Swing Hook Set

[PharmFisher]

Do you guys have a different tacit for setting the hook on salmon vs steelhead on the swing?

[camA]

what i do, i let the fly swing, when i see the fly get hit or i feel a thump, i strip the line as fast as i can, while at the same time setting the hook like a normal hookset to get a very hard solid hook set with minimal effort. note that i keep my rod tip horizontal when swinging wet flies. dries i still keep it higher up so i can control the fly better. thats when the strip comes in handy

[Evan0505]

I hold a couple feet of line between my reel and index finger in a "shock loop". When I feel a bump or tug, or just pressure from a fish, I drop my loop (without moving the tip of my rod). When the slack from the shock loop comes tight to the reel I swing to the bank. This allows the hook to slide to the corner of the mouth as the fish turns on the fly. It takes practice and patience to not set the hook on the initial tug, but it results in a solid hookup nearly every time.
-Evan

[TallFlyGuy]

Well I use to think a loop was the way to go for sunk or dry fly...Until I saw this video by Henrik Mortensen taking an atlantic like trout...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx4Z0irASgQ

[PacificCoastSteel]

in general people either drop a loop like Evan described or fish the line right off the reel with a light drag...

personally i like to fish the line off the reel and let the fish take about 3 feet of line off of the reel - then i sweep the rod low and into the bank...

for me its just less to think about...i have a pretty high percentage of bumps to hookups, and landed fish... i just don't trust myself to be able to react perfectly every time with a loop of line in my finger - especially after a few hours/days of swingin with no action :D

now, i DO think a good, experienced "loop dropper" may have a better shot at getting back (in the same swing) a fish that bumps or licks the fly than fishing off the drag of the reel, but lets not forget - with either technique the fish is turning with the fly and pulling the weight of the flyline (80-100ft spey casts in many instances) against the drag of the water....

even dropping a loop the fish is feeling pressure - sure, they feel a little more against the reel but both work fine

[KStock]

personally i like to fish the line off the reel and let the fish take about 3 feet of line off of the reel - then i sweep the rod low and into the bank...


Hey PCS... thanks for this insight! I tried fishing the line off the reel last week for the exact same reason. That is, a fish took earlier in the day and ran... and my unintentional reaction was to grip down on the line with my finger immediately... big mistake. Question... as you sweep the rod towards the bank... I presume you are simultaneously applying pressure to the arbor and/or line to aid in a solid hook-set? Just checking... still learning this stuff. Thanks.

[PacificCoastSteel]

i dont touch the line at all until after i sweep low to the bank to set the hook and then raise the rod tip to fight the fish/let him run..

when i'm swinging its a spey or switch rod... those lines are heavy... the resistance of the line in the water, the fact that the fish has my hook in its mouth and has started swimming away with it... the sweep is really just to make sure its thru whatever bones in the mouth it needs to get into - and to put it in the corner of the mouth...

the guys that drop a loop usually let it slide thru their fingers till its about to come off the reel, and clamp the line to the rod - briefly - as they set the hook

hopefully Slow and Low will see this thread and chime in - i'm pretty sure he's a diehard (and experienced) loop dropper...

to each his own... both work fine

[Slow and Low]

I carry a loop but I absolutely do not "drop" the loop. Hopefully the loop is taken. I do not lift the rod until the fish is on. They set the hook themselves. Swung fish should not require a hook set. They are either on or they are not. An effort to hook fish will put an unhooked player down every time.

Good luck.

[Evan0505]

Slow and low, you are right, I guess I don't "DROP" the loop either... I just lessen the pressure that I am holding the loop with, and the loop is "taken".... I've just always worded it "dropping the loop".

[PacificCoastSteel]

how about "slippin a loop" then? :D

[KStock]

With either method (shock-loop vs line to the reel) is the drag set the same? Also, from your experience, what portion of Steelhead fly fishers use a shock-loop vs. line to the reel?

[Bighorn12]

I'm fairly new to swinging flies for steel. I have experiented with carrying a loop (a) and keeping the line tight to the reel but setting the drag very loose (b) - just tight enought to not create a mess in the line. Two out of the last 3 fish I've hooked came at the bottom of the swing- method (b). Line screamed off the reel mayber 5-10 yards and the fish came unbuttoned on the jump. I didn't set the hook on either fish. The 1 fish out of the last three I landed hooked itself well from the get-go. Should I have applied some pressure to the others. I was thinking I should have "set" after the fish ran a few yards. Now I'm second guessing. If it matters, both fish that came unbuttoned were hooked on leach type patterns (Ho Bo Spey) with a trailer hook (probably a 2).