Trouble With Hookset

[bobowski]

I love to fish top water for bass early in the morning. The anticipation of a fish coming from below and exploding out of the water to smash the bait is almost addicting. Lately I have been using Live Target Frogs a lot because I love that they are so weed less that you can basically throw them anywhere and not get hung up. But, because they are so weed less I have been having trouble getting a hook in to the fish. I have been trying to delay the hookset a little bit so the fish can fully take the frog but its hard to do when the fish hits and you get a ruch of adrenalin. My question to you fellow anglers is do you have any tips when using these live target frogs that would result in hooking more fish? Thanks

 

 

[kickingfrog]

For me it's not a numbers game. If my first goal was fish in the boat then I'd fish something else because you will not get the hooks into every fish, but for me at least it is fun even to have a miss. Make sure the hooks are super sharp and wait until you feel the fish before setting. I also like them full of water so they sit a little lower in the water, but they don't land as soft that way.

[Acountdeleted]

Agree with sharpening the hooks. Sadly I find live target hooks To be very very poor. I was using a baitball last fall and had 4-5 bass shake the hook. They may not be replaceable on the frog but make them razor sharp and it should make a difference.

[BillM]

Wait until you feel the fish then set the hook. Too many people are setting the hook on the splash.. Also, bass are known for stunning their prey then coming back. So if the fish misses, just let the bait sit there... 9 times out of 10 they'll come back and eat it up.

[Garnet]

If you are fun fishing just enjoy the show.

 

As a tournament bait they are a 60% hookup, you can include all makes. So I can get 40% less bites on jig and still win or you need to get 40% more bites.

 

Yes I view top water frogs as a losing strategy.

[jameshandz]

try trimming the tails with scissors i do it with every live target i get since they are more for american bass which are usually double what we get in Ontario .

[Acountdeleted]

Wait until you feel the fish then set the hook. Too many people are setting the hook on the splash.. Also, bass are known for stunning their prey then coming back. So if the fish misses, just let the bait sit there... 9 times out of 10 they'll come back and eat it up.

This is great advice. I can't count the number of times I have missed a hookset on a bass or faught it for only a few seconds to have it hit again a few seconds later.

 

I always jokingly say 'the bass was more angry then I was about missing that'

[206]

if they want it you won't have to worry some days they just don't want it that bad. if you miss with the frog pitch a creature bait or a worm at them.

[grimsbylander]

Hold your rod at the 10 - 11 o'clock position as you work the bait towards you. This will handcuff you so you cannot set the hook from that position. It forces you to drop your rod tip and reel in the slack for a proper hook set. This is the time it takes for the fish to turn with the bait. Your hook ups will increase dramatically.

Always have a plastic bait rigged and ready to pitch in on the misses.

[Roy]

Hold your rod at the 10 - 11 o'clock position as you work the bait towards you. This will handcuff you so you cannot set the hook from that position. It forces you to drop your rod tip and reel in the slack for a proper hook set. This is the time it takes for the fish to turn with the bait. Your hook ups will increase dramatically.

Always have a plastic bait rigged and ready to pitch in on the misses.

 

One of the most logical answers I've heard in answer to this question.

[jtracc]

It's tough with those types of baits in heavy cover. A lot of the time a bass will actually push the bait away as it strikes, added with the slop under it the hook up percentages are lowered. If you miss a solid strike, have a second rod handy rigged with some sort of plastic worm, lizard or senko. When a bass blows up and misses the frog reel in quickly and follow up with the plastic bait. A lot of times the bass will strike and you get your fish. This works for me. I also use this when casting reaction type baits. If I get a miss, followed up with smaller slower plastic and boom.

 

Sorry just read what grimsbylsnder posted. It works...

Edited July 14, 2015 by jtracc

[fishindevil]

I had 2 nice blow ups on my frog today and missed both fish !!!!! The first missed the frog by about 6-10 inches and the other I set it hard and had him for a second and the frog came back to the boat breaking the sound barrier !!!! Lol .... I love the frogs but hate them at the same time ..... Lol ....

[lookinforwalleye]

I find LiveTarget frogs to be the worst for hook-ups....the old fashion snagproof/scum frogs that have been around for ever are far superior IMHO...the Bass does not care about the fancy paint job on the top!!!

[colin519]

1) add a stinger

 

2) sharpen the hooks

 

3) change to a Rapala Skitter Pop, one of my favorite top waters (other than this, I'm a classic Heddon, Crazy Crawler or Zara spook guy) seems like the perfect option for here. I hate the poor hookups of most weedless lures, so I just throw the Rap with extreme accuracy and try to keep it out of it. That can mean the pines or the reeds LOL I toss it on a medium action Abu rod with 6lb mono and a fairly decent Pfleuger reel. great control and great fun to hook up with a smallie, i've only got a 2-3 lb smallie on top water a couple times, but its always fun.

 

I actually am a new fan of the Xrap line from Rapala, The red/white feathering on the rear treble is great for adding action to a slow retrieve or that flash of colour of a wound. Frankly, I don't know if I'll buy Rapala without that again. On the frog it looks like some messed up legs. I think they've got 2 frogish patterns.

 

http://www.rapala.com/rapala/lures/skitter-series/skitter-popandreg/Skitter+Pop.html?cgid=rapala-lures-skitter&start=3

Edited July 14, 2015 by colin519

[OhioFisherman]

If you are fun fishing just enjoy the show.

 

As a tournament bait they are a 60% hookup, you can include all makes. So I can get 40% less bites on jig and still win or you need to get 40% more bites.

 

Yes I view top water frogs as a losing strategy.

A 6 inch Zoom lizard rigged weedless and weightless will get a lot more hookups.

[kickingfrog]

1) add a stinger

 

2) sharpen the hooks

 

3) change to a Rapala Skitter Pop, one of my favorite top waters (other than this, I'm a classic Heddon, Crazy Crawler or Zara spook guy) seems like the perfect option for here. I hate the poor hookups of most weedless lures, so I just throw the Rap with extreme accuracy and try to keep it out of it. That can mean the pines or the reeds LOL I toss it on a medium action Abu rod with 6lb mono and a fairly decent Pfleuger reel. great control and great fun to hook up with a smallie, i've only got a 2-3 lb smallie on top water a couple times, but its always fun.

 

I actually am a new fan of the Xrap line from Rapala, The red/white feathering on the rear treble is great for adding action to a slow retrieve or that flash of colour of a wound. Frankly, I don't know if I'll buy Rapala without that again. On the frog it looks like some messed up legs. I think they've got 2 frogish patterns.

 

http://www.rapala.com/rapala/lures/skitter-series/skitter-popandreg/Skitter+Pop.html?cgid=rapala-lures-skitter&start=3

 

I don't think we're talkin about the same thing. This is wall-to-wall lily pads or bullrushes/reeds. Some the size of a yard, some the size of a football field. If someone fishes it by only hitting the few, small "holes" with a standard topwater then someone else will come in with a weedless lure and clean-up as if it had never been fished. I'll try to take a photo if I hit the pads again before fall. I love walk the dog topwaters but this isn't the place for them, except for the edges before going in right up to your armpits.

[OhioFisherman]

http://www.basspro.com/Stanley-Jigs-Bull-Ribbit-Frog/product/10209528/

 

 

http://www.basspro.com/Mustad-Ultra-Point-Impact-Hook/product/30055/

 

 

another setup to frog fish

[BassMan11]

Bend the hooks out a tiny bit away from the body with pliers and cut the legs down a little bit to tighten up the package. All it takes is to wait a 1 count and then set the hook.

[dhickey]

I went through this years ago the result was that my drag was to tight on the hook set because it was set for pulling fish out of slop.

Now when I get the hook on I tighten up the drag.

 

salty.

[grimsbylander]

Don't rule out mono for frog fishing. You may want to go up in weight but mono sinks MUCH slower than florocarbon and the added stretch will benefit your hook set issue. Braid has so little stretch you can pull the bait out of the strike zone with no effort.

[kickingfrog]

Flouro does sink faster than similar strength mono but stretches as much or more.

[Garnet]

Ohio likes the lizards, I like flukes and Senkos , T rig with 1/8 worm weight to fish the same cover.

[bobowski]

Awesome. Great advice guys. Having a soft plastic ready to go for when you miss a fish sounds good. Thanks a lot. This is a great forum with so many knowledgeable anglers.

[Acountdeleted]

I also think it's perspective. If we could see underwater and see how many times fish attacked our lure or live bait and didn't hook up I'm sure we would be swearing like sailors at that too.

[OhioFisherman]

Ohio likes the lizards, I like flukes and Senkos , T rig with 1/8 worm weight to fish the same cover.

Really it's just different approaches to the same problem, flukes or senkos are probably a good choice too, a friend of mine used tubes almost exclusively, back in the day a Johnson Silver minnow and pork frog was popular.

 

LOL. I am a geezer, and almost always used mono, 17-20 pound test for the slop. You could make it float better and longer by stripping a 100 feet or so off the reel and applying dry fly dressing to it, keeps the line from sinking into the slop.