3 fish, one of them being the biggest catch of the day if I brought him in. I've been fishing mainly with cranks lipped and non lipped but despite the lure sometimes when they hit some air the lure pops out. Usually I keep the pressure on the rod to give the lure as much control and ill play them with the rod tip in or close to the water but what else do you guys do to hold the hooks tight?

[JDK]

if i know its a good fish i keep my rod down in the water and keep all slack out of the line.. dont give them the chance to jump

[Reel Old Geezer]

Unless you are fishing for money, why not give the fish a chance to jump? I love to see them jump and if they throw the hook they've won the battle. I've got lots of great memories of big fish that threw the hook on the jump. And most are probably a lot bigger than they would have been on a scale.

[vArm]

Unless you are fishing for money, why not give the fish a chance to jump? I love to see them jump and if they throw the hook they've won the battle. I've got lots of great memories of big fish that threw the hook on the jump. And most are probably a lot bigger than they would have been on a scale.

I agree 100%!
Unless its for money or you think its a personal best let them jump. Its the best part of a good fight.
I had a Meanmouth jump nearly 4 feet out of the water on Table Rock this year. That and the 7#er I caught made my trip!

[JCFin_S]

yea its a great thing seeing them jump no doubt but i like to win the battles. just like many anglers im always out there to better myself even if the fun is in the fight. Here where i live we've been having float tube competitions going around and practicing good technique wouldn't be a bad idea.

[OB1]

Mustad ultra point triple grip trebel hooks, put em on all your hardbaits son.

[Dale Meddock]

Losing fish is really tuff to deal with. But there is several things yo can do.

# 1, Go to a longer "Glass" rod with more forgiving tip, if your rods louds up on the very tip, you will lose them on that first jump. But have your rod loud up mid length, this will keep a lot of light pressure on the hook points. Keeping him pinned with light pressure will not pull the hooks out.

# 2 , Find the lightest wire hooks, you might have to reduce the size, but with heavier gauge hooks you will not get the good penetration you need.
Good Luck and Tight Lines.

[USA-RET]

Unless you are fishing for money, why not give the fish a chance to jump? I love to see them jump and if they throw the hook they've won the battle. I've got lots of great memories of big fish that threw the hook on the jump. And most are probably a lot bigger than they would have been on a scale.

X2

Better to have hooked and Lost the to not have hooked at all

I've not figured out why some of the fish I've hooked throw the hook on a jump and others do not. I've tried multiple approaches to this..but arrived at nothing that makes a difference.

[tonyex]

I've tried multiple approaches to this..but arrived at nothing that makes a difference.

I have not a good answer to that question either. Sometimes the fish is hooked good sometimes not. If u lose a fish, try to hook another one better, if u can...
/T

[BassFever]

Unless you are fishing for money, why not give the fish a chance to jump? I love to see them jump and if they throw the hook they've won the battle. I've got lots of great memories of big fish that threw the hook on the jump. And most are probably a lot bigger than they would have been on a scale.

I agree completely ROG! When that fish breaks the water during a fight its a great thing, especially repeatedly! If you manage to land them afterwards, then it is that much better I had a very, very nice LM which I lost to (as well as lost my favorite frog). He broke water a few times, and buried himself once or twice, UNREAL fight which lasted all of about a minute and a half or so tops! I imagine that fish being a world record not being able to land it! To top it off maybe 5-10 minutes later, she absolutely cleared the water out in the middle of the pond thrashing away wildly to get that frog unhooked... simply fabulous

Now I have been told when losing fish on cranks/ lipless, first, is to change out the hooks. A friend of mine actually loses the back hook and adds a larger belly hook. Second, I along with some of my buddies will also hold the rod tip below the water to try and keep the fish away from the surface. This is not always effective. Third, you can do one of these two things. Either loosen the drag and let the fish tire himself out just a tad more than usual. they will either try to run deeper, or be too tired to make a god jump/ throw. OR tighten it and get him in before he has a chance to jump! On average to good days, I will let the fish' run a lil more and if they jump, then oh well. On slow to horrible days, if I do get that one to bite, I will make sure I tighten up and get him in to make sure the skunk has been avoided!

Good luck!

[mhood]

It's just not fishing to me unless the fish wins one every now and then.

[11kalnmitc]

i keep my rod tip down and tension on, but every now and then you still lose them
thats my great secret

[mhood]

You could always use an XXH broom stick, a winch with 60# braid and take 'em water skiing.

[hobobob]

You could always use an XXH broom stick, a winch with 60# braid and take 'em water skiing.

Or fly fishing if you have a good hookset.

There is two things I like best in fishing. Setting the hook on a mushy / weightless bite and a good series of acrobatic jumps.

[BassFever]

You could always use an XXH broom stick, a winch with 60# braid and take 'em water skiing.

[civicrr]

I like my fish to run, surge & jump. I also like to land them or at least release them boatside. Still that wasn't your question, was it?

Since you mentioned that you are catching them on cranks, I gotta ask, are you using a crankbait rod? If not, you should. (If a crankbait specific rod doesn't make sense for you, at least use a rod with a lot of tip) The crankbait rod will help you in two important ways. First, it will allow them to eat the bait better (e.g. get it further in their mouth) which results in better hookups (more jaw & less skin). Second, it cushions & absorbs the surges & runs/jumps that the fish does. The ability to absorb the surges helps keep the fish buttoned up especially when you don't have a great hookup.

As mentioned above, keeping the line tight & the rod loaded seems to be the way to go. The only caveat on the tight line/loaded rod is I like the fish to be able to pull drag when the rod is loaded to the maximum. If the rod is at maximum load & the drag is tightened down excessively, there is no give or shock absorption when the fish surges and/or jumps. In that case, something has got to give & it is usually the hook tearing out.

A final thought would be to use the right rod (action & power) for the lure. If you are using a 'heavy' cranking rod with a tiny crankbait, it won't work very well. e.g. I usually use a med/heavy rod for my shallow cranks which usually have size 4 or 2 trebles. If I were to use the same rod without loosening the drag when using a 'smaller' crank (size 6 or 8 hook), I would land a smaller percentage of fish. I would need to either run a lighter drag setting or a lighter power rod. In this case, a lighter power rod would make more sense.

Hope that helps.

[JCFin_S]

Mustad ultra point triple grip trebel hooks, put em on all your hardbaits son.

nice suggestion checked them out at TW 11pack for $5 when my hooks get worn that would be a good go to. My hooks weren't old tho been using new aruku jrs w/gamakatsu hooks. still tho mustad triple grip looks nice.

Losing fish is really tuff to deal with. But there is several things yo can do.

# 1, Go to a longer "Glass" rod with more forgiving tip, if your rods louds up on the very tip, you will lose them on that first jump. But have your rod loud up mid length, this will keep a lot of light pressure on the hook points. Keeping him pinned with light pressure will not pull the hooks out.

not big on glass but i get what your saying. i was thinking the same wondering if i was putting too much pressure trying to keep them on instead of just applying lighter consistent pressure.

I like my fish to run, surge & jump. I also like to land them or at least release them boatside. Still that wasn't your question, was it?

Since you mentioned that you are catching them on cranks, I gotta ask, are you using a crankbait rod? If not, you should. (If a crankbait specific rod doesn't make sense for you, at least use a rod with a lot of tip) The crankbait rod will help you in two important ways. First, it will allow them to eat the bait better (e.g. get it further in their mouth) which results in better hookups (more jaw & less skin). Second, it cushions & absorbs the surges & runs/jumps that the fish does. The ability to absorb the surges helps keep the fish buttoned up especially when you don't have a great hookup.

As mentioned above, keeping the line tight & the rod loaded seems to be the way to go. The only caveat on the tight line/loaded rod is I like the fish to be able to pull drag when the rod is loaded to the maximum. If the rod is at maximum load & the drag is tightened down excessively, there is no give or shock absorption when the fish surges and/or jumps. In that case, something has got to give & it is usually the hook tearing out.

A final thought would be to use the right rod (action & power) for the lure. If you are using a 'heavy' cranking rod with a tiny crankbait, it won't work very well. e.g. I usually use a med/heavy rod for my shallow cranks which usually have size 4 or 2 trebles. If I were to use the same rod without loosening the drag when using a 'smaller' crank (size 6 or 8 hook), I would land a smaller percentage of fish. I would need to either run a lighter drag setting or a lighter power rod. In this case, a lighter power rod would make more sense.

Hope that helps.

This does make good sense. I've been on a light rig setup powell 704cb using aruku shad jrs (3/8oz) but my drag has been tightened fairly excessive even when loaded(which isnt too hard to do with this rod). I'll try lightening up the drag some to allow for my pillow room. Thx for the tips.

Water skiing haha now i think that kills the fight more than keeping them in the water

[mhood]

Water skiing haha now i think that kills the fight more than keeping them in the water

Yea...there's something about being on plane that just blows their little minds. They lock up and freeze every time.

[Bass Chaser]

I like Owner treble Hooks in Size 4, they definitely improved my hookups over stock hooks on the lower/mid range cranks.

[rugud2go]

As mentioned above, keeping the line tight & the rod loaded seems to be the way to go. The only caveat on the tight line/loaded rod is I like the fish to be able to pull drag when the rod is loaded to the maximum. If the rod is at maximum load & the drag is tightened down excessively, there is no give or shock absorption when the fish surges and/or jumps. In that case, something has got to give & it is usually the hook tearing out.

A final thought would be to use the right rod (action & power) for the lure. If you are using a 'heavy' cranking rod with a tiny crankbait, it won't work very well. e.g. I usually use a med/heavy rod for my shallow cranks which usually have size 4 or 2 trebles. If I were to use the same rod without loosening the drag when using a 'smaller' crank (size 6 or 8 hook), I would land a smaller percentage of fish. I would need to either run a lighter drag setting or a lighter power rod. In this case, a lighter power rod would make more sense.

Nicely said...