Setting the hook for trout? Need help.

[fishingeek]

I was fishing for trout over the weekend and lost three fishes while trying to set the hook as the fish took the line. I was using a #6 hook with a small shiner hooked on the minnow's back. The problem is when should I set the hook? How long should I wait before setting the hook? How hard should set the hook? Should I set the hook when its on the run or when it stop? I've been having poor results everytime a flag goes up and trying to set the hook when the fish takes the line only to come up nothing in the end.

[pieman1998]

try smaller hook  like a 12 to 14 treble  and just watch the line see if it go's then set the hook

[deadsmelthead]

Try some circle hooks, I prefer size 4 & 6. My opinion is you want to set the hook when they are running and when you do you don't want to try give them the ole heave ho, when you see the line running out  you want to pick up your tip up with as little disturbance as possible, feed some line out to the point you have some slack in front of you to keep an eye on all the while keeping a hand on the line above the slack so when you see the slack line start running down the hole you can give them a nice little pop, kinda like putting the brakes on them, I believe letting them sit there increases the chance of them spitting it or if they are sitting there and you try and set the hook they could be in mid gulp or chew and you can pull the hook clean out of their mouth. I have fished with guys who wait until they stop and have seen a clear difference between the 2 methods and in my opinion it favors setting it while they are running.

[troutfisherT]

i have had some trouble in the past hooking trout on my tip ups also.the first thing i did that worked for me was to give them time a full 1 to 2 minutes,most of the time they run a short burst take 10 or more feet of line and stop for up to 30 seconds or more(feels like for ever)then they run on this run i give them a little line and lightly set the hook.now,the hook i switched from a size 4 aberdeen to gamakatsu size 6 octopus.i also changed the way i hook my bait,i hook my small to medium shiners very light not deep so the hook easily pulls though the bait and into the fish on a light hook set.by doing these things i very rarely miss a fish that is there on the line when i get to my tip up but i'm sure you will notice trout like to take the bait run and drop the bait ,this i have no cure for but i do beleive if you give the fish more time with the bait and the fish will spend more time on the ice

[A- bomb]

By lightly setting the hook it simply means your buddies won't think your over there trying to start an old mower!!
I have a buddy that does "the pull" .......half the hook up rate!

[scansy]

Just last weekend I was fishing tipups with #10 circle hooks and minnows and was having a hell of a time with one hole.  I didn't know what the fish was, but I got a flag and waited until it stopped it's run to set the hook - nothing.  I re-set the tipup and not 30 seconds later - flag.  Same approach, same, result.  I re-set and again about a minute later flag up.  This happened about 5 or 6 times.  I was really p***ed off now.   I was trying different things, but no luck.  Finally, I stand right at the hole.  Now keep in mind, this is only about 6 feet of water and the line is out maybe 4 feet.  Flag up - and I set the hook immediatly and hard.  Ripped a small brown - about 10 or 11 inches right up to the hole and out.   I was keeping it anyway, so opened him up right away.  He had three of my minnows in his stomach!

I don't recommend the "rip him right out of the hole" method for all cases though.  Mostly, I wait for them to finish a run, then sit for a few seconds, then a short hook set.  Remember, you are pulling the line directly, so a short hook set is as good as a hard set in open water - when the rod gives.  Also, you generally have more line out in open water and it stretches more than the shorter line one ice.

[Scientist]

I was fishing for trout over the weekend and lost three fishes while trying to set the hook as the fish took the line. I was using a #6 hook with a small shiner hooked on the minnow's back. The problem is when should I set the hook? How long should I wait before setting the hook? How hard should set the hook? Should I set the hook when its on the run or when it stop? I've been having poor results everytime a flag goes up and trying to set the hook when the fish takes the line only to come up nothing in the end.

How big are the minnows?  The minnow might be too large. Sounds like the trout is grabbing the minnow’s belly section horizontally so when you set the hook it just pulls out of the minnows back. If you switch to a treble you will increase a hooking chance to 1 in 3. I don’t like to use trebles because it takes too long to unhook a fish in which you plan of releasing; certain lakes have a minimum size requirement. I hook the minnow through the nostrils with a # 10 octopus style hook and set the hook 30 seconds after the run has stopped with a quick tug. When the fish stops it twists the minnow head first to swallow it so placing the hook on the minnows head will give you the best hook set when they stop running. However when they are running a hook below the dorsal fin is better for hook sets.

[scansy]

The minnows were small - in fact, some in the bucket were almost too small to use on a hook.  That was not likely to be the problem.

Some other guys were having trouble hooking fish too - not like this though.  But it seemed they were hitting short.

[Gambler]

Just last weekend I was fishing tipups with #10 circle hooks and minnows and was having a hell of a time with one hole.  I didn't know what the fish was, but I got a flag and waited until it stopped it's run to set the hook - nothing.  I re-set the tipup and not 30 seconds later - flag.  Same approach, same, result.  I re-set and again about a minute later flag up.  This happened about 5 or 6 times.  I was really p***ed off now.   I was trying different things, but no luck.  Finally, I stand right at the hole.  Now keep in mind, this is only about 6 feet of water and the line is out maybe 4 feet.  Flag up - and I set the hook immediatly and hard.

When you use circle hooks you don't set the hook. You wait until the fish is running and you just stop the line and you can feel the line load up and just keep tension on the line and pull it in. I have used circle hooks for trout for about 4 years and I went to circle hooks from trebles so that I can do catch and release without injuring the trout. It has worked out great. It took some getting used to (not setting the hook) but I rarely miss a trout if I tighten up the line while he is making a run. Also not all circle hooks work the same. With some of the offset circle hooks I was still deep hooking the trout. The hooks that I use are #10 eagle claw circle hooks but I would imagine that any non offset true circle hook design would work.