not hookin up on soft plastics??? help

[joelmennie]

hey guys i used soft plastics for the first time the other day and omfg. third cast and caught a thumping 3.5-4 kg 700mm snapper on light gear. thought i had a tiger shark on lol. then i lost about another 4 after that alot smaller probably round the 1kg mark. they would have a small run then boom gone the only things i could put it down to was they were only grabbing the tail of the plastic and not the hook or im not striking correctly. any help would be great ps it was my brothers first time on sp to and all he got was a rock cod bigger than the lure. lol

[reddybayfisher]

Mate - you should have posted this in the saltwater chat section - will get more views there and there are plenty of people that will assist.....Moderators will move this thread for you in due course.....

I find that if the hook is too short for the plastic - hook up rate drops....I am to have the hook at least come out about 1/2 way down the plastic....

Cheers,
Reddybayfisher

[tunaticer]

It sounds to m e like you are fishing with a fairly taut line and not fishing with a little slack in the line. In most cases fish usually suck in a bait, they usually no not move forward with an open mouth then close it on the bait. Fishing with little or no slack in the line effectively stops the plastic from travelling back into the fish's mouth, plus with plastics we usually use some form of braided or fused line with little or zero stretch.
This is why lots of people fishing with plastics complain about short strikes or missed hookups or hooks pulling free.
Generally I fish with a controlled amount of slack outside of the rod tip where I am constantly adjusting the amount of line being reeled in to keep a steady sag in the line.
Go to one of the big aquariums at feeding time and you will see how fish suck baits in normally and it is surprising just how far away some species are from the food when they do suck it in.

This is a learned technique and it does deliver the goods lots better than any other techniques of retrieval where you fish with a tight line.

These days I am working on perfecting a related technique for trolling hard bodies........more to come on this development in a yr or so...

[Jurkyjj]

It sounds to m e like you are fishing with a fairly taut line and not fishing with a little slack in the line. In most cases fish usually suck in a bait, they usually no not move forward with an open mouth then close it on the bait. Fishing with little or no slack in the line effectively stops the plastic from travelling back into the fish's mouth, plus with plastics we usually use some form of braided or fused line with little or zero stretch.
This is why lots of people fishing with plastics complain about short strikes or missed hookups or hooks pulling free.
Generally I fish with a controlled amount of slack outside of the rod tip where I am constantly adjusting the amount of line being reeled in to keep a steady sag in the line.
Go to one of the big aquariums at feeding time and you will see how fish suck baits in normally and it is surprising just how far away some species are from the food when they do suck it in.

This is a learned technique and it does deliver the goods lots better than any other techniques of retrieval where you fish with a tight line.

These days I am working on perfecting a related technique for trolling hard bodies........more to come on this development in a yr or so...

Great advise Jack.
not a truer word has been spoken.
I totally agree.

Jason.