Hooking Muskies

Reflecting on my fishing, I think I only get about 35% of the Muskies that hit my baits to the boat. In my mind, that is rather dismal. So, ladies and gentlemen, please discuss the essential points in getting hooks into the fish.
What are the key elements ?
Using the proper size hooks ? Like 4/0 or 5/0 treble hooks or some other ? Then, trebles vs. single hooks ?
Sharp hooks ? Just how sharp is really, really sharp ? File vs. stone ?
The lure the hooks are on ? What bait really has a great hook up percentage ? Wire bait or wood, or plastic ?
The hook set ? 80 lb line at the minimum, NO stretch ? A rod with very serious backbone ? The drag on the reel tightened with a pair of pliars ?
How about one's personal timing of the set ? Do we need to be super fast or do we need to feel the weight of the fish on line first ? Do we have to set with every fiber of our body ?
How closely is hook set associated with mind set ?

I have watched Ty Sennett fish. He talks, he is looking at his feet, or staring off in space and he STILL hooks up most of the time. Oh, I have seen him miss, but he sure doesn't seem to all that often. Chaffs my hide, I tell you.

What do you think is the secret of turning a high percentage of hits into fish in the net ?

I would say hook set...once you learn how to set the hook, you notice people never set the hook...

You have to try to break your rod to get those hooks in the muskies face...

Don't pull the rod, set the hook, there is a huge difference!

Once she's hooked you really need to take on a dominant mindset...meaning you have to change your emotional patterns from surprise and disbelief to, I am gonna own this fish all the way into the net. Dominate the fish, dont let her run or pull you around the boat, you lead the muskie around. I am not saying to get pissed off, but it's a fight you need to win, and you need to be in that dominate mindset. As soon as you lose focus, become docile, give up that dominant emotion, the line will slack and you will lose her, each and every time...never stop reeling

Robert, the first advice I would give you is to stop watching TY and watch your line and bait (not meant in a mean way). Ty lives and sleeps fish and gets way more time than mostly all of us on the water. I agree with Snizz as to set the hook and game on having the confidence to seal the deal goes along way. I have lost and messed up on my fair share of fish that I would rahter forget about but still remember too many too clear. It really is a confidence thing in my opinion. Missing or loosing a fish is tough but to get yourself focused enough to correct yourself for the next one and there on out. Maybe it could be that you and Ty just have a long enough history fishing together that you are enjoying the time on the water with a good friend of yours then catching fish for yourself (which is great in itself). I know I have had days on the water where we just don't pay as much attention and have fun joking around that has caused us to miss fish but still had a good time doing it. Your time is there and the hookset and landing fish will come back around for you. Good luck this coming season and may put many fish into the net.

The thing that made the biggest difference for me was switching from a 7 foot rod to a 9 foot rod.
You get a much better hook set(more leverage) and it is way easier to keep pressure on the fish during the fight, meaning you won't get slack. Getting slack in the line makes it easier for the fish to shake the bait loose.
Also....keep the line tight, but don't over do it, you do not want the fish's head out of the water, this also makes it easier for the fish to shake the bait loose.


Another advantage to a longer rod is it makes figure 8's effortless!

I will offer a diferring opinion here as i really pay attention to why I lose a fish. For one, I like sharp light wire hooks. They penetrate much easier than do the thick ones.

Some baits hook up better than others. Erratic baits hook up with less percentage but you may get more strikes. I am not a fan of 8" or bigger baits with 2 hooks. Give me 3 hooks, less open surface area on the bait means a greater chance of a hookup IMHO.

Fighting the fish. I freespool. I do not put alot of pressure on the fish. They want to headshake or make a run(they are always short runs) I let them with thumb tension. When they stop, you can coax them back pretty quick. The rod goes to the water too so they do not jump. Jumping and headshaking against a drag has caused me to loose a fish in the past. You never know just how well a fish is hooked and I have landed some very lightly hooked fish by doing this. Actually, I have landed fish that never had a barb in them just kept tension and not let them get slack on a headshake.

Robert,
Number one I don't think anybody realizes just how hard these guys that fish every day hit these fish until you see a clear demonstration. I've related this story befor but it fits to repeat it here. I once watched Ty kill about a two pound bass on the hookset, when that fish hit, Ty set the hook and and cut the gill plate completely in half. That fish never twitched, It was stone dead on impact. I have a lot more luck hooking up on strikes I don't see than on strikes I do see, I get so busy watching for her to hit and then am so amazed when she does I fail to pound the hooks home. The strikes I don't see I simply react and fish on. Number two is a big one for guys like me. If you really wanna catch a fish you gotta pay attention. I don't get out as often as I'd like and I often am watching an eagle or loons diving when the muskie decides to strike, the delayed reaction is very seldom a good practise if you actually want to get a photo op with a muskie. I missed the biggest bass of my life when I was about sixteen. I was casting a shoreline when an older gentleman rowed in with a very nice looking lass in shorts and a bikini top. When they got close to me the young lady stood up in the front of the boat and began to fish for panfish with a flyrod. I continued to cast but I can tell you that a buxom blonde in a bikini top wielding a flyrod is a distraction!! The end of this story is predictable, we got to a section of the shoreline where there is a retaining wall, I was casting my Bill Plummer's Superfrog up onto the top of the wall and pulling it so it would drop into the water right next to the wall and watching a beautiful flycasting exhibition. Frog hits the water, huge explosion, ...I wonder what her name is..., HEY! WHAT?! CRAP! ... Dangit! that was a big fish! I often think about missing that fish, I never met the girl and I don't have any pictures of that fish because I wasn't paying attention. I still have trouble paying attention all day and have missed several fish because of it. There are other factors, sharp hooks, low stretch line, not giving a hooked fish any slack ( a lot of guys are fishing with their drag too tight and too stiff of a rod), but I believe a thunderous and immediate hookset are the real keys to boating fish.

That was a great story Coldfront. "I never got her name".........priceless!

I think everyone has summed it up on sticking fish. I think Snizz said it best about controlling the fish when you do get it on. A lot of people want to soft play a fish. That doesn't work on the Chip. I think because they eat so many bullhead, they are good at shaking the bait. The fish on the Chip, or Wisconsin in general, do not suck down a bait like they do in Minnesota either. Most of the fish in Minnesota take the bait so deep that you have to cut hooks on most fish. That means when you get a fish to hit in Wisconsin you need to hit them fast and keep pressure on them the whole fight.

Keep your drag tight but not tight enough to where a fish can't pull line out. My brother Tom lost a fish that I would guess in the mid fifty inch range because he locks his drag down so tight that when the fish ran it broke his line.

Overall, I guess set really hard and fight the fish so that you counteract every move it makes and you should be ok. Sounds easy huh.................?

Almost everytime I set the hook upwards it doesn't work. I really have to work on setting to the side.

Sharp hooks and no stretch line are what I trust in since I know my hooksets can be weak at times. Watching someone like Ty set the hook everytime they hang on a weed (or fish) is a good example. I need to perfect those good habits.

But what fun would fishing be if you didn't lose a monster every once in a while? At least I don't stop the bait on a follow!

Good call Jkahler on the weed sets. I forgot about that. If you feel weeds give it a rip set anyway because sometime it's not going to be weeds and if you don't rip into it the fish will be gone.

Ty has the reflects and daily experience and many opportunities and all that was said is correct. I like the mustad wide cap hooks in a 3 with a good split ring. Also bucktails will get you more hookups as big wood baits especially surface are heavy and easier for the fish to throw whereas bucktails are mostly hook with much less weight. However there are times for surface but often the tendancy is to set hooks when the the fish does not have the bait; believe me I have the experience in this area. My catch rate goes up with tails and seldom miss one but this can get boring. Keep em sharp!!!!!!!!

I missed a fish of a lifetime on a bucktail when I was a n00b! I still hear about it...That might be the biggest motivating factor, not getting hammered by your friends for missing a fish...LOL

"Oh, remember 10 minutes ago when that fish came up and ate your bait and you didn't set the hook or catch the fish...Ya, I remember that too..."

Good times, good times