I am having the hardest time keeping fish hooked when using lures with treble hooks (Ex. ratl trap, xraps, etc.). I am keeping the rod tip up and tension on the fish, but the second they break the surface of the water and shake thier heads the lures comes loose. Any tips?

Thanks
Gene Cole III

I TROLL MOST OF THE TIME,WITH THE BOAT STILL MOVING AT 2MPH
I KEEP THE FISH IN THE WATER AND USE A 6-8 FT LONG POLE NET..

SHARPEN THE HOOKS

Bend the hooks in toward the shank slightly. They actually sell hooks with this already done for you by gary yaka...how ever you spell it. It seems to work better for me.

Oh yeah, keep them sharp and you can get them.

I Heard That You Should Always Change The Hooks On Rat-l-traps Afret You Buy Them ,to gamakatsu trebles.

Sharpen the hooks or change them. My partner was having the same problem with her rat-l-trap and changed the hooks and stopped having the problem.

It's really frustrating to get the fish all the way in and then lose it at the last second. Good luck!

You just stated your problem. If fishing for Bass, that is, once you get him out of the cover and start bringing him to the boat, keep the rod tip DOWN, with moderate pressure, so the fish won't jump. Also change the hooks on rattle traps and some other baits with cheap hooks. Sometimes you can go a size bigger without ruining the action.

One very important thing to consider is the rod you are using. Rods designed for use with top water, crankbaits, traps, etc have actions designed for those baits. Say you are throwing a rattletrap. You would want a rod designed with a fast tip and medium action. The tip of the rod needs some give so that when the fish jumps, it acts as a shock absorber. Too slow (stiff) a tip, and you will loose lots of fish. The action refers to the backbone or strength of the midsection of the rod. Here is a good rod for that application: http://www.castawayrods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=RM610S
I hope this helps

get you some triple grip hooks.

Lucky Al is right on. Do what ever you can to keep the fish from jumping. Keep the rod tip down and play the fish without trying to horse him around.

Rod and hooks. I use rods like Tim suggests because they will not rip the hooks loose. I had that problem two years ago and switched to a med rod with a fast tip and the problem went away. I have a hook-box that I keep in the boat. The front hook is replaced with a red hook and the rear with a mustad ultra-point. When the red wears off the front hook I replace both hooks.

Rod and hooks will fix the issue...and try not to let them jump!

Thanks for all the help guys. I am still pretty new to the fishing game. I will try the suggestions and see how they work.

Thanks
Gene Cole III

Triple Grip by Mustad. I have 2000 ordered and should arrive today. They will be going on the Humdingers from now on. Saw a show where Hank Parker was changing to them on all his Rattle Traps. Twice the cost of the round bend hooks but no additional cost to the Humdinger customer. What is a lost fish worth, especially if it may have been a record?