Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthJerzyG
The important thing is not to sleep on the rod. If I see the tip start bouncing, I grab the rod. As soon as I feel like the fish has it in its mouth, I set the hook. Being barbless makes it easier to remove if they get two or all three of the hooks embedded which is still a rarity.
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Yes - this.
I am a recent convert to using barbless hooks. I am currently using a single 1/0 hook with the barb flattened with a pair of pliers. Even if the hook is all the way in the back of their mouth, it will slide out easily.
An angler can't set up 14 rods in the dark and not expect to deep-hook fish. Catfish swallow the bait quickly and hybrid stripers just attack the bait esophagus-first.
I hold the rod in my hand and feel the line for any takes. As soon as the line starts to move, I set the hook. I'm almost never too early on the strike and rarely deep-hook any fish this way.
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