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Member
Posts: 344
Location: Manitowoc WI | After losing a few big fish yesterday on harnesses i began to get quite frustrated, wondering what im doing wrong. / I run standard 2 gamakatsu hooks sz 4(i think) with about 6 inch seperation, I always run fresh sharp hooks, 14lb mono /w 14lb vanish leader was trolling at about 1.4-1.6. The fish were there and plentyful. didnt lose any little guys. but lost a few 5-8lb fish. Any ideas on why the big fish wouldnt make it to the boat.. lost all the fish after the boards were off and fish was about 10 feet away. Hooks just seem to pop out.. i thought the drag was too tight so i loosened her up, seemed to make a small difference. Thanks for any help. |
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Member
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| I surely don't consider myself and expert... but here's my 2 cents worth..
When I fish on the Bay of Green Bay for bigger fish (17-29 inches), I used a variety of hooks last year, but I bend the hooks out so that they don't align with the Mono. I didn't loose many fish last year and it was rare when they were not hooked solidly in the jaw. I run my second hook a little shorter... about 3 -3 1/2 inches back.
Are you using fireline or mono?
Are your drags set loose enough so that the fish can take line easy? (My friend taught me this early on and it has made a huge difference in the number of big fish that make it to the net)
Are you keeping enough tension on the line as you release the boards?
Are you setting the hook or reeling slowly and keeping tention on the line?
Purple Skeeter
Edited by Purple Skeeter 5/8/2006 11:14 AM
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| I found that this weekend I went to a3 hook harness and didn't lose one fish all stayed hooked I think that they are hitting short and by having that extra hook back by the tail you get a better chance for a hook up. I would also cut the tail off the crawler just a little bit so they get closer to the hooks besides the end cut off gives more scent trail just my humble opionion Jim |
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Member
Posts: 57
| We troll open water (Erie) so there are not alot of snags. We have changed and now tie our harnesses with trebel hooks on the end of the rig. Hook ups and holds have doubled. |
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Member
Posts: 344
Location: Manitowoc WI | I use mono, i have used trebles in back and yes, we lose less fish, but it seems we also catch fewer. I guess switching back to a treble would lower the swearing in the boat.
I also gently set the hook and reel slower then normal making sure i keep enough tension on the fish.. Does anyone else use 3 hook rigs? or do they affect the action?
its interesting to see that so many people do thing so different.. |
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Member
Posts: 2393
Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | First, everyone looses big fish from time to time. Weight and leverage is working against you with the bigger fish. You have to decide what is and what is not acceptable in that category.
I was in a MWS tourney on Green Bay and we never lost a fish prefishing.
We lost the winning weight fish a couple of times on tourney day. On our first pass using single hooks and missing fish I switched everything over to trebles. We still missed fish.
I'll speak for myself........ I believe that I was grabbing the rods and working the fish faster to the boat during tournament day because of the adrenalin. I (we) (you) are always more relaxed while prefishing and take your time. I believe that I get better hookups by letting the fish hang there for awhile before I grab the rod. But that's me.
I'm sure that you'll hear from others who reel in like crazy before taking the rod out of the holder. Others will talk about setting the hook. I have not seen the advantages while doing any of these things.
The 3 hook harness may work but if that's the case, wouldn't a 2 hook harness work equally well with the trailing hook placed further back. I like the worm action on a 2 hook better than a 3. But again, that's just me.
What were the waves like? Was this an issue? Everyone looses bigger fish in big waves because of the boards punding the waves. Some feel they have answers for this too. |
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Member
Posts: 344
Location: Manitowoc WI | Waves were not a big issue. I guess its a very broad issue that always comes back to "what ifs". Its nice hearing what you guys do so i can compare it to what im not doing.. |
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Member
Posts: 340
Location: McFarland, WI | I only use 2 hook harnesses because I agree with Sunshine on the worm action, but I know excellent sticks that use 2 hooks plus a treble. Just to put the jinx on our boat, I'll say we don't lose many fish but I think the key is keeping the rod fully loaded all the time and the drag set to keep that tension steady. This is why I like the longer 9' Ugly sticks for harnesses. We have a lot of fish come off in the net as soon as line slacks for a second. It seems the fish we lose are right after the bite and Purple Skeeter's offset hook may really help here, so I'll be trying it. Thanks.
Larry Strelow |
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Member
Posts: 265
Location: Combined Locks, WI | One thing I will say is that when fishing crawler harnesses I generally give the fish a bit longer than normal. The joke in my boat is when you see the board drop back, light a cigerette (I don't smoke however) then grab it out of the rod holder. Sunshine is right everyone loses fish but I don't lose too many by giving them time. I don't run 3 hook harnesses on the Bay but on Winnebago I will run 3 hook harnesses because of the smaller fish in the system. They seem to be more of a tail grabber bunch of fish compared to the big fish in the bay that will take it all.
Edited by Jonny Rocket 5/8/2006 6:54 PM
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| You should consider going to a larger size hook. Most likely a size 2 or 1. I think with the larger hook the wider gap will make a huge difference. There a good chance the smaller hook did not penetrate and was only hooked in the flesh which in most cases will not withstand a strong run from a sizeable walleye.
jon |
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| can i ask what size single hooks you guys ussually use? |
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| 1/0 vmc bait keeper
jon |
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Member
Posts: 701
Location: upper michigan | I tie all my harness's with three hooks it is just what I got used to doing. I like to keep my crawler as straight as posible on the hook. I also agree with giveing the fish a little time before grabing the rod it really helps alot. Very seldom well a fish come off that is just being drug around behind the board. The best thing is trial and error find what works best for you. |
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Member
Posts: 265
Location: Combined Locks, WI | All of my harnesses are tied with either #1 or #2 hooks. I agree with what jtcustom said about hook size. |
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Member
Posts: 39
Location: kawkawlin, mi | i tie a 2 hook harness with a single mustad #2 big red beak bait hook on the front. for the rear hook i use a red mustad #8 mustad triple grip. have some pliers handy, youll need em. ;-)
the #8 treble may seem small, but it is a wide gap hook, that makes a big difference as mentioned earlier.
boys, im with ya on the 2 hook harness/worm action thing as well. that tail is tantalizing. :-O :-)
Edited by adam bomb 5/9/2006 6:49 AM
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Member
Posts: 40
Location: Oshkosh | Have any of you guys tried using circle hooks on your harnesses? The hooking percentage I have had since using them is almost perfect! They almost hook too good, there are a lot of times where I ended up cutting the line because the hook was buried.
Troy |
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Member
Posts: 340
Location: McFarland, WI | I tried circle hooks two years ago as the last hook. They seemed to work when I was trolling very slow say .9mph but when I picked up speed I seemed to have fish hit and not hook-up. It seemed like the fish needed to grab bait and turn before getting much line tension. I should look at it again. Have you used circle hooks with slip bobbers? We missed a ton of fish last week on slip bobbers and I'm trying Kahle hooks and circle hooks next time. Decades ago we used Kahle hooks on small tandem wire spinner rigs in Minnesota so that may also be an option.
Larry Strelow
McFarland, WI |
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