Spot croakers

[zhitoman]

I know its a freshwater forum, but i think you guys can give me a better advice. I've been fishing for these little suckers for the last few weeks, and seem to be doing okay. The problem is, half of the fish I hook comes off the hook. Is there anything I can do to minimize that?

[surfrod]

This is a fresh water forum but there is a common solution: use sharper and sometimes smaller hooks.

The small fine gold hooks in say size 10 work a lot better for spot and small kingfish than most but not all commercial rigs.

So given this is a freshwater forum ( :) ) when, for example, I am fishing freshwater for alewife ( when it was legal) I'd use a modified sabiki rig... Fewer hooks and sometimes the feathers off...just out of convenience rather than tying my own...those hooks work great on spot

[surfrod]

This is a fresh water forum but there is a common solution: use sharper and sometimes smaller hooks.

The small fine gold hooks in say size 10 work a lot better for spot and small kingfish than most but not all commercial rigs.

So given this is a freshwater forum ( :) ) when, for example, I am fishing freshwater for alewife ( when it was legal) I'd use a modified sabiki rig... Fewer hooks and sometimes the feathers off...just out of convenience rather than tying my own...those hooks work great on spot

Last piece of advice is to just crank those suckers in faster, you're not plying a weakfish after all :)

[Sigma1073]

I think surfrod hit it on the head. In addition setup another rod and use it to live line spot for blues.

[ScowardNJ]

We catch em in Barnegat Bay with Sabiki's right out of the package.

And, uhhh, use them for Pike in the Passiac... ;)

[baetis]

Also try smaller bait. It could be the fish has the tail end of the bait in its mouth when you begin to reel them in. You feel them, but you never get the hook in them.

[jmurr711]

size 8 hooks or sabikis with a tiny bit of bloodworm. fill buckets in Brigantine