Well I have had one fish on Fork that I could not turn. Drag was tight just couldn't turn her... Made me sick!!!

Here is an older Wired2Fish article. The setting the hook on slack line being the problem instead of setting it after reeling and the rod loading was the summary of it.
Do you set the hook Wrong?

Here's how I see it and live by these views

Setting the hook tring to cross there eyes when you are pitching to a bed with a flipping stick and braid is a disaster waiting to happen as seen in the video. Braid has zero stretch and the rod is a broomstick so has very little give. The fish that I as lost was 12-14# as we caught a 9.10 only 15 feet from it and the big one dwarfed the 9. I wanted the customer to not Ross it's eyes but the moment got the best of him

When your out fishing deep structure or making long cast yea you need to reel down taking slack out and give em a good hook set but this wasnt the case.

When you rip their faces off all you do it stress equipment and tear bigger holes in their mouths that result in lost fish when the come up and jump

That's what I said.

I've fished saltwater for the past 15 years. In that time I've landed several reds over 30" and one trout that went 29". I used medium weight rods and 10-12lb test line. Rarely ever had a break (can't think of more than 2), and never had an issue turning running reds after a few runs. Over the last year I moved and now fish some of the north Texas lakes in the area for bass. Maybe I'm missing something, but it don't see how I would struggle turning a bass or having a break off as long as my drag is set right.

Biggest thing is the cover your fishing. Open water is a lot easier to "play" a fish out.

^ That is the problem with lakes with timber like Fork. There are times you have to force a fish away from trouble and really test your skill and gear. I use 15# line almost exclusively and sometimes a big sow on a bed will be skittish and 8-10# Seaguar gets her and the fight is on

Our big fish yesterday was landed on 10#

I agree with much of the above - especially Mr. Harper's comments. I set the hook once with a flippin' stick and pulled a 7-+ out of 4' of water and clear over the boat. Finally landed her, too. Remember that many of us who set the hook very hard used to fish mostly with 5.5-6' rods and mono because that's all we had. Strong hook sets were required, especially when fishing deep or with a long cast. Today, not so much with the longer rods and lines with less stretch. I still try to reel down and cross their eyes unless I'm using 8# line, and then it's simply a fast wrist jerk. Still, I lose very few bass unless I'm just watching them jump and don't care much about boating them. I have posted about a couple of big girls that I couldn't turn, though....mostly when I was short-lined and they dove under the boat into thick cover.

I'm not a bed fisherman. I am either in heavy cover where they must come out quick or I am in 25 ft. of water on the last heavy cover in the lake. Either way when a big fish runs she is going to get you in trouble if you don't have the line, drag tight and at least a medium/heavy rod to get her up and out of it in a hurry.

I may not get as may bites on the average size bass. But when the big bite takes place I want to know that I can put as much pressure on her as it takes to keep her out of trouble. A couple of tournament partners just had to throw the 15# line on a weightless senko and both times it cost us the tournament with the break off. They had to be excused to go on their merry way.

I agree. With a drop shot you are using a light action rod, light line and a small hook (unless you are power shoting). With this technique you just ease into a hook up with the fish. With a M/H or H action rod and Mono, copolymer, or Fluorocarbon line you have line stretch and usually a larger hook, and with that combo I use a strong hook set. If you are using a broom handle rod and heavy braid you need to lighten up your hook set and not have the drag too tight.


I had one fish on Fork that I could not turn. I flipped a Tx. rig to a bush, she bit, I set the hook and she took off, stripping drag until the line broke on a dead pull away from me. I never was able to get her turned around. I sure would have liked to see that one. I had another very strong one on a spoon that I never got to the boat either. She straightened the hook and was gone.

I have seen that demo and tried it for myself. I think that the hook set only gets the point of the hook started and the battle makes it go in the rest of the way. Now with a broom handle rod and braid it might go in all the way on a hard hook set if the drag is too tight also.

Lol ok. That "an" was meant to be "can" I have seen people blow up rods doing this. I have never done it and have landed 200 fish on a 7'3"H kistler KLX using 65lb braid flipping/froging with drag all the way down and have not blown up a rod yet. But none of the fish have been over 9lbs. I'm just saying it "can" happen and that's a risk u take to stick a 6/0 heavy wire hook in a giant bass

I wouldn't listen to Cody he is a stupid good sight fisherman and knows his stuff