Another Rookie Question

[Hashaam]

Last night I was fishing in the neighborhood lake at my parents house. About 11 years ago one of my neighbors released 10,000 fish (bass, cats, perch) into the lake. Needless to say there are now some monsters swimming in the lake. Early last fall the nearby bayou flooded into the lake introducing many gar into the water. Long story short, i hooked something fierce last night. The rod felt like it was going to snap and i did not know what to do. I tryed to reel in a little but whatever it was let go.
I guess my question is when is the best time to set the hook and exactly how to do so. (Do i simply pull back real hard?)
thanks
Hashaam

[Timotha7]

This is a GREAT question, I hope a lot of members will cime in on this, because it is a question that has so many different answers:

First, would say that the most important factor in this is
KEEP WHATEVER TYPE OF HOOK YOU USE AS SHARP AS POSSIBLE AT ALL TIMES
IF YOU FISH BOTTOM BUMPING RIGS ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE LITTLE
FILE OR SHARPENER AVAILABLE IN POCKET TO TOUCH UP WITH

Hook set depends on more than one thing

Type of fish you are fishing for, some fish have very hard mouths and some have soft mouths..you are going after catfish or Northerns, or Gar you will want to hammer the hook..but same kind of "lip rippin" hook set might just result in you bringing in nothing but a pair of lips if you use it on a crappie :D

What type of bait and rig are you fishing with? You don't want to gut hook fish, but you also have to give them time to get the bait in their mouths so you can set the hook

Or you can use circle hooks which don't require a hook set at all

I personally like Kahle, keep em sharp and don't really use a lip ripping hook set, just more of a sweep and reel ..

It is very much by "feel" and most of all requires time on the water and
trial and error

Looking forward to seeing other inputs on this question

An keep asking those questions!
Tim

[nosnag]

Hashaam,
This is a good question with many answers.
One of the most important is hook size.Depending on what fish you are targeting ,size can be critical.Panfish require a smaller hook than a catfish or a bass,or gar.You may have had a gar that got away from you in this post.Too small a hook will maybe just catch on a small area of skin and tear loose.Also if you are fishing for some large rough fish a heavy leader of monofilament line or even wire is needed.
Typical panfish hooks should range from a #8 to a #4 hook.With larger panfish a size#2 to a 1/0 hook is in order.Bass and smaller catfish call for a 2/0 to a 5/0 hook. The larger predator fish are better caught with a 6/0 to a 9/0 hook.Just remember that the higher the number , the smaller the hook until you go to the slash sizes.
The bend in the hook is also very important.The larger the bait you use, the wider the gap you will need to allow for hooking with the bait still attached to the hook. Length of the shank of the hook allows the bait to be strung on the hook to allow a more natural presentation. As you can see by now,this is why there are so many different styles of hooks.As you develop a liking to certain types of fish,you will adapt the size and style best suited for that species.It is largely a matter of what the fish is that you are after and fine tuning your equipment to it. It may be done by trial and error,but you will find the right combination for your particular style.It takes time,so do'nt be discouraged at your first attempts.
Good luck and enjoy learning,
BILL

[Hashaam]

thanks for all the advice, I intend on fishing up a storm this holiday weekend, hopefully y'all are doin the same :)

[Illinoisgiller]

Hashaam, The hook set issues are well covered already, but annother option is to target the gars if you have enough of them. There is a simple gar lure in use that doesn't involve a hook .It is a simple pice of nylon rope with a single knot in the center, and then the ends are combed out. The gars teeth get tangled in the nylon. Heavy gloves and longnose pliers are standard equipment when landing them this way. Since I'm a computer dummy, a Google for hookless gar lure should find it . Mike

[wewamohawk]

hashaam the giller gave you the way to get garfish and you get more withhis way wish you luck

[Hashaam]

bill, the hookless lure is a gar magnet around here
a few days ago i landed my first short nose gar, i believe its the same as the florida gar, it was huge! (by my standards) i do not have a scale but it was about 2 ft long. it had this beautiful alomst metallic green coat, Ill tell u one thing, after being horned by the first catfish i eve caught i was extra careful with my gar :)

am i the only one who loves gar so much?? i cant get over how they have been around for 400 million years, and theres always the chance of landing a monster gator gar.

[BigFish]

http://www.geocities.com/GarManJack/ Enjoy.

Thanks for the link :)

Those Videos/DVD look interesting!

[Sonny]

Hello, Hashaam.

If you're fishing lures and not live bait, you might want to consider using barbless hooks. Setting the hook is easy with a barbless, because you don't have to drive it in passed a barb. The only thing you have to remember is to keep tension on the line the entire time you're bringing the fish in. Any slack, that hook'll pop out, and that bad boy you hooked up with will be nothing more than a memory.

Another consideration is the type of line you're using. Monofilament stretches, and as a rule needs a much more "enthusiastic" hookset. The superlines, like Spiderwire, don't need near as much force. I've set the hook on a fish at least ten yards away with just a flick of the wrist with superline. Just remember with superlines to use a softer action rod (fiberglass/graphite composites are great for them). The mono acts, more-or-less, like a shock absorber during a fish fight because of its stretch. Because the superline doesn't stretch (or stretches very little), the rod will have to take over the shock absorption duties.

Tight lines to all.

[DaveIN]

Nice find Soupy!

I never even have heard of hookless gar bait.

That is why this forum is so great............

[Mrmuskie5]

Just go with some circle hooks for that monster if youre fishing livebait. Then you dont have to set the hook just hold on and let the rod load up. And i would also invest in some good line with limited stretch like some braid.