MyFishFinder.com Just like iceshanty but warmer
Did you run any slack to give the fish time to eat it? (I use a bobber with a paper clip through it)
Depends on the type of fish you're targeting. If you're getting trout to hit you're rarely going to lose strikes in my opinion cause they hammer the whole thing. If you have perch messing with your set up they will only bite the tail or tip of the minnow all day long and you'll never hook one. The most surefire way to set them every time is to give the fish nothing else to bite other than the hook (put a half a wax worm on a jig....). I'll also use pink plastics and a jig and tear off any tails of the plastic that the fish could hit that's not on the hook. If all that is still failing and you're super desperate you can put a size 18 treble as a stinger one inch below the jig..... just gotta give them nowhere else to grab onto but the hook. Might also be worth mentioning the weight of the rod. Medium to medium heavy is the best in my opinion because it still has some give to fight the fish on its own but it has enough back bone to set the hook when it goes off.... let me know if your luck changes!
BH,I'm targeting walleye's but had pike roam through. I'm also using a fiberglass 36" Med ugly stick (not the G2 ones they are too light) with a semi light drag set up so the fish can run a bit and not haul my rod down the hole.
Kayl,I didn't give any slack since the wind would blow the line off the trigger mechanism. do you have a way to keep it on? and I'll give the bobber idea a try next time I'm out.
I made a couple of the bobbers pictured here with a large paper clip and a bobber ..works well..pops off usually on the hook set so no obstruction when fighting the fish. EZPZhttps://automaticfisherman.com/store/#!/small-yellow-and-black-balsa-wood-pin-and-hook-bobber/p/111995218/category=15414122