Hi! all. I lost 2fish both well over 10lbs. in past 3weeks! I sight fished both and got bit,set hook(MBR844,14lbs)for 3times,fish dives,jump,both times hook came off with jump.I'm using 2/0 jigheaded gamakatsu.and I set hook really hard.when fish trys to jump I dip my tip in water,what else can I do? I was thinking awitching to flipping stik with 20lbs.and hold it up when they jump.any idea? thanks!in advance

I lost a bunch of big ones this year too, 4 over 10 including one that was around 13. It hurts! Three of them got off on the jump. There are two keys. One is to use heavy gear. 20lb test on a flipping stick for conventional, or if you are using spinning, use 14 to 20lb test with an oversize reel. The other is to texas rig your bait and don't peg the sinker. If you can stick the fish on a 5/0 round bend gammie worm hook with a texas rig, your odds go way way up of landing the fish. With sight fish, you can usually find something on a texas rig that the fish will bite. So use your regular stuff, and then when you think the fish is going to bite, switch to texas rig.

What weight jighead are you using? The problem with using the exposed jigheads like that is that the fish can get leverage on the bait with that big leadhead. A fish that big has alot of power when it shakes its head, and it gets those heavier heads swinging side to side. This makes it real easy for that hook to come out of their mouths.

Try using a texas rigged bait like a brushawg or grub or something like that. That way when the fish jumps, the sinker will come up the line and the fish will not be able to get any leverage on that bait when it shakes its head.

Just my 2 cents
hope it helps

Cam

I used 1/2and 3/4 heads.too heavy?

yes and no :)

I know Rob can back me on this one, but there are times when they wont hit a thing unless its swimming up to their bed. This is a perfect application for the jigheads, but you can use the Texas rig just as effectively. I would bet 10 to 1 that the reason those fish got off was the jighead.

I know the swimmy swimbait usually seems like the best approach, but I am convinced that doing it with a texas rigged setup is a better mouse trap for sure.......

Thers still a few bed fish out there, like Rob Said, get them fired up with the jighead and whatever bait you aree useing on it. When that fish is ready to go and starts nipping at the jighead, switch up to a texas rig and whack em!!!!

I wish I could hook a 10lb sight fish:):)

Cam

Generally too heavy than they need to be, unless you're fishing some real deep beds or you wanna whack the fish real good. Like the other fellas said, the heavier the jig, the better chance the fish has of throwing it out of it's face. However, I will tell you that I've had excellent success with the Lure Logic jigs as far not losing fish goes. They've got a real light wire gammie hook that penetrates really well. I really like sight fishing with the heaviest, fastest falling jig possible, but as you've discovered you lose a lot of fish with heavy jigs like that. I don't think I've lost a single sight fish on the 3/4oz lure logic. But I don't think you can do any better than texas rig for landing fish. You're obviously getting them to bite with the jig you're using, so I'd say stay with that until the fish is all riled up and about to bite, then switch to a texas rig.
-Brian

Yeah, I get nervous about hooking them on the swimbait sometimes, but the way I sight fish with that bait, and on certain fish, it really needs to have the leadhead on it to give it some movement through the water. Especially if the fish is deep, or off the bed, or any other number of instances. I do try to get em on texas rig whenever possible, but the weird thing is that on the fish which I was forced to use the leadheaded swimbait I haven't lost one. I've only lost the ones where I should've been using texas rig, but didn't... Kind of weird, I'm sure my streak will come crashing down... x(
-Brian

Definitely. I lost all 4 of those fish on 3/4 and 1/2oz heads. 1/4oz isn't bad, but like Cammy said, those big bass get so much leverage when they jump, and the idea of sticking your rod in the water all of a sudden looks pretty dumb when you have your rod 6' under water and the fish still jumps 2' straight up. A broomstick with 100lb couldn't stop a big bass from jumping if it's far enough away from you :) Stopping 5 and 6lbers is do-able. Stopping 10+ fish isn't. There's a big element to landing big bass which is simply "hold on and pray". That's what gives me the shakes!!!

I completely concur with all of the responses! These guys KNOW!

My only thought that I would bring to the topic with regards to Texas rigging is to be careful with EWG hooks. Some guys swear by them, and that is FINE! I won't even go there, It is just my personal preference to stay away from them. Go nuts if you like em'!

I'm with Swimbait on the Round Bend Gammies (5/0) I use this hook when throwing 5-inch Senko's and my hook up ratio/catch went way up!
Spool up heavy (20lb) and "Fork-Lift" Em'.

I think any decent fish, especially a big one, will thrash around and tear a big hole in there lip with an EWG. This has happened to me more times than I can count, and just when it feels like you "Stuck-Em' Good!... They break water and your EWG comes flying back at you @ 100 miles per hour.

To quote Swimbait on EWG Jigs. "I have a drawer full of them that I will sell you cheap!"

I also LOVE the Sugoi Hook by GYCB. In Fact, that is primarily what I fish with. I just got some 5/0's and MAN! THOSE SUCKER'S ARE SHARP!
The G-lock is also an excellent hook, but does have a pretty wide gap.
Owner's are also fantastic, and I use a variety of those as well.

The Sugoi Hook is made special for Yamamoto by Gamakatsu. I'm confident that if you T-rig with THAT hook, you'll land those "Farley's"!! BWW carries some of them, or you can order on line.

Best of Luck, and God Bless all of you for your knowledge.


Late!


"ROD"

Ha ha,you are right!swim,what was I thinkin' dipin' tip w/10's! I should've learned that when I lost first one! Thanks again! so,I should keep my tip up when they jump?

>A broomstick with 100lb couldn't stop a big bass from jumping if it's far enough away from you

They don't gotta be that far away ;( Remember that one I lost at dixon? This fish was probably right at 10lbs, maybe 9, she's about 15ft away from the boat on a bed. I hook her and she starts a slow kick straight up. 20lb P-Line and a flippin stick in the water up to the handle couldn't stop her from jumping. She stayed on the first time, but did the same exact thing again and got off that time. That was when I switched to lure logic jigs for sight fishing... Aw man, that gave me some bad flashbacks. New topic, new topic! :o
-Brian