Hey folks, Glenn May here with BassResource.com. And you know, on our forums we sometimes get people that are talking about the EWG Worm, the Extra-Wide Gap Worm Hook. And they say that because that hook point is aligned with the shank, that they don't have much confidence in it. They feel like they don't get hooks, they don't get hooksets on it, they don't hook the fish, they lose a lot of fish on it. That's really not the case. It's not the design of the hook, it has to do with the hookset. Let me explain why.
Have you ever done this? You set the hook on a fish, you reel him in, reel him in, suddenly pops loose. And you bring the bait back to the boat, and you look at it, and it looks like this. Okay, the hook point isn't even out. Have you ever had this happen to you? Come on, I know you have. Admit it. We're all friends here. We've all had this happen to us.
Okay, what happens is when you set up on the hook . . . a fish, his mouth is really strong, and he sucks in that whole bait, he closes his mouth, and if you pull on the hookset or you don't give him a hard enough hookset, that bullet sinker, it hits right up inside his mouth. And that hook never has a chance to penetrate into his jaw. And that feels like a hookset to you and you're pulling him in. You fight him and fight him until finally he opens his mouth, and you just pull the lure right out of his mouth. And it never penetrates.
That's not the problem . . .that's not a problem with the design of a hook. It's with the hookset.
So what you need to do first of all when you're Texas rigging, point your rod tip at least at the 9 o'clock position if not lower. Point it more towards the water, like a 7 o'clock position. Then when you detect a bite, instead of just reeling up and pulling back and setting the hook, reel out the slack, but drop the rod tip and then pull back. What you're gonna do is you're gonna create a whipping action with the rod tip, plus by throwing that slack in the line, you're gonna jar that hook really hard, pile drive it into his mouth. But not only that. If he's got his mouth closed, it's gonna pop that bullet sinker past his mouth. He still has his mouth closed because it's in an instant. He's gonna clamp down right here, and guess what? That hook pops out and goes right into his jaw.
Okay, so it's all in the hookset, it's not in the design of the hook. Give that a shot. Hope that works for you. For more tips like that, visit BassResource.com.
