Cody Malone recently posted a client lost a big fish due to a hard hookset. I personally love when a fish goes nuts on the end of my line! But then again I haven't got a bass over 8 pounds yet. I also read here on the forum this spring of a guy who said he couldn't turn a fish. I would like to hear more about these trophy bass that when pissed off can't be turned. Thanks for all replys

I would assume not being able to turn them is having to do with them still pulling drag and making a run.

I think you can loose a fish with hard hook sets plus repeating hard hook sets. I think it tears a larger hole allow the fish to shake it loose. Learned this years ago on a big fish and that's when the big flipping hooks first came out.

If they aren't flying over the boat on a hook set, then your not setting it hard enough...

You need to jack them rip their lips off I have lost to many when not paying attention and get caught off guard and you get one of those sissy hook sets. When I cross their eyes 8 times out of 10 they get in the boat the other 2 usually are break offs though but I still try to jerk their head off.

Caught 2, 9 lbers one night with a mh abbu garcia rod. When they took off, they just ripped line out of the Lew's reel. There was no turning them. They tired quickly after a long run and only then did I have control. Didn't need a hard hookset. At one point one went straight to the bottom and had me second guessing on whether I had a fish or a tree even though he had already put up a little fight then he was off to the races headed for deeper water

Seriously guys, At a tackle demo a few years ago, I was brought up on stage to demonstrate how much little force actually gets to the lure on a hook-set. Chad Tregellas was doing a demo and asked me to come up and he held a 1/2 jig in his hand and told me to set the hook and pull the jig out of his hand.

Needless to say, I went easy on the first attempt, and between rod flex and line stretch his hand barely moved. The second time.... well lets just say I managed to break the rod, but he was still holding the jig....


Just think about how much plastic or weedguard is in the way when you set the hook and then still have to penetrate bone/skin. Hit them hard and keep them moving to the boat!

We have better hooks and no stretch line now. I 'am not saying I don't hammer them but repeated sets are not necessary. With mono it's different.

My PB from Ivie ripped a good 40-50 yards of line off before I could even think about turning her. She made it from 4 feet of water to 65 feet of water in a hurry. Was convinced I had a flat head or blue cat until she came up next to the boat and into the net.

Gezz it wasn't 20 years ago, it was at the most 4-5.

Some really bad advice in this thread already. Man. It REALLY depends. It depends on the type of lure, the technique you're using, how deep you're fishing, the line you're using, the rod you're using. . .I'm usually using a heavy rod with my plastics and jigs, and copoly line, so I don't have to jump out of the boat when I set the hook for it to penetrate the way it needs to. The quickness of the hookset is infinitely more important the the power of it.

more fish have been lost because of a LACK of power on the hook set, than because you hammered them... one of the few things the fishing guides in mexico know how to say in English... "set the $%^@ing hook"

I agree about repeated hook sets, unless he is running at you and you didn't hit him good, then I'm just keeping line tight and rod tip up...

Also there are times when quickness of the hook set MISSES tons of fish.. Sometimes you have to let them eat it. that's a day by day deal but if you jig fish much you know what I'm talking about.

go watch the Gerald swindle deal about hook sets and fighting a fish... he explains it great

"like a third grader with a pencil sharpener just GRIND!"

I set the hook hard as soon as I feel a tick, peck, thump, or whatever you want to call it. Or...if I see my line move, feel like my line is being pulled over a metal grate, or if anything else just feels "different". No waiting or pulling back to "see if they took the bait", just ripping.

I may lose a fish sometime because I set the hook too hard and tore a hole in the fish's lip, but on the other hand I know I've lost fish because they caught me off guard and I never got a solid hookset.

I'm not saying I jump three feet in the air and fall off the deck setting the hook, just that I set it hard.

exactly