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Thread: Set the Hook on the jump

  1. #1

    Question Set the Hook on the jump

    It has long been a conundrum, What to do when the big fish jumps?

    Having set the hook do you

    whack again every time the fish jumps to reset?

    or

    Hold a firm line to stay in touch without pulling the hook?

    My concerns are that several whacks while the fish is in flight and fight may pull the hook.

    It was interesting to watch the Taylor boys in the AFC, they have the rungs on the board and appear to hit hard several times when the fish is air born.

    I would have thought having a firm hook up try to maintain a tight line.

    What are your thoughts / experience.


    Most of my Money is spent on Booze and Fishin.
    The Rest is just Wasted!
    To The Shed.............

  2. #2

    Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    Here is my spin on the question.

    The Taylor boys are pretty well versed in being able to feel where they have hooked the fish initially. This gives them the confidence to lean on the fish through out the whole fight.

    I also believe the action of their rods might make it look like they are resetting hooks, but in fact I believe they are just "yanking" or aggressively "pumping and winding". In other words they are using a COME HERE technique.

    I believe it works very effectively as how many times did the Taylor’s have green fish either charge towards the boat or have issues with green fish taking them around or under the boat?

    Effectively they are ensuring that the barra swim towards them without letting them run to far away and have to chase them.

    I believe this technique is very similar to deep water jigging techniques that most people use. Look at the action of a parabolic rod when jigging and fighting hooked fish. When I have hooked fish in 100m+ you need to keep that pump and wind action going all the way to the boat to keep the fishes head pointed towards you but the rod looks like you are re-setting the hook time and time again.

    Now their might be many reasons for this as JM has already alluded to. Not to spook feeding fish, not wanting to have a rampaging barra upsetting the current fish holding near that certain area or one thing that has been overlooked is lighter leaders.

    When a barra runs away from you your leader in almost always being scuffed by their mouth and the pressure that is put on that line is the reason the barra wear through the leaders. Now imagine the opposite. A barra being pulled head first towards the boat by the scruff of its neck. I believe less wear and tear on the leader which could mean lighter leaders thus making your lures look different to everyone else’s and the actions will be much different.

    By the way these are just my views on it and probably no where near the ballpark, but maybe food for thought?

    Cheers

    Lee

  3. #3

    Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    Hi Daryl

    My thoughts ........ maintain pressure - The easiest way to do this is to keep winding.

    Now treading very carefully here ! - & I need to watch some more of the AFC to confirm just when the Taylors hit.
    Striking during a jump would be all about timing & maintaining pressure ........ winding at the same time as pulling back on the rod & avoiding any tendency in lowering the rod tip prior to each strike ( an instance of loss of pressure could mean the loss of fish) ....... trying to do this rapidly would need plenty of practice

    Keep in mind each strike is potentially opening / tearing a bigger hole at the point of penetration.
    Also get into the habit of looking for where the fish is hooked & how well - This can be invaluable in not pulling a hook out / or blowing leaders

    Chris
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  4. #4

    Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    Daryl

    I use a fairly high rod angle on the jump and use the rod action to maintain constant pressure. All my barra (and toga) (lost and landed) have been on light rods or fly rods which flex fairly quickly, so with the high rod angle, the rod can quickly flick back and forwards with the head shake to maintian pressure. I also use light drag, so a lower rod angle will allow line to be taken by a head shake and thus lose a bit of contact.

    I think that if I can ever hook one on the heavier gear, my technique will have to change to suit, so I am interested in the replies here to further my much needed learnings.

    Good thread, Daz.

    Cheers
    Steve

  5. #5

    Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    Lee,
    The twins use single 80, and yea I think you are on the money with your thoughts. I don't know as such if the boys know where the hook is positioned on the hook set, but if it feels solid and stays in for the first 6-8 seconds and then when the line comes tight, well things should be pretty good. The lads have great experience with XOS GT's on heavy spin tackle, so since they are stick men like they are, they do need to refine fighting technique to use to advantage. Your deepwater jig fishing fight technique description is a perfect example. Technique carries on into a lake; refined technique being advantagous. A bit like a light weight guy tackling a steer to the ground. Technique is everything.

    Daryl, (as already shared above)
    Keeping a tight line in my experience is paramount. Load the rod even more whilst the fish is in the air, increasing line pressure direct on the pook point making it more difficult for the barra to dislodge the hook. I teach my clients this and they rarely lose a fish on the jump, in fact, we promote barra to jump to experience the sight, the tight line counteracting any significant chance of losing fish. Losing 1 in 10, not even. Again, refined technique is required here as we do not want any slack prior to or after the loaded rod event. Smooth fluency is essential. To take it further, controlled rod work can also have the fish pulled off balance mid flight making the fish disillusioned, and allowing the angler to gain further line recovery and steer the fish further/closer. Severe rod angle changes while a fish is close to the boat can have the same affect, the fish not knowing how to react, or which day it is. But the whole point is probably not to try to do everything at once, but to practice each portion of the fight over time, eventually bringing it all together over the years. If you want a fun fight, just pump and wind steadily. If you want to mess with the fish's mind mentally, use every trick in the book. If you want to experience something interesting, the next fish you hook, just wind the handle dead slowly, ( no rod work), without interruption and see where the fish ends up. In many cases, at your feet with minimal fuss.
    Cheers,
    Johnny

  6. #6

    Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    Quote Originally Posted by A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE View Post
    Lee,
    The twins use single 80, and yea I think you are on the money with your thoughts. I don't know as such if the boys know where the hook is positioned on the hook set, but if it feels solid and stays in for the first 6-8 seconds and then when the line comes tight, well things should be pretty good. The lads have great experience with XOS GT's on heavy spin tackle, so since they are stick men like they are, they do need to refine fighting technique to use to advantage. Your deepwater jig fishing fight technique description is a perfect example. Technique carries on into a lake; refined technique being advantagous. A bit like a light weight guy tackling a steer to the ground. Technique is everything.
    Thanks JM.

    I firmly beleive that the boys experience with GT's and the other big saltwater fish they tackle carries over directly to barra fishing and vice virsa so the styles and techniques they use are transferred from one to another.

    Cheers

    Lee

  7. #7

    Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    Take a real fight situation as an example. Why? Because that’s what it is to a fish. Generally its blow for blow, little finesse and best hitter wins. Those who do it for pay such as a boxer or wrestler learn to use the strength of the opponent as much as their own. We’ve talked about this before, go hard on a fish and it’ll go hard back. As Johnny has implied above, lead it to the boat softly softly and it’ll come without too much fuss (an excellent technique in rapids when you want the fish to stay in the eddy, not go over the falls.)

    There was talk about experienced fish jumping towards the angler a while back; if that was indeed the fish’s tactic it’s a good example of what I mean about using the strenght of the opponent. The fish takes the initiative and attacks one of the angler’s weak points of slack line by suddenly going with the momentum. If a fish’s fins were hands or feet, the angler would have copped a smack in the mouth with that sweet move.

    In a jump the fish has lost the advantage of tail, water current and density. Sacrificed for being able to contract body muscles much quicker in the thin air as a means to shake loose the lure. Once again this has been talked about in passing in earlier subjects with pictures of missing scales on fish that have gone ballistic in the air; it’s a moment of desperation for the fish.

    On that basis I choose to pull the fish over towards me, upsetting the headshake. With the fish vulnerable it takes little effort compared to trying to turn it in the water and you can usually get a few turns on the reel before the fish is able to reorganize itself. I consider I’ve used something the fish was doing to free itself to my advantage.

    As an aside I always consider myself to be in the most vulnerable position when leading a tired fish to the boat. The fish swimming either parallel or slightly towards me then chooses to swing its mouth towards me and open it at the same time. My heart always ends up in my mouth when this happens. Sometimes the lure pops out sometimes not.

  8. #8

    Thumbs up Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    Thanks all, refreshing stuff. I am pleased to have my views reinforced.

    As has been said the boys were probably just playing hard not necessarily resetting hooks. Makes sense then.

    Tight lines. As JM said a slow steady haul will do the job if you can do it like that without obstacles; but the battle is part of the challenge hey?

    Dick you are correct, having been in some robust negotiations in my time the best option is always to use the opponents force to your advantage. Especially in the big fish battles where you are flat out lifting it, let alone going head to head in an environment they were designed for.


    Most of my Money is spent on Booze and Fishin.
    The Rest is just Wasted!
    To The Shed.............

  9. #9

    Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    Quote Originally Posted by A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE View Post
    If you want to experience something interesting, the next fish you hook, just wind the handle dead slowly, ( no rod work), without interruption and see where the fish ends up. In many cases, at your feet with minimal fuss.
    Cheers,
    Johnny
    Actually Johnny. my daughter when she was 3yrs old landed a 60cm flattie doing exactly as you have described and yes it just came in quietly. I initially thought it was sick, but nope, just calm.

    Thanks
    Steve

  10. #10

    Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    I firmly beleive that the boys experience with GT's and the other big saltwater fish they tackle carries over directly to barra fishing and vice virsa so the styles and techniques they use are transferred from one to another.

    Thats how I saw it also Lee,typical tactics for big pelagics.Get em on,get em in!It seems to work for them,crossover ideas at work.Why not.
    Paulo

  11. #11

    Re: Set the Hook on the jump

    If you want to experience something interesting, the next fish you hook, just wind the handle dead slowly, ( no rod work), without interruption and see where the fish ends up. In many cases, at your feet with minimal fuss.


    Works with bream as well, don't know how many times we ended up with cut fingers handlining 4 to 5lb bream away from oyster leases then we worked out that if you set the hook gently and then used a slow steady retrieve 9 times out of 10 it was all over before the fish knew it. Although number 10 usually made you pay.
    Mark

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