CTFishTalk.com: too many misses, how often to sharpen or replace hooks? - Connecticut Saltwater Reports ( CT Saltwater Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

Chris · Joined: 19 Jun 2012 Posts: 85 Location: Trumbull

Fished Wednesday and Thursday night from 5pm-7 both nights off the Fairfield beaches. Wednesday is when the nightmare began. After playing with a couple topwater poppers I started getting hits on my usual chrome popper. I got eight big explosions including fish hitting my popper multiple times and couldn't land any of them!!! All but two felt like complete misses where the fish was never hooked!
A month or two ago when I was primarily using my skitterpop alot, I started getting misses and asked the tackle shop guy if my hooks could be dull, he said no. So when I started getting way too many misses, I didn't think they were dull, I thought I was doing something wrong or I pissed off the fish gods, I mean I was gonna release all the blues anyway, why were they so afraid of getting hooked? I was very frustrated, I've been using the same lure, same retrieve for almost two months and I get such a better reaction from fish I have to stick with it. I take it off and the hits stop.
Next day, same thing, two big explosions, this time the fish was on for a couple seconds then bam, he's off. The guy next to me see's this, and can't believe it, then I tell him about the misses the day before and he says its the hooks and hands me a hook sharpener! I sharpen the hooks and after another miss, I finally land 1! That was real cool of that guy, he stopped fishing right after I got two strait hits to walk over to me and let me borrow his hook sharpener. Thinking back on it I have caught around 70 blues and another 25+ misses on this lure over the last month or two, so about 100 blues and a couple stripers hitting that lure has to dull the hooks, right? Or am I totally off? The worst was all fish looked to me your average 20" bluefish, except one giant miss that looked to be the biggest striper I've seen out their this year! It was the loudest, biggest splash I've seen!! Man, I'm pissed I missed that one. Many of the hits were very close to me.
I'm still learning everyday, and I am replacing my hooks on these lures. Hope it works.

fishfinder · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 1672 Location: Naugatuck, Ct.

Absolutely they get dull, poppers not so much but Im sure you drag them on the beach some and as you know many things say they are sharp when you buy them like a wood working chisel and God knows if you are a woodworker you know they arent even close to being sharp. There are some lures that are deadly sharp when you buy them and getting them out of the package requires 3 bandaids but Ive noticed lots that arent also.
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Crest Daddy · Joined: 20 Jan 2011 Posts: 994

Fish miss poppers. A lot. One day i had 9 misses before hooking up.Sometimes i dont even hook them in the mouth. Usually under the chin between the gills. Just keep throwing and dont set til you feel the weight of the fish.
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fishfinder · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 1672 Location: Naugatuck, Ct.

Absolutely true, but do make sure your hooks are sharp as its hard enough to get some of these fish on and a dull treble only increases the chances of missing and it could have been the one to make the "Honesty" page!!!!! LOL
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NorthEastFisherman · Joined: 27 May 2012 Posts: 582

I think whats happening is you have too much slack line on the water so when you set the hook you get a weak hook set and you allow the fish to have more time to spit the hook. Another thing to increase your hookups is tie a fly on the far back hook or buy one that comes with a fly on the back. This will make the fish hit the fly where the hook is and it also looks like the tail of a fish or legs of a frog.
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Chris · Joined: 19 Jun 2012 Posts: 85 Location: Trumbull

Chris · Joined: 19 Jun 2012 Posts: 85 Location: Trumbull

fivestring · Joined: 21 Aug 2012 Posts: 91

It might be a good idea to replace the hooks with some heavy duty trebles and split rings, if they're not on there from the factory.

Just4fun · Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 1389 Location: Saybrook

If that's a relatively small lure that you are useing,..it could be that the hooks are just too small. I would try changing them to a larger size.

It also could be that you are jerking the bait away from the fish too fast,..like someone else said, make sure you FEEL the fish before you set the hook on them. Fish will miss surface baits a lot and if you jerk it away, that's usually the end of the story. If you don't feel the fish on the line,..just let the lure sit there for a little while and often it will come back and hit it again!

I'm not sure about blues,..but stripers often hit a surface bait first to try and stun/injure it rather than eat it. They will then turn around and inhale it shortly afterward though as long as you don't jerk it away from them first! Wink

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NWDarkcloud · Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 474

I sharpen hooks by feel if it dont feel real sharp with a sticky point ill file it a bit but its not very often..
Not all hooks are real sharp right out of the package allways check a new hook or lure for the point.
As far as top water fishing gos its a slow hook set . I know I have the bad habit of setting on the stike when you see the splash ,if you do you will miss allmost all the time (dont yak till you feel the fish on the line )
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OnTheBass · Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 6:00 pm Post subject:

perfect hook set · Joined: 24 Feb 2008 Posts: 1069 Location: Danbury

If you cant poke through my finger nail its not sharp enough for me =)
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