Pulling hooks ...

[Sloth]

Have a bit of a noob question I was hoping I could get the collective wisdom on.

Went for my pre-work docks session this morning. 45 minutes of tea-bagging pylons .....

I've only been breamin' a few months and only have two to my name... nearly doubled that this morning but .... got onto two fish and pulled hooks on both. First at depth so never saw the beastie and the second one I had at the surface for a good 20 seconds before he released himself (I think he knew he was undersize and wanted to save me the bother of getting smelly hands). In reality I was getting things setup for a piccie whilst I was holding the rod in one hand and opted to not land him until I was set ..... other than landing them immediately I reckon I'm either unlucky or more likely made some common mistakes. I'm wondering if any or all of the above have contributed and looking for any tips:


1. Hooks - I've only caught one bream on this lure so I assume the treble is still good... but I have debarbed it ... pretty sure I kept a tight line to the fish but could de-barbing be a factor?

2. Too soft a strike. Both took the micro vibe on the drop, with the line just stopping paying out. I "struck" by closing the bail, and then just a firm raise of the rod by a couple of feet. Both fish felt "on" but the first was only on for 5 seconds or so - is it possible it was just mouthing/holding the lure and I failed to set the hooks vigorously enough?

3. Drag - I only have sample size of four fish but none have pulled drag ... not even a 30cm tipper. Do I have drag too high which is allowing them to pull the hooks ? I've set it using a set of digital scales to 2lb (5lb fc) .... needs a very firm pull by hand to take line ... maybe I should trust feel over scales?

Anything else I'm missing ?

Cheers
Dave

[orbea63]

Originally Posted by Sloth

Have a bit of a noob question I was hoping I could get the collective wisdom on.

Went for my pre-work docks session this morning. 45 minutes of tea-bagging pylons .....

I've only been breamin' a few months and only have two to my name... nearly doubled that this morning but .... got onto two fish and pulled hooks on both. First at depth so never saw the beastie and the second one I had at the surface for a good 20 seconds before he released himself (I think he knew he was undersize and wanted to save me the bother of getting smelly hands). In reality I was getting things setup for a piccie whilst I was holding the rod in one hand and opted to not land him until I was set ..... other than landing them immediately I reckon I'm either unlucky or more likely made some common mistakes. I'm wondering if any or all of the above have contributed and looking for any tips:


1. Hooks - I've only caught one bream on this lure so I assume the treble is still good... but I have debarbed it ... pretty sure I kept a tight line to the fish but could de-barbing be a factor?

2. Too soft a strike. Both took the micro vibe on the drop, with the line just stopping paying out. I "struck" by closing the bail, and then just a firm raise of the rod by a couple of feet. Both fish felt "on" but the first was only on for 5 seconds or so - is it possible it was just mouthing/holding the lure and I failed to set the hooks vigorously enough?

3. Drag - I only have sample size of four fish but none have pulled drag ... not even a 30cm tipper. Do I have drag too high which is allowing them to pull the hooks ? I've set it using a set of digital scales to 2lb (5lb fc) .... needs a very firm pull by hand to take line ... maybe I should trust feel over scales?

Anything else I'm missing ?

Cheers
Dave

Hi Dave,

I am no guru at this, but for what it is worth here are my thoughts;

1) I don't crush the barbs on my hooks, as I have never had issues removing them from a fish without damaging the fish.

2) I CONSTANTLY check my hooks to ensure they are sharp. Bream have incredibly tough mouths and you need to penetrate this. I check my hooks by running them across my thumb nail, if it just slides across the nail, I either give it a quick sharpen or change the hook, if it grabs and digs in....its still sharp.

3) I think you are on the right track with the strike as you dont want to pull the hooks from the fishes mouth, but you need SHARP hooks.

4) Your drag sounds well set to me, I have used both methods, ie using a scale and just by feel. I prefer just by feel as this tends to be a bit softer and then when I hook a fish I have a bit of turning power in store. BUT I then try and remember to reset the drag if I have tightened it.

5) I also add assist hooks to all the vibes I use.

6) I remove the front hooks from all my hard body lures. I am land based and I find I don't get hung up in snags as much if I do this.

Good luck and keep persisting, the more you do it, the more you will catch, the more you will learn

Regards
Stuart

[Breamingwithjoy]

Specifically talking about Docks techniques here so it really isn't that applicable elsewhere. I would suggest that your drag could be lighter and you will have the same if not more success. The hooks on the Microvibe are a thinner gauge than most others and while they have excellent fish hooking ability they can open and sometime break if too much pressure or poor positioning allows the bream to chomp on them. I have some micros with the light gauge on them, some with the heavier st 36's on them and some with decoys on them and they all have their drawbacks.

I know that some guys are big advocates of barbless fishing and if you are releasing anyway then why not. Personally with micros I keep the barbs on. A recent study showed fish do not have the pain receptor system to "suffer" as we would with a barbed hook in their gob. That and after seeing these guys tear their asses open with mussel shells I am sure a little jab in their gob is not an issue.

The thing to remember is that you will lose fish in the dock. Some will even take your lure after dusting you up on a pylon. Just have fun and try a couple of different approaches and you'll find the sweet spot.

[nbdshroom]

Mate, don't make drastic changes based on your results on a grand total of two dropped fish. Dropping fish, especially on small trebles is not all that uncommon especially on tight drags when necessary to prevent being dusted.

[Sloth]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to hold off crushing anymore barbs for now and back off the drag just a touch and see how I go. I expect to lose fish but two back to back had me wondering .... Had a few donuts with no bites at all before today so dropping two on the run was a bit gutting

[Sloth]

I should be happy fish are hitting the lures ....

I was back at the docks this morning with my home-coloured gladiator shiver vibe (sharpies used to colour it like a JU015TL micro - unashamedly ripped the idea off this forum)... Something demolished the back treble... Now have a treble and a W hook...

[Piscateur]

With all those sharp bits, always leaves you wondering howTF do they get off? But the do and more often than we like. For me the worst strike rate from hook up to landing is blading the bottom.

On a recent trip to Tassie I was bored after work and had some fun with some flatties. it was almost a fish a cast, so I crunched down the barbs and it grossly affected the land rate. That's on flatties though, I suggest it will vary from species to species but in this case the land rate severely decreased when I crushed the barbs down.

[nbdshroom]

Originally Posted by Piscateur

With all those sharp bits, always leaves you wondering howTF do they get off? But the do and more often than we like. For me the worst strike rate from hook up to landing is blading the bottom.

On a recent trip to Tassie I was bored after work and had some fun with some flatties. it was almost a fish a cast, so I crunched down the barbs and it grossly affected the land rate. That's on flatties though, I suggest it will vary from species to species but in this case the land rate severely decreased when I crushed the barbs down.

Makes sense, my theory is that every time a flatty is hooked through the top mouth plate, the hooks make a hole, of which the hole is supported by the boney structure and it doesn't collapse around itself and engulf the hook so it falls out.

[Sloth]

The one I lost on the surface was indeed baffling .. it looked like it had inhaled the micro vibe... was well hooked I thought... kept pressure on the rod and then suddenly it wasn't there anymore ... lol ... least it wasn't a thumper

I'm still finding my feet with lure fishing so not surprised I'm dropping a few. Still not entirely sure I know when I have a knock or a bite.... all that I've hooked up to have come from seeing the line stop on the drop.... weird thing is I've had numerous occasions where its stopped and then there is nothing there on the strike. Similarly a few times where I've felt a knock and again nothing there - although admittedly some of them have turned out to be wind knots in the guides lol


Had another bash this morning and over lunch for nothing just to add to the frustration. I also need to try something other than a micro vibe else I'm going to get tunnel vision on lure selection

[tuan]

could have been lightly pinned on the lip mate .. once near the surface with no water to hold the fish up .. a good flick form the fish could free it

don't be disheartened, you are finding fish and hooking up and that's more than 1/2 the battle !

[Piscateur]

Sometimes when it stops and u strike to nothing, its the countless jellyfish that are in there.

[Sloth]

Ahhhh .... Makes sense. Seen a few on the surface but hadn't put two and two together.

[Sloth]

Just to round this off.......

I replaced the debarbed hooks on my micros with Owner ST36 (sz 14) and I backed off my drag so its a "moderate pull" by hand to take line.

I usually don't like fishing lunchtimes at the docks as its usually bright, hot (ex-northern-pom, only been here 10 years - still bake in summer) and I've always caught nothing.... but it coincided today with the top 1/3 of the incoming tide and workmates were power-lunching without me so thought I might as well....

Glad I did ... nothing to brag about really but just pleased not to drop it. Took line which was exciting since it was disappearing at 45 degrees under the dock beneath my feet. It also managed to unhook itself on the brag mat which suggest drag had more to play than barbs ... or it could all be luck



Sad I know but I still get the shakes when I hook into one (actually hope that still happens when I'm 70!) was awesome fun with the drag going and it disappearing underneath the pylons...... makes me think that my other fish ... and this makes me feel dirty ... but ..I ... may have .... skulldragged them

[Piscateur]

There's no fix rule, if the fish was heading into structure I would gently palm and steer it away, coz if it bricks ya then you've lost both fish and lure. All whilst fishing light drag.

[sucker]

brutal terrain calls for brutal tactics, thumb lock spools tight drags yeah just get that fish pointed toward you and keep it coming otherwise its another trip to the tackle shop.