Fishing Equipment Pros, got a question

[BBReezen]

Am I using a rod that is too stiff for a hard hookset? Bass fishing mainly, using artificial worms “Texas rigged”

Back story, over the years of me fishing, I have developed a preference for a heavy action stiff rod. I have seen or experienced “cheap” flimsy rods that don’t allow for a good hookset and therefore missing a few fish that otherwise would have been caught. Here recently, I have noticed that I miss more fish that to me I should have gotten a good hookset. A good friend of mine used to give me hell about not setting the hook hard enough and I have ended up teaching myself to try to rip their lips off when setting the hook. A couple weeks ago I got on a good fish and had two chances to get it and both times I yanked the bait back to the boat with no fish. The second chance I know the fish had the bait good.

I’m just wondering if my aggressive hookset paired with 7’ heavy action stiff rod is causing me to get the bait out of the fishes mouth before it can turn and grab any meat. Would a slightly looser rod actually give some coushion to the bait and actually result in a higher percentage of catches?

What are some of yalls preferences of rod stiffness and why? I have buddies that fish with softer rods and don’t seem to have the issue of setting the hook, I’m starting to think my preference may need some tweaking... any ideas?

[WBT]

I don't think the action (stiffness) of your fishing rod is too much for Texas-rigged plastics. I'm assuming you're using monofilament line since you mentioned ripping their lips off. My suggestion is to switch to braided line. It's more sensitive, doesn't really stretch, and setting the hook is much, much easier.

[panhandlehunter]

I don't bass fish, but fish for trout and reds with a medium light action rod. Never had a problem with a hook set. But maybe bass fishing is a little bit different.

[bowhuntntxn]

Hook set in a sweeping motion with the tip low.

[basskicker24]

I don't think the action (stiffness) of your fishing rod is too much for Texas-rigged plastics. I'm assuming you're using monofilament line since you mentioned ripping their lips off. My suggestion is to switch to braided line. It's more sensitive, doesn't really stretch, and setting the hook is much, much easier.

use braid and a fluorocarbon leader. Your hook up rates will increase.

[Jason Fry]

Stiff rod is fine for tx rig. Doesn’t hurt to wait a second before you rip the lips. On the other hand, stiff rod plus braid doesn’t require a big swing. You have so much power and leverage, you can stick them fine without a giant sweeping jerk.


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[doright]

I am far from an expert, but I don't think the action of the rod is the problem. The tip speed may be. Is it a fast tip or extra fast. You may need to go with a different tip speed

[BrandonA]

The majority of my bass rods are 6'6-7'3 MH. With worms and jigs I use Floro or braid. I have a heavy rods if fishing real thick cover and need to man handle the fish out. These are very good rods for the dollar. http://www.irodfishing.com/category-s/119.htm

[froghunter]

I went peacock bass fishing in Florida last year. I missed my first few fish and I have a powerful hook set. My guide told me I fished like a Texan. He told me that since all the drama in Mexico is going on that Florida has seen a boost in Texas fishermen that don’t want to cross the border. He also said he could spot a Texan by the “side arm hook set”. An action that according to him yanks the hook out of a fished mouth. After a little coaching and him attempting to change 30+ years of habit I started to set the hook by pulling straight up. My success rate jumped through the roof. It’s hard to type out how the angles work but it made a believer out of me.

[hittman]

Most of the time when I'm Texas rigging I'm using a MH fast action rod with floro. One thing you might try is a new style or brand of hook. I lost confidence in the wide gap hooks for a while because I was missing a few hook ups that I know I should have gotten. Switched to an offset and my confidence came back. In hindsight, it was probably just mental, but I feel like it helped anyway....

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[hittman]

And. You always want to make sure your hook is SHARP. It makes a big difference.

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[Flex]

I know a lot of people use that setup for bass. Braid makes it easier.

I fish with medium and ML setups and 15lb braid and have never had an issue catching fish ranging from crappie, bass, to specks, and even big reds. Never really got the need for Stiff/ heavy and 40lb test. But guys that catch a lot more fish than me use it. So who knows.

If you are already throwing braid, you could be ripping it too hard. I don't feel like I ever set the hook as hard as I see some of these bass guys rare back on it.

[jlinville]

The majority of my bass rods are 6'6-7'3 MH. With worms and jigs I use Floro or braid. I have a heavy rods if fishing real thick cover and need to man handle the fish out.

^^^This!

What hook are you using?

[Mayhem]

I only like a stiff rod for one thing, and it ain’t fishing.

I bass fish with my saltwater gear medium light action and have no issue with hook ups.


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[BBReezen]

To answer more questions,

I always pick a 7’ rod, heavy action. The last rod I had was a medium heavy but fished like a heavy.

I have started using braid recently. Spiderwire 20lb I think (8lb mono equivalent) but before that I always used Berkeley Big Game 12 or 15lb. It always seemed tough for brush and weeds and had a lot of good luck with it.

Hooks for a while have been the VMC brand from academy. I tend to swap baits a lot and can’t keep up with hooks so they “should” be pretty sharp cause I’m usually tying on a new hook.

I know I had bought some hooks with an offset, I couldn’t find them the last time we went out so I was only using the ones without an offset. VMC traditional style hooks with the offset at the top.

Hook set is sporadic, it can be sideways at an angle of straight up, just depends how I’m standing in the boat or what’s around.

I don’t know off hand what the tip speed of my rod is. I won’t lie, I buy cheaper rods . Ugly sticks or something in the $30-40 range. I tend to break rods doing dumb stuff (tailgate or garage doors get some).

Sounding like a softer rod is probably a better bet just off what I’m seeing. I do need to get some more hooks with an offset. I think I had better luck with those, I just don’t get to fish as much as I would like to really test my results. My main frustration came from the other day on the fish I first mentioned. I’m pretty sure that was gong to be a **** good fish, haven’t had one hit it that hard in a long time. Wasn’t the normal 2-3 pounder chicken peck we get around the docks. I was pretty mad I missed it twice and the second chance I had at it, I felt like I was ready, let it take it enough and had a good set that I should’ve got that fish hooked. Now digging the net out of the bottom of the box in the middle of the chaos would’ve been a different story!!!