When do you set the hook?

[spooled]

When I'm using a jig I set the hook immediately at the strike. I have a buddy who will give it a few seconds then set. He does'nt seem to be miss that many fish. He uses a 1/4 oz jig.
When using a live bait rig I will let some line out after I get bite and then set the hook. Varying the time interval depending on the fish.
What I'd like to know is when using a 3 way rig or bottom bouncer where the weight is in a fixed position when do you give em' the goods? Right away or give it some time. Dose it matter if you are using a spinner rig vs. a plain hook? How about fishing in deeper water versus shallower?

[Stizostedion vitreum]

i guess in my experience, when i use a jig, if they are biting light i use a stinger hook with fireline.
it depends on what you are using for bait too. if you are using chubs, then i have let them take it for 30sec.+ on a lindy rig. if you are using a minnow with a spinner rig, chances are you will be moving faster and that allows the fish to hit more agggresively.
when i use a lindy rig, i always use a slip weight rig. this allows the fish to take the bait with minimum resistance.
there are 3 steps i do to set the hook: 1. when you feel the bite, open your bail. 2. give enough time depending on what you are using for bait. 3. reel up and set the hook.
hope this helps,
ryan

[stewart]

If you are releasing some of your fish feeding them line on a lindy rig can be tricky. Some get the hook pretty deep that way. I usually just drop the rod back then sweep it forward.

[eye1]

With bouncers or 3-ways I use a slight drop of the rod tip and then sweep set em . When lindy rigging I always use a slip sinker of some sort .With crawlers ,bigger minnows or really huge leeches , the kind that seem to stetch to 8-9" or so , I'll feed them a little bit of line ,reel down until theres a slight pressure and set the hook. In almost all cases ,except as above there is no line feeding with a leech , as relatively small and neutral bouyant as a leech is ,that fish has it instantly. With jigging its almost situational ,if after missing a few when setting either quickly or letting them have it a second I'll adjust the other way until it starts working.Generally though when you feel a bite, a very slight hesitation , a second maybe, and then set the hook. Right or wrong that's how I go about it most of the time.

[The Big Guy]

Just thought I would add my two cents to the pile. You talked about two distinctly different senarios. When jig fishing I have always been taught to set the hook upon feeling the bite regardless of how much the jig weighs. Your line should be taught to feel the bite or nibble and an immediate hook set is optimal unless you really like to probe a walleye's gullet to remove the hook. To improve the hooking on really lite bite, stinger hooks are the ticket.

Now when you're talking pulling spinners tipped with crawlers, minnows, or whatever you have to remember a few essentials. To make your spinner work properly you have to be moving. With a 2 1/4 Oz. bell sinker you are moving the proper speed to get your bait to work right when the line enters the water at a 45 degree angle (doesn't matter if you are back trolling or using the electric)! The only time this formula should vary is in the late summer or fall when you speed up, but the key here is speed. You are moving and the fish, when it finally takes the bait, will "catch itself" on your rig. You really don't have to set the hook at all, just merely reel it in and be prepared to free spool if its a big one.

When I'm three-waying, my rod is almost always in a holder, purposely avoiding dampening the action of my bait created by hand holding the rod. The fish we lose are generally hand held, and the rig is literally pulled from the fish's mouth by a premature set. Everyone wants to hand hold their rod, and admittedly you catch fish this way also, but the rod holder always seems to outcatch the human. Its great fun on a good bite to fill the boat with kids and hang out about four rods using this method. You will get smiles and hoots all day long.

Sorry, guess this was more than two cents!
The Big Guy

[Tom]

all great replys, i,ll add just that after you do it enough that theres a certain instinct that you,ll develope that will tell you when.





Tom
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[Spurdog]

Live bait is not legal here (WA, but we do use crawlers) so it seems like a quick hook set works best most of the time (jig with a curlytail grub, cranks). But it truely is situational--I usually do best by being hyperattentive and quick to set with a hand held rig. Sometimes I've been the only guy out of three to catch anything. But a couple of days I have put my rod in the holder to grab a sandwich or something and hook fish that I have been missing all day with my quick react method. Once the guy who touched his rod the least caught the most fish. You just have to experiment.

[River_eye]

For jig fishing, you set the hook when your chances are greatest that you'll catch the fish. No, really that's how you do it.

If I told you to set it as soon as you feel the bite, you aren't going to get all your fish, same thing if I tell you to wait for a few seconds, then set it.

I've done a lot, and I mean a lot of jig fishing, and I find that you will get into different scenerios, where you have to fish differently. I've gotten into some schools that would pick at your bait like perch, but I'd never be able to set the hook. I ended up switching to a smaller jig, then just letting them take it, and that's how I caught them, no hook set whatsoever, just because I was losing them whenever I tried to do it.

I do find, however, that the harder the bite, the sooner you can set the hook, somtimes they set it for you. If they're biting really light, you may have to give them a few cracks at it.

I use fireline, so minimal hooksets are needed. Most of the time, all you have to do is give your wrist a slight, sharp jerk, just like you were opening a beer bottle. The more jig fishing you do, the less rules you will go by, and start catching them one after another without even thinking.