Topwater Hooksets

How many times have you gone to the lake and tied on that topwater lure hoping today is the day? It is no secret that topwater fishing is the most exciting method out there. You just can’t beat that feeling you get as you pop or walk your lure methodically back to the boat knowing that, at any second, there can be an explosion on the surface. The only problem is that your adrenaline, along with the anticipation, often ruins that shining moment that the bass breaks the surface, swiping at your lure. All to often, your first reaction is to make the hardest, fastest hookset of your life. This usually leads to a second reaction of, jump left or duck right, in order to dodge the speeding projectile full of sharp hooks coming straight at you. Well you just missed the fish, or ripped his lips off, but between the explosion and the close call with your lure, it was definitely a rush. It probably wasn’t as exciting, though, if you couldn’t escape the lure. Don’t feel alone if this has happened to you. Now it is time to calm down and understand that bass wants that lure, you just need to let him have it. This is easier said than done, but all you need to do is take a different approach. I have learned it is better for me to use a rod that has a fairly fast tip that is a little more forgiving if I do react too fast. A stiff rod only works against you if you have a quick trigger. Second, I can’t count how many times a bass has absolutely exploded on my lure and missed it. Sometimes they may miss it several times before actually hitting it. If your line is fairly taught you will know when they have it, and a moderate hookset will do the trick. When I first started throwing topwaters, I used a method a friend taught me. Every time a fish would bust his lure he would say, "Come to papa", then hookset. I settled for a "one 1000" count followed by a hookset. This works a lot of the time, but if the bass missed, I found myself dodging my lure and missing any chance I had for another strike. Another tip for successful hooksets, is to replace the factory hooks with premium hooks a size larger. When changing the hooks it is good to add a split ring which allows the hook to rotate, in turn, taking leverage away from the fish. This is something I just read in the latest Bassmaster magazine and plan to try real soon. All in all, your ability to take a calm approach to a topwater strike will be the difference between a lot of strikes and a lot of fish in the boat.