Setting the hook?

[Juan Grande]

Thanks for the tips guys. I have a couple 6 1/2 foot rods I could use. It's just fun fishing ultra light.

I'll stop by Gander and pick up some better hooks, hopefully that does the trick.

Are "senkos" considered to be a good plastic bait? I was Texas rigging them with no weight. They look like real nightcrawlers when they fall. It's no wonder bass can't resist.

Thanks again.

[Juan Grande]

What is the "gap" on the hook? Is that the bend at the top of hooks you'd use for texas rigging?

[Dan Wood]

Senkos are great. You may want to try a downsize to the 5" or even 4".

[Juan Grande]

Actually, I think I was using 5".

I took my wife out for her first evening of rubber worm fishing. She missed a lot of fish, but ended up landing 3-4 bass. When we were done she said "I don't know why you have that tackle box full of s**t, these worms are all you need. It was a riot to watch her when the fish bit and she'd gear up to set the hook. That was the first time she's fished for 3+ hours without getting bored.

[Dan Wood]

The gap is the distance from middle of the hook shank out to the tip. The extra wide gap is used to fit larger/bulkier plastics such as a senko and still give you enough hook to get the hook in the fish. Gamakatsu has a hook for this called the EWG (extra wide gap).

If you want to use ultra light tackle I'd use a circle hook. Either nose hook the bait or wacky - something around size 1/0.

[Juan Grande]

In between the rain, I managed to do some bass fishing on Blue Lake (near Zimmerman) over Memorial weekend.

The bass seemed to be sluggish until I started fishing with rubber worms. Specifically, 6" Yamimoto rubber worms (nightcrawler color). Anyway, the fish were hitting them like crazy.

I'm a novice when it comes to rubber worm fishing and I missed a lot of fish. I was setting the hook hard, but I'd fight a lot of fish for about 20 seconds and they'd come off. I'm guessing they weren't hooked and just had the bait in their mouth.

I was wondering how I could increase my landing percentage? I'm going to try sharper hooks, but when is the best time to set the hook? Should I wait longer after the initial bite?

I was fishing with an ultra-lite combo. Maybe a stiffer rod would give me a better hook set too.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

John

[Clayburn]

A stiffer rod is definitly a plus. Another thing, is that you should be using a stout wide gap Gamagatsu or Mustad 3/0 hook if your throwing Senkos. If your throwing traditional rubber worms a straight shank 3/0 worm hook is best.

[Dan Wood]

I'm guessing your fishing Texas rigged on those worms?

If your talking a Yamamoto senko, you should use a larger than normal EWG (extra wide gap) hook. A 4/0 isn't too big for a senko.

A heavier rod is a must for worm fishing. Bass have very tough upper mouths. A med weight is the minimum I'd consider. Med/heavy is what I like to use. A longer rod also helps with the hook set - 6'-7' are good.

You need to set the hook hard on t-rigged plastics. You can't hardly set too hard. I've had a number of little fish go airborne upon hookset, that is part of the deal. If you want to stick the bigger fish you need to set hard with this set-up. That is half the fun too in my opinion - CROSS THEIR EYES with that hookset ...