Some equipment advice...

[Stick in Mud]

Hello gents,

I fish most of my bass out of a canoe, either on the Mississippi River or on small lakes near home. When the water is warm, I'll fish standing up, but this time of year, I'm seated.

I fish plastics a lot, and I end up missing a lot of fish because I have a hard time getting a good hook set. Getting the slack out isn't a problem, but burying the hook from a seated position is definitely a challenge. I've gone to a 7' 10'' MH rod, which helps, but I still have a tough time "keeping up" with fish on the reel (this isn't a problem when I'm in a boat...maybe because the hook set is more vertical? I dunno.)

So, my guess is I need a reel with a higher gear ratio. The current one is around 6.3:1. I'm hoping for something higher. Any suggestions on a good reel? I fish this way a lot, and I'm sick of losing fish, so I'm willing to spend a few bucks. Keep it under $200, though.

Any suggestions on good reels?

[Craigums]

In that price rangethe new curado I or a Lews Tournament Pro would be my 1a, 1b choice

[river rat316]

I would also look at your hook choice, unless you are fishing really heavy cover a 3x hook is over kill, there is alot of good lighter wire hook choices for t-rigging, my favorite lighter wire hook is the Owner straight shank worm hook, If you are fishing jigs check out the original Northern style swim jigs, most feature a light wire hook and the despite the name swim jig, you can pretty much do it all with these style of jigs, and again the light wire hook will aid in your hook set, other wise there is nothing wrong with setting the hook two or three times if you are not sure that you buried the hook the first time.

[jentz]

I'm with rat316.Try different hooks.I always liked the truturn,not only a worm hook it can be used for many applications.Carry a hone and keep that point sharp.I keep 6 hooks set aside that I hand honed.

[mamohr686]

Besides hooks already mentioned, what type of line are you using? If you're using braid, a light hookset is fine. If you like mono, try a different type of line with less stretch equipped with light wire hooks. (use superline hooks with braided line) And most importantly, crank down on the fish until the rod is loaded before you set the hook. And set the hook with a sweep, and never let off the pressure. If you feel a bite then drop your rod tip with slack line and "pop" the rod back right away, you will miss them every time.

[Pherris]

As mentioned shaper hooks will help. I don't think gear ratio on the reel has much impact on a solid hook set. A higher ratio will help pick up the slack line faster but other then that really should not impact the hook set. Aside from technique such as getting the slack out before setting the hook I think a shorter rod would provide better leverage for setting the hook from a seated position. Might want to try a shorter rod instead of a faster reel.

Good Fishing!

[theiceman]

I find giving a three second delay from the time you feel the bite to setting the hook it just gives them a second longer to inhale it, works great for me.

[Stick in Mud]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the input. I change hooks frequently and/or sharpen the old ones, so I don't think that's it. I do think it might be the gauge of the hook, though. The ones I use aren't all that thin. I think they're Gammy EWG worm hooks, but I could be mistaken.

I don't have a problem with the hook set necessarily. All the slack's out. It's after the hookset. I hit the fish, it swims, and I can't reel fast enough to keep up with it.

A shorter rod is definitely not going to help. I'm sitting down, so I need all the help I can get.

[delmuts]

Still sounds like you're not getting the hook buried into the fish. I agree with what was said about using braid and reeling down on your hook sets. With my shoulder problems, that was the solution for me. One of the 7:1 ratio reels will help you catch up to a fish, but hot a cure all.

[Ufatz]

Let's discuss that second paragraph in your post. You set the hook, the fish runs, and you can't keep up with it by reeling. If the fish is running after the hookset let it run. Or are you trying to reel WHILE the fish is running? I guess I am having a bit of a problem understanding the problem here. A short fast tip rod, braided line and properly set drag should yield a good solid hook-set if you have reeled down on the fish.

But if the fish is jumping or running on your hook set so what? Let it go until it settles down and then fight it with rod and reel.

Okay, that's all I have and based on what I understand you are saying.

[rwwong]

I think maybe he's having an issue with fish swimming towards him, and having too much slack in the line once the fish is hooked.

If that's the case, using the 7'10" is smart....and yes, you'll want a faster reel.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Part of the problem with fishing from belly boats and canoes and kayaks is the boat will start to go towards the fish on the hookset as well. Its just part of the nature.. I would work on more of a wrist snap on the hookset.. faster reel may help, but may not take care of the problem either..

[Stick in Mud]

One part of the problem I probably should've described is that I'm often making long casts. It's hard to cover much water, so I make up for that by throwing the bait quite a ways. A lot of the water on local lakes is very clear, too, so I get more bites when I heave it out there a ways, too. I always use braid, for what it's worth.

You're right, delmuts, I am having a problem burying the hooks. It's just impossible to really slam the fish because I'm sitting down; if I really hammered them and the hook popped out and/or the line broke, I could flip right over backwards out of the boat. I was in the boat with a friend who did exactly that.

I've never used a "fast" reel before, so I was thinking that might help. Otherwise, tough hooksets might just be the name of the game with this style of fishing: long cast + no leverage + moving boat = fish getting off sometimes. Before I invest in a new reel, I'll try some lighter wire hooks and maybe a new hookset style.

Hey, Deitz, did you see my post in the mushroom forum? The oysters are out...