[THINGFISH]

I had a great weekend of surf fishing at Demo. But, a re-occuring problem reared it's ugly head. I get lots of hits, runs and no hookup. Swim and Spit. Using bunker on very sharp 6/0 Mustad Eagle Claw with 50# mono leader. Holding a pole doesn't help. It just makes it more frustrating. I keep the drag loose on staked poles. The bait comes back whole, so I know it's bass. Can anyone offer a solution to this problem?

 

[614078]

Maybe your putting the bunker chunk on the hook incorrectly. Make sure theres plenty of hook thats exposed. I've seen people bury the hook into a piece of bunker and would have a striper pick it up and run then drop it. Also make sure theres no bunker scales on the hook point and make sure the point is sharp.

 

[sandman]

thingfish:hi::
it happen to me two .you can cut bait in half,and cut the bottom half off, raise the up high in the bait.try to show more hook. small bait. if all else fail hit them sooner. good luck,they do this a lot.

 

[Jaiem]

A lot of skates and some dogfish at demo. That could have been them too.

Jaiem
ArtsNFlies.com

 

[THINGFISH]

Thanks for the ideas guys. Definitely not dogs or skates. These are MAJOR runs that last 2-3 seconds. I do have the point sticking out of the bait, but maybe not enough. It's wierd because the phenomenom comes and goes. I wonder if it's because of fish feeding behavior?? Anyway, I'm going to try new tactics this weekend. I hope the fish are still there!

 

[Hunt n' Fish]

ThingFish,

Sometimes I find I get a lot of unhooked run-offs when I am catching predominatly smaller stripers. They don't seem to swallow the bait as deeply as the bigger fish.

 

[strip]

Staking the rod doesn't help in this situation.....as you need to strike quick.

Southwest winds always.....Seaox

 

[wader]

Many times when drifting eels I have the same thing happening. Decent strike - fair amount of pulling & run-off to assume I've hooked the fish only to have it let go at the last minute. Usually just before I get the fish to the beach.

What I've got are small stripers. Bass swallow the meal whole (no teeth). If it's a small guy - he's sort of sucking or mouthing it - the eels too big for him to swallow. Sort of like a tug of war or when my dogs got a hold of one of my socks. They let go when they realize they're being brought into shore (the bass - not my dog). Beats having nothing to do when all you've got is small guys around.

I'm sure this holds true when using bunker chunks as well (as doughboy stated). They're mouthing it & not swallowing. Try smaller chunks.



This message was edited by wader on 12-4-01 @ 5:56 PM

 

[614469]

wader,

I fish out of long beach.
usually i do OK using plugs or clams.
I always bring at least one ell because every one swears by them.
This is no lie every time I go I try the ell for quite some time only to be come frustrated and let it go. Never even a stike.
I hook it under the mouth and out through the eye,
reel extremely slow,
rarly do I get tangles.
What advise can you give me.
PS sorry this has nothing to do with the original thread

AW

 

[614469]

wader,

I fish out of long beach.
usually i do OK using plugs or clams.
I always bring at least one ell because every one swears by them.
This is no lie every time I go I try the ell for quite some time only to be come frustrated and let it go. Never even a stike.
I hook it under the mouth and out through the eye,
reel extremely slow,
rarly do I get tangles.
What advise can you give me.
PS sorry this has nothing to do with the original thread

AW

 

[613687]

Try using butter fish for bait.
Also try a circle octopus hook or gamakatsu circle
hook. I use a number #6.


IBEW local 1049

 

[THINGFISH]

IBEW, I havn't tried circle hooks yet. I heard they avoid gut hooks (a good thing), but cause more missed fish. I have used the Gamakatsu octopus for live eel. Wader, the dog and sock theory makes sense. Small fish and big baits are a mismatch, agreeing with Sandman. Anyway, you got me thinking. More things to try.

 

[wader]

Gusman - click on my profile (who's wader) - click on other posts by wader. Look for topics with eel in the subject feild. You'll find several posts with this in the topic feild. Have posted pretty much all I know about eeling. Love it & works well for me.

I've posted on the topic several times already & there's a lot of advise from others. Not ignoring you - it's just that don't want to fill up more space on it.

good luck..........



This message was edited by wader on 12-4-01 @ 10:21 PM

 

[Hunt n' Fish]

Thingfish,

Use large circle hooks. We started out with 4/0 hooks and got a lot of misses. Went to a 7/0 and got more hook-ups but unfortunately some gut hooks. This weekend I am going to try 10/0 hooks and see what happens.

 

[THINGFISH]

Doughboy,
Great. We'll compare notes on Monday.

 

[Hunt n' Fish]

I am also going to try a different style of hook. I have been using the Gamakatsu's. I am looking for the Owner or Diachi hooks in a large size. The Gama's are very round and the other brands look more like a hatchet cam. I want to see if I get more lip hooks with them.

 

[617335]

This is very typical of small bass that swim fast and hit on the fly. As a result they often do not take the full bait into their mouths. This leaves you believing you missed the fish, when in fact they missed all of the bait. The answer to this problem, if you wish to catch small fish, is to use smaller chunks or use worms or clams.

 

[THINGFISH]

Well, the experiments I wanted to try were impossible because there were so many fish! I was at Demo on Saturday for the day long blitz. I started out using 5/0 Gamakatsu with clam. The only fish I missed were because of bite offs from blues! I did get one blue in that was hooked way outside no the lip. I put the bait away. Tinning and plugging till after dark with lots of blues and bass caught. I will experiment in the Spring. Wavebeater, I thing you are right.