Helping the new guys: What do you do differently if you aren't catchin?

[ledhead36]

Go home,return when conditions are right no sense a dead horse. Wasted too much time through the years waiting for them to turn on,

Keep a log and refer to it that's how 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish they are fishermen. Learning spots in an area and what spot produces in certain conditions will make you good. Riding up and down the coast chasing reports ,wastes time,learning and gas because by time you get there its over or hence the slow pick. Scout during the winter it passes the time and can be done with far less gas and time than you wasted during the season. Catching bass is not a CELL PHONE/INTERNET sport it just made allot of people so called bass fisherman. Take away the CELL PHONE/INTERNET and most are clueless. Remember even blind squirrels find an egg corn from time to time.

Great advice. I can also say that if you are fishing and think the fish may be there try some other technique or something like that. This goes for both bait and lure fishing.

[J Barbosa]

Fished the Raritan in Monmouth County last night from 8pm-11pm. Had hits throughout the night, but was only able to hook up once. Fish was caught at 8:50pm and was a low - mid 20's fish. Caught on a clam with a fish finder rig and bait runner reel. Tried different sized hooks to see if that would increase the hook ups. They seemed to be picking the clam off the hook...

I strongly believe you have bunker bumping into your line; we have experienced it heavily this week.

The other day we barely had to snag any bunker they were so thick they would snag themselves swimming into our lines.
Attachment 18178

An easy solution is to switch to a true circle hook on a fish finder rig and then enable your bait runner feature. Look for a circle hook with an inline point often sold with the designation "tournament legal" on the package. Size 8/0 - 10/0 depending on brand.
Attachment 18179Attachment 18180

A bunker bumping into your line will make your tip move erratically and pull a tiny amount of line. A bass (even small ones) will typically pull line from the reel at a steadier rate. Once this happens disable the bait runner feature and reel tight. Once the line is taught for a few seconds and the fish is hooked I give a little tug to solidify the hookup and ensure that the barb penetrated the fishes lip.

I typically fish this setup with a 4oz sinker and 12-16" of leader from the fish finder slide in the back bay. In the surf I use around 36" of line and disable the baitrunner feature unless the surf is calm and the baitrunner can then be used.

I have a high hookup ratio and the fish are almost always lip hooked.

I stay away from the Gamakatsu 8/0 circle hooks everyone uses. They are garbage and will cause you to loose big fish and gut hook fish.

The points dulls after the first fish, the point has a large offset so many times it gets caught in the fishes mouth/gut rather than the lip.

This is a problem on big fish as the mouth is rock hard and the offset point never gets a chance to fully penetrate. You will be reeling the fish in and suddenly feel the line slip. This is either because the hook point popped free or broke. If you are lucky it catches the fishes lip like it was suppose to do the first time but usually you just stand there cursing

[cowherder]

Jbarbosa that was a great post thanks very much for sharing that info. dark just a suggestion but when you have a post like his it might be a good idea to put it somewhere else. Like a "best of" or something like that. This guy really seems to know his stuff and it's nice that hes so helpful instead of reporting "yeah I crushed them last night" which tells you nothing but the dudes need to beat his chest. Thank you to all the helpful guys on here.
I fished last night and it was frustrating. First I went to a well known spot and the police had the lot blocked off. They weren't letting anyone fish. When I asked them why they said someone lit a fire too close to the parking lot and the neighbors complained. Looks like we are going to lose another spot to the idiots!!!!!
I went to another bay area and only had a half hour before I had to go home. One missed hit (yes I was holding my rod ledhead ) and that was it for me. The fishermen out there are getting worse and worse and I think it's time someone does something about it. We should post their pics!

[buckethead]

Took another try in the ocean. Picked up another 7 bass tonight before dark. Outgoing tide moco, small plugs and rubber. All sub-legal but hitting aggressively. JB that is a very comprehensive post. it's good to have someone besides us old folks help out the new guys here.

[great_white_hunter]

J Barbosa thanks for the tip. I thought I had heard that shops weren't able to sell bunker this year. I didn't even ask for it. I did have a weighted treble with me, but being night wasn't able to see and didn't know bunker were in so thick. I have a feeling you may be right about the bunker hitting the line....the tip would bounce similar to how it would bounce when fluke hit when drifting..... I was using the set up you posted. Going to try and give it another shot in the morning. On vacation this week so trying to put as much time in as possible while still completing the "honey do" list. Hope to run in to some of you.

[finchaser]

what JB said

[J Barbosa]

I am glad to help when I can.

My choice of circle hooks is a 9/0 Owner SSW Circle hook (the one pictured above).

They aren't cheap at almost $1/each when buying in bulk but I have found my overall cost to be less than when I used the Gamikatsu circle hooks.

The reason being the point on the Owner will stay sharp much longer than the Gami and I don't have to replace my hook as often.

Anyway I rarely loose hooks so cost is the least of my concern when fishing. I spend $20 on gas each trip and hours of my life...why not spring an extra 50 cents for the right hook?

Another reason I like the Owner Circle is because there is a large gap between the bend and the hook point which is perfect for hooking bunker (especially the heads which I hook through the back behind the spine).

The owner circle has a much heavier wire than the Gami.

And the most important reason is I saw my hook up ratio greatly increase when I made the switch.

IMO it's not worth buying bunker in a store as it's rarely ever fresh. Snag your own and you can then guarantee it's fresh.

When you have fresh bunker it's very rigid and you only need to barely hook it behind the spine so that the point of the circle hook is always exposed. You can cast as hard as you want that spine in a fresh bunker will never pull out and a bass won't be able to strip your hook clean.

I'll take some pictures next time I go out.

I am a huge Gamikatsu fan just not when it comes to their horrible circle hooks.

Give the Owner circle hook a try and I'm sure you will be happy.

[J Barbosa]

[cowherder]

I am glad to help when I can.

My choice of circle hooks is a 9/0 Owner SSW Circle hook (the one pictured above).
The reason being the point on the Owner will stay sharp much longer than the Gami and I don't have to replace my hook as often.


Another reason I like the Owner Circle is because there is a large gap between the bend and the hook point which is perfect for hooking bunker (especially the heads which I hook through the back behind the spine).

The owner circle has a much heavier wire than the Gami.

And the most important reason is I saw my hook up ratio greatly increase when I made the switch.


I'll take some pictures next time I go out.
Give the Owner circle hook a try and I'm sure you will be happy.

They look pretty strong. Owner hooks? Do you prefer the offset or the inline ones? Thanks for posting.

[J Barbosa]

They look pretty strong. Owner hooks? Do you prefer the offset or the inline ones? Thanks for posting.

Sorry, the ones posted above are not Owner hooks.

I just wanted to post examples of what inline and offset hooks look like.

If you are fishing circle hooks...inline is the only way to go.

They flat out work when you pick the right size and shape for the species you are targeting.

There is a reason most commercial long liners use them...in their care its not for the high survival rates.

[cowherder]

Thank you!

[DarkSkies]

Might be time to take a look at this thread again. If you folks have anything to add feel free.