100 OUT OF THE OCEAN
To strike, or not
Ioften see anglers repeatedly swinging their fishing rods towards the heavens. They’re trying to hook fish.
Responding to bites with an exaggerated sweep of the rod, sometimes followed by frenzied reel cranking, these anglers are attempting to pin a hook in a fish’s mouth and keep it there, but most of the time their rods remain stubbornly unbent. That’s because over-zealous striking generally serves only to pull the bait (and the hook) out of a fish’s mouth, probably spooking it in the process and sending it packing.
Swinging the rod to ‘set’ the hook, often termed ‘striking’, is meant to ensure a secure hook hold. But getting it right is an acquired skill. Knowing exactly when to strike (and how hard) comes with experience, but it’s more an instinctive reaction than an exact science. Not only that, timing the strike varies considerably with the species of fish you are targeting and the bait and fishing tackle you’re using, especially the hook.
Strike too soon, too late or too hard, and you will miss hooking the fish.
DIFFERENT STRIKES FOR DIFFERENT HOOKS
The most common hook types used today are the J-hook, usually kirbed (i.e. with an offset point) and the recurved or circle hook, which may or may not be offset.
In recent years, the once ubiquitous J-hook has lost ground to re-curved hook patterns, sometimes called circle hooks, though ‘circle hooks’ best describes only the most extreme examples. Traditional J-hooks work fine, but as anglers have become increasingly concerned with conserving fish stocks, the use of circle hooks has increased.
Re-curved hooks generally catch fish in the corner of the jaw, whereas J-hooks are sometimes swallowed, particularly when anglers pay insufficient attention to their gear. A swallowed J-hook can inflict internal damage that kills the fish, even if it gets off the hook or is released after capture.
While popular, offset circle hooks miss out on some of the benefits of fishing with circle hooks. Their offset point means they hook up well, even if you strike by accident, but often hook fish inside the mouth or deep inside the throat rather than in the corner of the mouth. They’re less likely to deeply hook fish than J-hooks but much more likely to do so than ordinary circle hooks.
If you use non-offset circle/re-curved hooks, you never need to strike, which solves the timing problem. Circle hooks are self-setting – simply tighten up smoothly on the line and the hook will lodge itself in the fish’s mouth. However, if you are used to fishing with J-hooks, changing over to circle hooks can take some getting used to.
Resisting the urge to strike when you get a solid bite is difficult
and training yourself not to takes time. Even after years of fishing with circle hooks I still make plenty of mistakes, striking instinctively and almost invariably missing the hook up.
Traditional J-hooks, on the other hand, generally need setting to hook up, but if the timing of the strike is wrong, the hook can fail to find a hold in the fish’s mouth or else lodge deeply inside its body.
THE J-HOOK STRIKE
First up, try and resist the temptation to strike at every nibble. A good bite will register quite strongly at the rod tip and often the best way to respond is to allow the fish to pull the rod tip down or away against minimal resistance, then pull back firmly once the line tightens. A solid hook-up will bend the rod over and a few winds of the reel’s handle should keep the line tight – allowing slack line is the surest way to lose a fish.
It’s always better to fish with the rod in hand, paying careful attention to what’s happening to the line and maintaining good contact with the bait in case there is a bite.
This is just as true when you are stray-lining. Although you’ll catch fish on a slack line, using J-hooks these fish are almost always deeply hooked and even circle hooks can be swallowed if a fish is given enough time. If a deeply hooked fish proves to be undersized your inattention has killed a fish you can’t take home to eat, which is a waste.
Many modern reels have useful features like a baitrunner-style free-spool function that allows a fish to run off with a bait without feeling a lot of resistance from the line. It’s tempting to put the rod a reel in the rod holder and leave it to its own devices. You can just sit back and wait for the baitrunner to start singing.
To be honest, if you’re quick, you can usually set the hook in a fish’s mouth rather than its stomach, but it’s a fine line and fishing this way is certainly not best practice. You’re much better to hold onto the rod and respond to a run smartly, within a few seconds of the spool starting to whirr.
The same advice holds true when stray-lining with overhead reels: rather than plonking the rod in the rod holder to fend for itself, it’s far better to fish with the rod in hand and the reel in free-spool using light thumb pressure to maintain contact with the bait through the line. You’ll still catch fish with the rod in the holder, but there’s a better than even chance they’ll be deeply hooked.
WHEN’S THE RIGHT TIME TO STRIKE?
Although different fish species have different feeding habits, which has some bearing on when you should strike, in general terms the biggest mistakes anglers make is waiting either not long enough or far too long before striking. Just as striking immediately you feel a bite seldom results in a solid hook-up, waiting for a fish to run off metres of line before striking often results in a dropped bait or a deeply hooked fish.
It’s easier when you are fishing straight up and down using a dropper rig: strike when the rod tip pulls down firmly. You should have a tight line to your bait(s) anyway, so there’s generally no need for an exaggerated lift, particularly if you are fishing with lowstretch braided line, but you may need to lift a little higher when fishing in deep water using nylon to compensate for line stretch and any bowing in the line.
It’s a bit trickier when you are stray-lining: allow the fish to move away with the bait for a short distance before pulling back sharply and firmly to set the hook. This can sometimes be achieved simply by lowering or swivelling the rod tip towards the fish as it moves off with the bait, allowing the line to straighten and then striking to drive the hook home.
At other times, particularly if you are using large baits, it’s better to allow the fish to pull some line off the reel against minimal resistance before engaging the gears/closing the bail arm/clamping your thumb on the spool, letting the line tighten and then using a controlled sweep of the rod to set the hook.
Don’t get carried away on the strike: too much force can break the line or rip the hook out. Let the rod do the work, using its flex to maintain a tight line to the fish.
NO STRIKING, PLEASE
As already alluded to, resist striking at all if you are using circle hooks. When fishing straight up and down, lower the rod towards the water in response to a solid bite and then raise the rod gently and smoothly until it takes a decent bend.
Once the rod is bent the fish is hooked: wind the reel to maintain a tight line as you lower the rod tip again to begin fighting the fish.
When stray lining with circle hooks, there’s usually no need to let fish run any distance unless the bait is really large. Simply let a biting fish swing the rod around until it points down the line, allow the line to straighten, and either hold on tight or pull back slowly to bend the rod. Fish will hook themselves.
If you do elect to let a fish run with the bait, don’t let it run far. To seat the hook, simple tighten up smoothly – no need to swing on the rod.
Circle hooks are so effective at hooking fish with little or no angler input, you can happily fish with the rod in a rod holder. Provided there’s no slack line and the reel is in gear, the rod will effectively drive home the hook it as it bends over to the weight of the fish. It works a treat, and best of all, with circle hooks guthooked fish are rare. B