Why am I losing Bass at boat after hook up?

[mastergun]

I have been losing a lot of bass once they breech the water on my Texas Rigged Worm rods. I'm able to set the hook (I think) but once I get them close to the boat and they breech the water they come off the hook.

Am I doing something wrong? Wrong hook? Wrong line? Wrong Rod?

-Rod is a Casting MH Fast Action 7 foot
-Bait- 5" Senko
-Hook- 3/0 or 4/0 Gamakatsu Offset EWG
-Line is either 10lb or 15lb Flouro depending on the rod
-I use a tungsten bullet weight that is pegged near the hook (can't remember size but it's small)

Appreciate any ideas,

Robert

[RFeyoMN]

Set the hook harder.

[John Jackson]

EWG hooks IMHO are not good for Texas rigs. They lay nice fut they don't bite into the bass mouth very well, especially on an up close vertical hook set. The fact that the point is in line with the eye and flat tells you it's poor for a Texas rig. (OK for a Carolina rig as bass is usually turned) There is a reason the Pros don't use EWG's for flipping and pitching. I use to have the same problem, going to the offset round bend eliminated that. The roof of a large bass is almost bone hard, so an EWG is not set up to penetrate it.

[Joe4d]

set hook harder, keep line tight and rod down. Dont let em jump. Those Wide gap hooks are all I have used for years. DOnt recall having any issue ,,

[Skeeterbait]

It could be several things. If your using stretchy mono then you may indeed be not getting good penetration with a thick wire hook like an EWG. If your using low stretch line like braid and that powerful of a rod and setting real hard you may be tearing the interance and the hook back out easier. Also the faster the tip on a rod the more likely a jumping fish will get slack. I realized the amount a fish jumps is directly related to how high a rod tip i have and how much pressure i put on them. I learned th keep rod low, take time bring them in and let them tire themselves out digging instead of jumping, and reducing hook size and wire size. When i did all this, loosing fish pretty much went away.

[krindgen]

If I was to try anything different, besides the hook, might be a slightly longer rod in the same action. Say a 7'2" or longer rod to give you a bit more of a shock absorber. Also, you're getting bites, but there are times when a certain bait is not THE bait they want and a bait change is required.

[Big Guy]

Hate ewg

[brushsjigs]

Gotta go with Jackson on this one. Rod and line is fine. AN ewg can have a tendency to roll in the fish mouth sticking in the corner of the mouth, similar to a circle hook.. Go with a 3/0 or 4/0 "J" style hook and I bet your problems go away. I don't even like an ewg for C-rigging. A simple wrist snap is all you should need to set the hook.
Is it also possibly your trying to horse the fish in,,creating a larger hole? The longer the cast or the deeper the bait the finer wire hook you use, especially for worm fishing.. Its easier to drive a finishing nail into a piece of wood than a 12d nail. Save the heavy hooks for flipping. Trash the ewg's

[Hez]

Make sure your hooks are not bent

[limit5bass]

Try a STRAIGHT shank hook. You can thank me later.

[BASS24-7]

have you noticedis the plastic wadding up in the bend of the hook?

[NRXfever]

I use skip gap hooks on pretty much everything Texas rigged I do and works for me.. and straight shank for finesse and flipping

[DrewFlu33]

Man, I've never had an issue with EWGs. Maybe very occasionally with missing a fish, but once they're hooked they're hooked. I flip and pitch with a 4/0 Gamy Superline EWG, usually under a 3/4 oz weight and punch skirt. I have wrestled several over 5 out of thick milfoil and coontail without incident. You do need to hit them when you set the hook, but that's true any time you have a hook that's anything but ultra light wire and not exposed.

I actually tried a straight shank at one point because that's what everyone says you should do. A ton of frustration with picking weeds off the point that wouldn't stay in the plastic and going through twice as many plastics before finally losing a fish I was sure I got a good hookset into was what it took for me to realize I should've never tried to fix what wasn't broken.

I flip with a 7'6" heavy (or maybe even medium heavy) Veritas that's marketed as a frog rod, 50 lb high vis braid, and a 3 foot 25 lb fluoro leader. The leader I went to after hearing Seth Feider talk about getting less bites with straight braid. He was right. It works excellent for me. Lighter stuff like what the OP mentions I'll do a 7 foot heavy (really medium heavy due to their ratings) Phenix Feather with 50 lb braid and a 16 lb leader.

EDIT: So I agree with the first couple people who said set the hook harder, and make sure to set it straight up - none of that off to the side stuff you see Boyd Duckett doing all the time. Short of just letting them have a bunch of slack or something, the only answer is that you're just not getting it home. If you start changing hooks and second guessing everything else, you're going to mess up your hookset mechanics even further. Heck, that might be what's going on right now. Did you break a fish off and now have that hanging around in the back of your mind when you set it? I know damn well that's happened to me before. It's why I use 25 lb for flipping grass when I'm certain 16 would probably be just fine.

[rat0502]

I'm no expert, so take what you will from my comment. I used to use the gammy ewg superline hooks back in my braid only days and loved them. When I finally switched to fluoro and copolymer, I was having a heck of a time keeping fish buttoned up. I think the problem was twofold: I wasn't hitting them hard enoughto sink the heavy wire hook, and the additional stretch from the lines I was using wasn't transmitting the hook set I was giving them like braid would. But, I was getting so many more bites not using braid I didn't want to go back. My solution was going to the light wire Trokar ewg hooks on anything 15lb line or less. My hookup and landing ratio has improved much since that switch. Like others, I can't leave well enough alone, so I am now playing around with offset shank worm hooks to try to pick up A few more of the light biters since it has a better hook opening. My 2 cents. Good luck.

[huntertn]

For texas rig Senko I prefer an offset shank worm hook. I have used an EWG if it was already tied on but it is not my preference. I usually only use EWGs on bulkier baits. If you are not using braid I would not use the superline version. The superline hooks are stronger but they are made from bigger wire so they take more force to get a good hookup. That was a;ready mentions but I thought I would add my observation too. I use the standard wire Gamy EWG and a 6'6" MH rod with 14lb mono for creature baits and do not have any hookup problems. Senkos are the same rod and line with a Gamy offset worm hook.

I always keep pressure (rod tip bowed) on the fish if it tries to jump. The fish really gets an advantage if the line goes slack (no rod tip pressure).

For the fish that you are landing, where are you usually hooking them?

[Travel to fish]

ewg always gets them in the lips for me.... they make it in the boat but always just barely it seems. A offset worm hook usually comes thru their eye socket or is in the roof of their mouth. I wouldnt peg the weight, that gives them something to swing and help get the hook out. I only peg if fishing over trees etc. When not pegged your weight will end up 10 feet above the fish sometimes as they shake, so its clear they arent getting to use that for leverage.

I use these hooks they are so fine you just barely snap your rist and you have them. I havent straightened one on a fight yet but I wouldnt use them if I was going to be catching 5lb or larger all day. WIth these hooks you can use a less stiff rod so youll have more bend in it for the shakes etc.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_...ge-VMCWHB.html

[mastergun]

have you noticedis the plastic wadding up in the bend of the hook?

Yes, either that or it's gone.

[Walkabout7781]

Love standard Gamakastu EWG's or Trokar EWG's. No problem with losing fish. Sometimes, a fish will hold onto a plastic bait without getting the hook in them at all, and will finally let go at the boat or sometime during the fight. Seems crazy, but it happens on occasion.

[Casslaw]

I use offset wide gap Gamakatsu hooks but let me ask you one question...are you setting the hook on slack line?

My my brother and I have 2 very different styles of setting the hook, once I get a bite I drop my rod tip, follow the fish for 2-3 seconds with my line tight enough to feel the weight of the fish moving or sitting still, then I reel and set the hook at the same time.

He lets line out, watches it move then reels up and sets the hook.

He loses a lot of fish and snaps his mono a lot...I found myself mimicking him one day and I was losing fish and breaking line at the knot. Went back to my way and all has been good.

[mastergun]

I have went to regular gap offset hooks and have essentially eliminated the problem. Had to be the EWG hooks causing my issues.