to set the hook or no

[trypman1]

I just tighten the line and pick up or reel in! Works fine.

[Don Fischer]

I'm really new to this but hear the don't set the hook on other fish too. The crappie I caught I did set the hook but I also like a very light ultra light spinning rod when I need to use a spinning rod. I suspect to much set the hook might be counter productive, paper thin mouth on them.

[SKs Crappie Catching Adventures]

I know tight lining is different than using a cork but with all techniques I use for crappie except long lining I POP my stickle hook in'em and almost all of the time the sickle is in the roof of their mouth..... You know that boney part that is hard to get the jig out of......

So you want proof? Well here it is....

[Ketchn]

Live bait is a strange thing , sometimes live bait isn't all the way in the intended victims mouth ....its a fine line on live bait in my opinion. With Jigs I RIP as hard as humanly possible on the hookset and reel fast as heck ....anything less I lose fish .

[matt1991]

I honed my fishing skills in the era of "break their jaw" hooksets. I learned that such a set meant lots of lost crappie so now I just use a sweeping set on everything. When fishing with a bobber, I reel down till I feel slight pressure then sweep the rod back easy while reeling.

I had a guy on a guide trip last year who absolutely couldn't/wouldn't listen to me. We were pulling cranks and having a good day. Every time a fish pulled the rod down on his side, he would reel down then put a Roland Martin-break its jaw hookset. At the end of the trip he had personally yanked off at least 7-8 good crappie that were already hooked and either on top or coming to the top. That ends up being a reflection on my abilities to put them on fish when he relives the trip with his buddies but conveniently fails to tell of his antics with the hooksets.

well thats just scummy people at leats all the others you have taken out have positive things to say

also who the heck tries to hard hook set a crappie on a crank bait lolz they hook themselves on a moving crank bait

i guess people wana look cool doing some hard hook set iv seen many people losing fish too with one i like a small jerk but was curious if there is a tried and true method to panfish

[Atimm693]

I'll admit that sometimes I get a little excited and get a little rowdy with hooksets, sometimes right into the tree branch that "bit" my jig.

You can get a little more aggressive with a float, since the float is going to be working against you, the line is not going to be perfectly straight between the rod and the fish.

[catchNgrease]

With fish that are walking with it I try to go against the way the fish are running with a sweep motion. Corks that lay over or sink I use a hook set motion that has been described as simply closing the bend of your elbow. Too many fish start "lift biting" and I adjust depth a few inches. With 30 ft of line and soft tips of crappie rods I would figure it would be tuff to rip through the lip especially if they are stuck in the roof of the mouth.

Sent from my E6810 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[DHC]

With a float, it’s just a sweeping hookset for me like mrdux said. Spider rigging on the other hand I try to cross their eyes.

[Catfish Tony]

Depends on how the bite is. If it walking the bobber then a sweep in the opposite direction works. Slow take down means I set the hook softly by pulling up. Hard fast takedown means hard hookset.

[BAMA S]

both