Hookspitters !

[Brochet]

Might have set a new Personal Record today for most fish lost off the hook in a day of ice fishing... went 3 for 12 on tipups, with fish getting free in a variety of ways. 

Even the first fish iced today spit the hook - 1st flag went up while setting the 3rd tipup - a good sign the bite wouldn't be slow - and the spool was rattling !  Line was pulling off the spool fast, and the fish was tugging hard.  Once I had a good-sized pike's head out of the hole, and was hauling the fish up to the ice, the line went slack, the hook flew out of its mouth, and the fish just kind of stood there, looking for its reverse gear and thrashing around.  I didn't gave a gaff within reach but somehow was able to get a grip on the slimy thing, grabbed it, and flung it onto the ice.  That was a pike about 32" and 7 lbs. 

After that there was a flag - nobody home, but line had been pulled out, so it was definitely a fish, not a wind flag or the bait swimming hard... then 2 smaller pike.  Then the shenanigans began. 

A few flags with line pulled out but nobody on when I got to them.  Sometimes the bait was missing, sometimes still there and mangled-looking.  One flag was a real spool-rattler with line pulling out fast.  Set the hook and felt a big fish tugging hard.  Then it turned and swam straight to the hole - FAST.  I pulled line in as fast as I could just to keep up, but felt it was still there.  After lots of pulling in line, finally saw the line-marker, then the leader, getting excited... saw a flash of something big and pale-green and then it was gone - off the hook right at the hole  .  Maybe it was going so fast that trying to turn it up the hole just tore the hook out ?   Didn't get a good look at what it was, maybe a bowfin ?  not sure what else would swim like that. 

After that lost fish, a few more flags went up with either nobody home, or something that tugged and then spit the hook.  And one fish that grabbed the bait while I was resetting a tipup after the previous lost fish, but it got off too.

Good day to be out though, only the 2nd time this warm rainy season, so happy just to have caught a few good fish !

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

Is this an unusual experience for you, or a normal frequency of missing fish ? Often, when a fish drops the bait, it is a perch that hits a minnow that it then realized was too big for it to eat. As for the fish running in toward you and slacking the line, that is a frequent behavior of pike, and you probably did not do anything wrong because you said you were trying to pull line in faster when you noticed what was happening. Sometimes the fish win  When I downsized my hook sizes, and the size of my live minnows to go on those hooks, my catch rate went way up and I had way fewer misses of the type you described.

I don't use anything bigger than a size 6 treble hook for pike, or live minnows larger than 4 inches long anymore.

[Brochet]

Thanks for the reply, Warrior, good info  ! 

Yeah, unusual experience to lose that many fish and catch only 3... especially to have some big fish on the line and then get off, usually if they tug that hard they are hooked solidly and stay on...

Makes sense about the dropped bait being perch, there's plenty of little yellow perch where I was.

When you downsized hooks and got a better catch rate, do you use quick strike rigs (2 treble hooks) or just one treble per line ?

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

Thanks, I experimented with quick strike rigs about 20 years ago, but I think the problem I had was not having the 2nd hook on a short enough piece of leader, so that 2nd line had slack in it which I did not like. I probably did not look at enough leader options to solve the problem, I just gave up on using quick strike rigs but some guys swear by them. I don't use any type of steel leader for any lines anymore, just pure fluorocarbon leader with the hook tied directly to it.

[PikeKing23]

Sounds like dull hooks to me

[Pike Panther]

I recommend paying the extra money on good quality hooks like Gamatazu or Owner 2/0 or larger.   Periodically sharpen your hooks.  Pike have a bony mouth.  You need to set the hook like you mean so the hook digs in hard or passed thru the mouth.  I don't use treble hooks or quick strikes becuase when the bite is on I can't get to all of my flags in a reasonable amount of time.  I can get a single hook out of the throat every time with a single hook without hurting the fish but, there can be issues with a treble.  You also need very good quality steel leaders that are strait or 80# flourocarbon leaders.  If you have curly leaders with memory you will get less strikes and fish will drop the bait more often.  As one previous post mentioned, don't oversize your bait for the size of your hook.  That will also help hook sets.  When you bait, run the hook along one side, just under the skin without hitting the back bone and have the barb of the hook facing towards the head of the bait.  Pike swallow their bait head first.  This way when you set the hook the barb end is more likely to be in the fishes mouth and pointing a direction that is more likely to result in a hook set than if you baited with the barb facing the tail.  Good luck.

[esox_xtm]

I'll echo the sharp hooks. You want 'em so they can literally snag on anything with the least amount of pressure.

Another thing to consider is hook size. A hook can be too large for small to medium pike. As noted above, pike mouths are very bony with very little flesh in a lot of places. If the hook is so large, think hooks in or approaching the x/0 range, that it can't penetrate past the barb due to bone you're gonna lose lotsa fish. I use a small, single treble 80% of the time unless bait is very large, say over 6 -7 inches. If the line is moving I set the hook. Sure I'll miss a few but very rarely have a gullet hooked fish. Even then a small treble is very easy to remove with minimal damage.

Many times pike like to play with their food. Come up and nose it, scare it, slash and dash without actually putting it in their mouth. That accounts for numbers of flags, even with a bit of line pulled out, that have no pike. Those little snot rockets are so aggressive sometimes they fly in, rip the bait right off the hook, tripping the flag but they're nowhere near by the time you get there.

At least you're getting action so you've won half the battle by choosing both a good location and presentation. Good luck!

[Brochet]

Thanks for all the good info !

I use a sharpening stone and try to keep the hooks sharp after each trip, but I really like the idea of downsizing hooks and using just a single treble or a single hook.  Seems like the red hooks on the quick strike rigs get dull quickly and can't be sharpened to a good enough point so I am buying some of the better quality hooks and leaders too. 

[lowaccord66]

Ditch those prebuilt rigs.  Hooks suck and wont hold a sharp point.  Single 5/0 owner has treated me really well over the years.

[hardwater diehard]

Hook the minnow parallel to the dorsal fin from the back of the fish to the front ..this will put the the hook point facing to the tail of the minnow . On a head strike the hook is in the perfect position ..Circle hooks work well too.

[aquarium234]

I second the Gamatazu hooks or similar above grade hook. They stay sharper much longer then others, and I don't have them break when unhooking my pike. I like to crimp my own leaders using these hooks so I know they are made of quality materials and hold up better then the store bought.
:-)
At least you had an active day, could have sat all day and only had a flag :-)