If you don’t know how to set a hook, you’re going to have a hard time catching fish. It’s not the easiest skill to learn because the technique changes depending on what type of hook you’re trying to set. Treble hooks must be set very differently than those on a top water frog, for example. This article will teach you how to stick your fish with confidence to increase your hook up percentage and fun out on the water.
What Does “Setting the Hook” Mean?
Setting the hook means driving it into the fish’s mouth so it can’t be easily dislodged and thrown. Typically, this involves a quick movement of the rod away from the fish, bringing the line tight and the hook to bear in the fish’s mouth. Setting a hook is sometimes referred to as a “hookset,” and you will often hear anglers refer to the need to secure a solid one. If the hookset is not done correctly, it is very likely that a fish will escape.
Are Some Fish More Difficult to Hook Than Others?
In a word, yes. Certain species are notorious for being difficult to hook. This usually is because their mouth is either very soft, or very bony and hard. For example, in Alaska, Chum Salmon are known for having soft mouths. It can be very difficult to keep a hook set into them, because you can easily tear the hook right through their mouth if you use too much force. In contrast, fish like northern pike and bowfin can sometimes be difficult to hook because they have so many hard teeth and plates in their mouth that you need to get past.
How Do You Know When to Set the Hook?
Knowing when to set the hook can be challenging because there are many factors that can come into play. Typically, however, when fishing with artificial lures, you’re going to want to set the hook as soon as you feel the fish bite. A fish is unlikely to hold onto an artificial lure for very long, and will reject it as “not food” if you don’t act fast. On the other hand, some northern pike anglers fishing with live or dead bait recommend waiting an extended period of time before setting the hook. This is because you need to give the fish a chance to move the bait into their mouth where you can snag them.
What are Some Signs that a Fish is Biting?
If you’re holding your rod and have enough tension on the line, you’ll be able to detect a bite simply by the tug. If you want to know approximately what a fish bite feels like, taking one hand and extend it outward, palm up. Now, take a finger from your other hand and start tapping into your palm rapidly. When you feel your rod doing that, you’ll know a fish is on.
This only works if you have a good rod, or if your line taut enough to feel the vibrations. If you have a lot of slack in your line, you’re going to need to watch it for movement. The surest sign of a fish bite is that your line will start doing something very unnatural, such as moving to the side. When you see this, it’s time to set the hook!
How Can You Make Sure You Don’t Miss Your Chance?
If you want to set the hook into a fish, you need to actually be there to do it. Remember how I hate bobbers? Well here’s another reason why! It sounds simple, and it really is, but if you’re going to get a good hookset, you actually need to hold your rod. Not only will this help you detect bites and set the hook better, but it will spare the lives of fish who otherwise might swallow the hook. While it is possible to remove a swallowed hook, better to avoid that in the first place!
Setting the Hook with a J Hook
A J-style hook is one of the more common ones that fishermen use. You’ll find it on spinnerbaits, jigs, and drop shots. This is one of the easier hooks to set, because you simply need to jam it into the fish’s mouth. You do this by quickly reeling in any slack between you and the fish and giving a good tug on the rod, usually upward, but in any case, away from the fish.
The trick is to determine just how strong that tug should be. To understand this, you need to look at your hook. If you set the hook too hard with a thin wire hook, there’s a good chance you will rip it right out of the fish’s mouth. On the other hand, if your hookset is too weak with a thick hook, it might not penetrate deep enough to snag the fish.
How to Get a Good Hookset with Treble Hooks
Most lures that feature treble hooks require a slightly different hookset. To set a treble hook, you don’t want to pull the rod up with great force as you would with a thicker J-style hook. Instead, you want to use a technique known as the “sweep set.” Most lures that have treble hooks, such as crank baits and jerkbaits, see you working them back to the boat with your rod down low. When a fish bites, don’t raise it rapidly. Instead, move it quickly off to your side and behind you in one smooth sweep.
This is important to do because treble hooks tend to be very thin, and if you use too much force while you’re trying to set a treble hook, you will very likely pull it straight out of the fish’s mouth. Even with the sweep set, it can be a near run thing when trying to land fish on a crankbait. This can be hard to believe when you consider just how “sticky” these lures are in your tackle box, but fish tend to throw these pretty well.
How to Set the Hook with a Top Water Lure
Top water lures come in a few varieties, but most of them either have very solid J Hooks (such as with a buzzbait), or very flimsy treble hooks (such as with a Rebel Pop-R). Really, the advice for both the J hook and the treble hooks found above applies to top water lures too. The only difference is you need to wait a half second before you try and set it, or else you’ll likely pull it from the fish’s mouth. This is easier said than done when the fish busts out of the water after your lure, however!
How to Set the Hook With Frogs
One caveat to the above would be with frogs. It is very hard to set the hook with top water frogs. There is just so much going against you. You’re typically fishing them in very heavy cover, and the fish don’t always get the best look at them. Additionally, their hooks are quite obscured by the lure itself to make them weedless. The fish needs to get a good chomp on the lure before the hooks will be exposed, and you need to contain your excitement long enough for this to happen. Then, when you set the hook, you need to drive not one, but typically two of the thickest J hooks imaginable into the top of the fish’s mouth, which is usually the hardest part.
It should come as no surprise that it is difficult to set the hook with frogs! There are a few things you can do to increase your hookup percentage. First and foremost, bring the right gear. You should have a heavy rod, and at least 50lb braided line. A baitcasting reel with the drag set down *tight* is also important. Lastly, have the patience to wait for the fish to actually grab the lure. Even with all this, many pros struggle with this lure and there are relatively few specialists.
Do You Set the Hook with Circle Hooks?
You don’t set the hook with circle hooks in the traditional manner. They are instead designed to simply be reeled in. They then will naturally catch on the corner of the fish’s mouth as it swims away from you. If you try to set the hook normally with a circle hook, you’ll likely pull it out of the fish’s mouth.
Circle hooks are actually better for the fish for this reason. You are very unlikely to gut hook a fish with a circle hook. Their design does tend to work exactly as advertised. For this reason, they make a great choice when fishing with live bait. Nothing ruins a fishing trip quite like killing a fish you didn’t intend to eat.
Are There Any Hooks That Are Easier to Set?
Yes, sharp ones. OK, I kid, but not really. Sharper hooks are going to have a much easier time penetrating a fish’s mouth than dull ones. This often means that the hooks that cost a premium are going to do better than the ones that don’t. I wont’ claim to have tried every sharp hook in the world, but I did get a great deal on some Trokar hooks a few years ago. These are surgically sharpened hooks that do cost more than most, but also give me confidence when I need it.
I know that some of the tournament guys out there will use duller hooks on practice days when they want to shake fish off, and swap out to Trokars or the like when money is on the line. If you haven’t tried these hooks out yet, pick up a box today. Here’s a link to the ones I like to use for drop shots. Go ahead and check them out.
What Hook File Should You Buy?
There’s many different hook files on the market, including some electronic ones that claim to save you time, however I prefer a simple one such as the Luhr-Jensen Original Hook File. I don’t have much confidence in the electronic or automatic ones and think I can do a better job than the machine. Also, with one of these tried and true sharpeners, on-the-water tune ups are much easier. I recommend that you pick one up. It’s very inexpensive (it makes a great stocking stuffer) and could easily pay for itself in a fishing tournament. You can purchase it at Amazon by clicking on the link above. Honestly, it’s so handy that it’s one of those tools I buy several of and keep in different places.
Other Tips for Getting a Better Hookset
In addition to the above, keep the following in mind while setting your hook:
- When in doubt, set the hook. If you aren’t sure that a fish bit, just remember the old saying that “hooksets are free” and swing away. The worst that will happen is you look a little foolish, but better safe than sorry!
- Make sure your drag is set appropriately. It is very difficult to set a hook with a drag that is set too loose. While you want it to give a little, it shouldn’t immediately pull line.
- Use the proper rod for the hook. An ultralight rod isn’t going to work very well for setting the hook with a top water frog. Likewise, a heavy rod could easily pull a treble hook out. Match your tackle to your rod for better results.
- Relax and have fun with it, especially if you’re fishing top water. If you’re too tense, you’ll pull the hook out of the fish’s mouth for sure.
In Summary
While setting the hook properly is a skill that takes time to learn, it is certainly within your grasp. Just remember that you aren’t going to catch every fish that bites, and that is OK. If you caught every one you encountered, this sport would get boring quick (if you don’t believe me, go find a school of small sunfish and tell me how long you can stand fishing for them). Nonetheless, the tips above should help you increase your hook up percentage and enjoy this sport.
I hope you found this article helpful. If you did, please consider posting it on social media and sharing with your friends as it would really help me out. I’d also appreciate it if you’d consider purchasing my book as a gift for any new parents in your circle of friends. The book is called Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide and would make a very unique gift at a fishing baby shower.
Have a great day for fishing,
John Paxton
