# Could use some help...



## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Alright...I spent a little time fly fishing for bass last night, and once again I had several strikes, but failed to get a good hookset on most of them. Four to five times I had fish on the end of the line, thrashing on the surface, rod tip bent, attempting to strip them in and they just came un-stuck.  I just feel like I don't have the right mechanics for the fly rod hookset. If I could figure out what I'm doing wrong, I think I could be a whole lot more successful.

Anyone want to offer up some advice? I'd like to know exactly how it's supposed to be done. Am I stripping hard when I feel a strike? Do I snap the rod back hard? Both? Neither? Maybe something more gentle in the "hook themselves" category? 

Thanks in advance for any pointers.


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## aaronshore (Aug 24, 2007)

Two suggestions from me....

#1. If you are catching bass I would use a strip set like you would for a redfish. No need to yank the pole back like a neanderthal as you are not a professional bass fisherman on tv. Flyfishing is sexy and should be treated with finesse.

#2. Check the hook gap on your flies you are using. One time in the glades I was having a problem hooking up on snook and I figured out it was the fly I was using. Not enough gap between the hook point and the fly body.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> #1. If you are catching bass I would use a strip set like you would for a redfish. No need to yank the pole back like a neanderthal as you are not a professional bass fisherman on tv.


Ok, that's more or less what I'm doing. Rod tip close to the water, pointed in the direction of the line. On a strike, I strip moderately hard and then draw the rod tip back.



> Flyfishing is sexy and should be treated with finesse.


Obviously, you haven't seen me do it. ;D :-[



> #2. Check the hook gap on your flies you are using. One time in the glades I was having a problem hooking up on snook and I figured out it was the fly I was using. Not enough gap between the hook point and the fly body.


This could be the issue. Someone else suggested tying with circle hooks. I'll have to experiment a bit.

Thanks Aaron!


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Found this to be a useful demonstration...
http://fishbuzz.tv/?channel=flytips&videofile=fishbuzz/flyfishing/setting


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## the_shadow (Jul 24, 2008)

strip strike!!!!!

never lift the rod tip!!!!!!!

strip strike hard.... let the fish pull a little line... then lift rod tip to start the fight.... line always tight...

boy is it easyer to say than do 

good luck


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Based on some of your feedback, I went searching for a circle hook that had a similar shank length to the Mustad j-hooks I've been using. I found something close to what I needed in the Lazer Sharp 2/0 L197G.

On the left is a Mylar Minnow tied on the new hook, with the standard hook on the right.









Although my time's going to be limited over the next week, I will attempt to experiment and see if my strike to hook-up ratio improves.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I'm not much of a fan of circle hooks for flies.... Looking at the fly on the Mustad "J-hook" I think I see part of your problem... Those hooks are a bit heavy for bass. Go to your local fly shop and ask about stinger hooks, I believe that both Mustad and Eagle Claw make them.... They're bronzed, fairly light wire, and have a fairly large gap for the given size. They're popular for tying bass bugs in freshwater areas and will stick any bass just right. Remember, though, they're light wire so getting in a serious tug of war won't work very well. They'll sure stick a bass, though. Good luck.


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

With a fly rod, mostly because of the light whippy tip you need to keep a few inches of the rod tip submerged, pointed at the fly with no slack in the line and strip strike when you feel the tug or weight of the fish. Having the rod tip submerged adds a little more resistance to the whole hook setting operation. Once the hook is set you can lift the rod and make a few firm upward tugs for additional insurance, but that is generally left for bony mouthed creatures like tarpon. Most of the soft tissue mouthed fish shouldn't need that step if you did the strip strike properly and your hooks are sharp. 

Permit and bonefish are about the only fish I can think of that might blow the fly back out before you can set the hook if they detect something is amuck before you feel anything. However, most missed hooked sets are from striking too soon or with too much slack in the line.

For obvious reasons bass and snook tend to be easier to hook with a larger gap hook. But but both of them usually strike like the lure is the last bait they'll ever see. So as long as you strike properly you should hook more than not, landing them of course is another story. 

I've had great success with circle hooks on small snook too, so I suspect your creation above would work well too. 

I sorta crossed posted with Bob, but I agree with him on the light wire hooks too. Much easier to penetrate and with the relatively light leaders in fly fishing you don't need really strong hooks anyway.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I like the look of the circle hook fly.
The question is how will it work?
Sounds like an excuse to go fishing...

Gonna need pics and a review HaMm3r...asap


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Thanks for the replies, guys!  I'm still inclined to think it's more user error than anything else, as I've had higher than expected missed strikes with other species besides bass. It's not just with this pattern either. Even with store bought flies, I feel like I miss more than I should. The bottom line is I'm really not a very good fly angler. :



> Those hooks are a bit heavy for bass. Go to your local fly shop and ask about stinger hooks.


I will definitely check into these, thanks.  If a hook change could help compensate for a hook-setting technique problem, then I'm all for it. It may be that I need to use different hooks for the same pattern, depending on whether it's intended for fresh or salt species.



> With a fly rod, mostly because of the light whippy tip you need to keep a few inches of the rod tip submerged


Always good advice from you, Eric.  Hadn't ever considered sticking the tip into the water before...at least not on purpose. Worth a try for sure.



> I like the look of the circle hook fly.
> The question is how will it work?


Yeah Brett, that's the question. The hook is heavier with a larger eye. Could change its characteristics quite a bit. Might take some tweaking before it performs right. :-/


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

Jeff, you can test the effects of keeping the tip in the water easily enough. Also it effects the action on the fly too. You can see this when stripping the fly slowly with the tip up out of the water. Hold the rod at a slight right angle to the fly and when you start your strip you will see the rod tip move toward the fly before the fly actually moves. This is because the drag from the fly and line in the water is greater than the tip deflection of the rod (assuming you have enough line out, here I'm assuming you have the entire belly or more in the water, ie 30+'). So the tip moves towards the fly before the fly starts to move. 

Having the rod tip sumberged and pointed toward the fly helps offset this effect when either stripping the fly or trying to set the hook.


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## Green_Hornet (Nov 1, 2008)

I am new to the fly fishing too and had a similar problem the first time I was able to fool a fish with a fly. I felt the strike from a little Jack and got so excited I swung the tip up like crazy. I was able to have a little fun and got him up to the leader before he spit it out. That video HaMm3r linked was helpful. Thanks.


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## madsnook (Oct 2, 2008)

Cobia will spit a fly out no problem.


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## roto_77777s_son (Nov 17, 2008)

most of the time they'll pretty much hook themselves if you're stripping in the fly, but you need to keep a tight line when they're on you don't want to have slack in the line, that's how hooks pull. But if you're just drifting a flyand just twitching it, you need to set the hook a little bit just lift upmedium stregth not to hard not to soft.


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