Techy Thursdays - Make that fish stick

By Des Armstrong

You set the hook; you feel a wee bit of resistance, a head shake and a short run. The fish falls off. Huh!! What happened there?

Manic Tackle sales manager, Matt Wilson, experiencing some emotions after dropping a third consecutive fish

Here are a couple of small suggestions to help make that fish stick.

1. Check your hooks: Ensure the hook has its natural shape (that it hasn't opened up) and the hooks point is needle sharp. Use the "Nail Test" to test the sharpness of your hook. If you bump rocks/trees or touch a fish; re-check your hook straight away.

2. Strike harder: Your rod, line, leader and tippet all act as sponge. You'd be surprised on how much force is needed to set the hook into a fishes mouth. The initial hookset needs to be firm and sharp. Try "strip striking"; this provides a faster and firmer hook set.

3. Drop the rod on the initial run: If you feel your hookset wasn't the best, as the fish does it’s initial run; try lowering your rod tip towards the fish. This helps drive the hooks point deeper into the fish’s mouth.