Missing fish?

[Daddy and Luke]

I know this may seem like a dumb question.......I've been spider rigging this year several times. We've caught some good fish, but I've probably missed twice as many as hooked. I'll see the bite, and try and set, but it's not there. Am I doing it wrong? Should I be waiting longer to set the hook?

[scrat]

What size hooks are you using. I have found that crappie have really big mouths and sometimes the small hooks don't catch as good as the bigger size one's do. You may want to use the sickle hooks they are really sharp and give a wider gap for better hook up. The worst thing a fisherman can do also is to fish with dull hooks. A old time test to see if a hook is sharp or not is to drag it across your thumb nail if it doesn't stick in the nail and just slides across change hooks as it is not sharp enough.

[vic n]

I love the sickle hooks, too! I've only been rigging a couple of times, but we had to have our hands just inches away from the rods to react really fast to the bite

[kickingback]

How fast you trolling? Could be try to slow the pace and see if you get more hook ups.

[yikess]

How much weight are you using? It sounds like your seeing the fish spit it out and not the small tick when he took it in. Rod could be to stiff as well.

[genec]

YOU SEE THE BITE AND SET THE HOOK AND ITS NOT THERE,FISH DONE RELEASE IT,MINNOWS OR JIGS? NOT HOLDING ON LONG ENOUGH OR TOO SLOW SETTING HOOK,SHARP HOOKS WILL SOMETIMES HOOK THEM LONG ENOUGH TO SET HOOK

[blueball]

scent helps to,put some on ur hands too

[RWiske]

Funny, I was just getting ready to start a new thread and basically using the same exact words! I've been pushing two lines on the front of my boat and miss way more fish than I catch. It's gotten so bad that I started just holding the rods. I'm using 1/8th oz Sickle jigs and plastics for the majority of the time and some hand tied chenille and marabou on 1/16th oz sickles, both rigged on a Carolina rig with 1/4 weights. I always tip with crappie nibbles. Seems I can't get the rods out of the holders quick enough. I'm using light action 7 foot rods spooled with 6 lb Mr. Crappie.

[skiptomylu]

Is why when I long line troll I hold the one and only rod I am fishing with! I don't ever feel them letting it go because I set the hook on anything suspicious! Also I use a lot of Sickle hooks, but I also use a lot of real Roadrunners with that #6 regular bend hooks hat come in them! Form me something I think the smaller profile of a real Roadrunner will get hit more often some days over a Pony Head with a #4 Sickle hook. AM I more confident that I will land the fish if on a Sickle? Heck yes I do feel that way so am more careful when I get a good one on the #6 hook in the real Roadrunner! Still they work!

Oh and I usually go between .4 and .8 MPH with a lean to the .4 more.

Skip

[Daddy and Luke]

Let me see if I can answer everybody's questions.....I think the hooks are 1's. Those are changing. I'm pushing minnows, at .5 to .8, with a 1/2 oz homemade Capps and Coleman rig. I appreciate everyone's responses. I'm going to change the hooks today. Going out tomorrow to try again after this past cold front. Gonna try and take mom out there.

I just thought of something. The line......I've got 6lb mr crappie on. It's the toughest non braid I've ever seen. But have ya'll noticed how much it stretches? I wonder if that's it.....C