Early pike problems, a swing and a miss

[jkarol24]

I went out fishing off the bridge at my fav hotspot and hooked into a few nice Pike and got tons more hits. The only problem was that i was using a 5.5 inch shadalicious swimbait with a 7/0 eagle claw weighted swimbait hook and was having an impossible time getting hookups. Witghout exagerations, i had over 20 hits in 2 hours but i only got a good hookset in 1 and even that one spit the hook after thrashing at the surface I tried rigging with a jig head for a better hookset but it didnt have the same action at slow speeds. I tried everything, from realy yankin back to lettin the pike take it for a few secs. but every time i swung, i missed The pike were taking the lure, in fact crushing it and putting lots of holes in the plastic but somehow not finding the hook that was just laying on top of the lure. Any advice???

[Yankee Troller]

Your rod may have been too light to really drive the hook home. Swimbait rods are typically a H action rod in the 7-8' range.

[jkarol24]

Nope, im using a 7 ft medium heavy rod. Should i use my rod with power pro braid on it instead of mono?

[Yankee Troller]

That might help a little. MH is still light to drive a 7/0 hook home through a 6" plastic bait.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[BlueEye]

jkarol24,

I use 80/100 lb braid with an 80lb floro leader when fishing for muskies and have never had a problem getting a good hookset. I think your issue has a lot to do with the mono line and not being able to really drive the hook home into the boney month of a pike due the stretch factor. Consider rigging a rod up with braid and seeing if that doesn't help drive home the point better for ya

Chad

[Has Been]

Is your hook sharp? A 7/0 hook is a big hook to drive in the bone of a fish mouth . The Power pro should help a lot. Try to hook a stinger hook such as a size one or 1/0 treble onto the bend of the 7/0 hook before you hook it back thru. Is the hook point exposed a liitle and not buried in the bait? . If it's not weedy I'll bet the treble will up your landing percentage a lot. Invest in a file or Diamond hone (Walmart 6 bucks) to sharpen your hooks. Its the most overlooked reason for fish loss IMO.

[Gill-T]

Underwater footage of Pike strikes shows that they often grab a large bait across the middle and quickly switch the bait to go down head first. If you were using a buried/weedless single, the hook would end up outside the mouth or head-first. When you strike with the bait head-first, the lure will probably slide right out without the hook engaging. I have seen these type baits rigged with a stinger treble, rigged on top of the bait with the eye of the treble over the shank of the large single. That rigging might just do the trick.

[Mick]

jkarol24 The pike fishing sounds cool, but just a little heads up that the season ended March 15th. In the regs it looks like Largies, and smallies are the only fish that we are allowed to fish , catch and release for out of season. The last thing we want to see is you getting into any trouble for doing what we all love. Both the statewide , and great lakes regs say 1st Saturday in May , which is May 1st this year then we can go and chase em again. I just don't want to see you getting in any trouble. We need more younger anglers like yourself. I am trying to raise my children in the same way. Just trying to help out a little. - Mick

[jkarol24]

Hey thanks guys il try the treble and the power pro. Should i still keep a short mono or fluro leader or steel leader on the 30 lb braid?. Btw, is it still illegal to pike fish if im not keeping? To be honest, ive never heard of this

[rod hog]

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Edited April 5, 2014 by rod hog

[mostlymuskies]

You can not target fish that are out of season in NY State! If when fishing for other fish that are in season and you catch a fish that is not in season the fish is not to be removed from the water and is to be released imeadiatly without removing the fish from the water. Catching more of the same fish that is out of season from the same place means your targeting that species and that is going to get you in trouble.Seasons are there so that the fish species can spawn uninterupted!

Capt. Larry D. Jones

http://www.mostlymuskies.com

[MeatHunter737]

You can not target fish that are out of season in NY State! If when fishing for other fish that are in season and you catch a fish that is not in season the fish is not to be removed from the water and is to be released imeadiatly without removing the fish from the water. Catching more of the same fish that is out of season from the same place means your targeting that species and that is going to get you in trouble.Seasons are there so that the fish species can spawn uninterupted!

Capt. Larry D. Jones

http://www.mostlymuskies.com

with the exception being Bass, ...pull them green carp off their beds so the eggs can be eaten...

[jkarol24]

Ok guys thanks

[Has Been]

Walmart has steel leaders I like . 18lb 9" w ball bearings for pike. . I would tie direct to braid . If you use mono 15 would be my minumum. If you use the stingr ,my guess is you won't need the braid. This will get you set for when the season starts. The braid is pretty hard to cut thru so you might get away with tying it direct. Use a palomar or trilene knot. Braid has a tendency to slip.

[jkarol24]

thanks, il try that ive been tying 30 lb steel leader to 17 lb mono but il try the braid once the season starts