WHY YOU LOSE FISH
DON ’ T CUT THEM ANY SLACK
The first thing that Major League Fishing pro Jared Lintner points to is giving the fish too much slack .
" I see it all the time , and when I was teaching my kids to fish , that was the first thing that I taught them ," he says . " People often pump the rod , and that throws slack into the line and a huge percentage of the time , those fish will come unhooked ."
SLOW IS SMOOTH , SMOOTH IS FAST
Another thing Lintner advises against is getting in a hurry when fighting a fish .
" I catch myself doing this as well ,” he admits . “ We all tend to get in a hurry and try to force the fish in instead of taking your time to get them to the boat .”
This is especially important when using lures with treble hooks .
" You have to trust all of your equipment and let your rods , line , and hooks do their job ,” Lintner adds . “ Your odds of landing a fish go way up with treble-hooked baits if you simply let them tire out .”
THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB
Technique-specific rods are the norm for tournament pros – and for good reason . The right rod can significantly help you fish a lure effectively and also help with landing fish .
" You won ' t be as effective using the same rod for a football jig that you do with a crankbait ,” Lintner says . “ Crankbait rods are a good example of needing the right rod for the job ; it ’ s like using the correct tool in your tool belt .
“ A fiberglass or graphite composite rod will make it easier to fish crankbaits , but you ’ ll also lose less fish because of how the rod loads ."
RODS
Like Lintner , Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit anglers Brad Knight and James Niggemeyer believe picking the right rod is an essential way to reduce the number of fish you ultimately lose .
" I see people using too limber of a rod , and that directly impacts hooking a fish and getting the barb of the hook into their mouth ,” Knight says . “ It ’ s like a treble hook point poking your finger and it comes right out , but if it goes past the barb , it ’ s going to be much harder to get out .”
In general , Knight says if you ’ re having issues with missed fish , go up a power on your rod .
" I ’ m not saying to use a stiff telephone pole rod , but it needs to be stiff enough to penetrate the hook ,” he adds . “ On the other hand , you still want enough bend in the rod to fish a lure the right way , especially with baits with treble hooks .
Niggemeyer says it ’ s often a case of mismatched gear that leads to fish getting away .
" If your gear isn ’ t matched , it ’ s harder to land fish ,” he explains . “ That could be using a heavy gauge hook with a lighter line that causes your setup to be out of balance or you just become ' outgunned ' and are using too light of equipment around heavy cover and can ' t pull the fish out and away from getting hung up fast enough ."
HOOKS
Knight describes himself as a " technical freak " and has a system that he uses to select the correct line , rod , reel and hooks , down to a specific bait type . He believes using the right treble hook is essential for crankbaits and will adjust them based on the bait to help negate lost fish .
" I throw a lot of handmade balsa baits and fish them on a spinning rod ,” he says . “ A light-wire hook is critical because you don ’ t get the same hooking power with a spinning rod that you do with baitcast gear .”
He ' s found a medium-gauge treble hook for squarebill crankbaits to be the best balance between bait action and hooking power . For deeper divers , he prefers a treble with a wider gap .
" For Strike King 6XD crankbaits and bigger , I like the extra-wide-gapstyle trebles because fish get hooked and stay hooked ," he adds .
KNOTS
There are countless ways to connect a lure or hook to your line , and Knight has narrowed it down to just one that works best for him for fluorocarbon line .
" I ' ve seen too many fish lost during the hookset with a Palomar ( knot ) with fluorocarbon lines and now tie the double San Diego jam knot ,” Knight explains . “ It doesn ' t break on hard hooksets like the Palomar can .”
48 FLWFISHING . COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020