Based on my fishing this week, I keep going through my mind why we had 2 fish get off at the boat on Bulldawgs. I think my hooks were sharp enough. I think I didn't get a good hookset on the fish I lost because it hit on the pause. My retrieve is typically a 2-3foot pumping retrieve. Sometimes the fish hit during the pump, sometimes they hit on the pause. I think I've lost more fish that hit on the pause because I don't get a good hookset.
So, what do you guys do in this situation? Do you set the hooks again and risk pulling it out of the fish's mouth? Or, hope for the best?
To add to the list of ???'s…… Do most of you pucture one hook into the body or just let them all hang. I've found I get less fouled casts if I stab the hooks in. I do the same with a Shallow Invader. But then again, I've never caught a fish on a Dawg. Maybe all the fish are missing the lure by 1" and if I had the hooks down, they'd get hooked! 🙄
I dont put the hooks into my dawgs; the fish are hard enough to catch without having one of the hooks in the bait. It takes a little practice throwing the bait but when you get used to it the bait will very rarely get tangled into the 'dawgball'. I use a big lob throw so that the bait is facing me at all times during the cast and not going end-over-end while in the air. I only have 1-2 dawgballs a day when fishing with the bait for 6-8 hours.
Yikes… lots of questions. The following is just my opinion and by no means is this the right way or the only way. I've caught a fair number of fish on Dawgs and probably more than my share of big fish on them. I hate to give away secrets but if this helps some people catch more fish and sells some more Dawgs then I don't mind.
Hooks…
On either size Dawg I don't like the top hook and I'll turn them in a circle back into the bait so they can't possibly stick a fish in the roof of their mouth. Fish stuck in the roof of the mouth are going to get off and it usually doesn't take long. If the hooks don't seem big enough for the bait I'll upsize them.
Sticking hooks into the bait…
Whether I stick the hooks into the body or not depends on how I'm fishing it. If I'm fishing either size Dawg like a bucktail I like to have the hooks stuck into the bait. The reason for this is that a fish will eat a straight Dawg just like a bucktail, from behind and with a vengence, I don't want hanging hooks that might stop the bait on the outside of their mouth as they try to engulf the bait. If I'm fishing a Dawg like a jerkbait I will always have at least the front hook hanging and most of the time both hooks.
Hooksets…
One good one is all you need, anything more espacially if you can't see the position of the lure in their mouth or the position of the fish is asking for trouble. When fish hit on the pause you are usually out of position for a hookset, this is one of those times where you need to take a second to get back into position and then set the hook. They'll swim around with a dawg just like it's a sucker if you let them.
"Will Schultz" said:
I've caught a fair number of fish on Dawgs and probably more than my share of big fish on them.
I'll second that!! C'mon, Will! Leave 'em alone so someone else can have a chance at them. 😀
BTW, thanks for all that. I usually always stuck the hooks in just because I've seen James Lindner & Tauchen do it, fishing deep structure. So I figured that was the norm.
That big ol hook on top of a dawg serves a purpose- to test if the cheap bolt cutters you bought can cut the "mustard" before trying them out when you NEED to cut some hooks!!! I like to squish the dawg down as much as I can so I don't leave a hook stub.
Ah yes, the "Dawgball"… The WORST broken-play bait there is!! Some baits, just like some quarterbacks, can actually get better on a broken play, but the dawgball is the Scott Mitchell of broken plays- the slowest, clumsiest, dumbest, worst passer under pressure in NFL history!
"Duke" said:
That big ol hook on top of a dawg serves a purpose- to test if the cheap bolt cutters you bought can cut the "mustard" before trying them out when you NEED to cut some hooks!!! I like to squish the dawg down as much as I can so I don't leave a hook stub.
That works too but the hook bent over acts as an anchor for the internal harness. The hook keeps the Dawgs internal organs on the inside where they belong and also keeps the harness from twisting inside.
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