Pretty much what you would never consider doing with a fast action gear rod.
Pull back on the fore grip with one hand while shoving the butt of the rod in the fishes face with the other.
Then reel like hell.

This compact efficient rotation in the butt section is magnified tremendously at the tip. With moderate action rods like the GLX CP, you can actually point the butt directly at the fish you are fighting with the rod bent to a C with no adverse effect on the tip. Something most gear rods makers cringe at and call "high sticking".

If you're controlling your line properly with a CP reel, you shouldn't have to reel much before setting the hook, maybe like you would with a spinning reel, since you should be able to maintain a pretty direct connection to your float on all but the longest hero drifts.

Actually hook sets aren't near as much a problem sometimes as simply landing a fish with a long CP rod depending where you are at.

Like Todd mentioned, one of the best tips I've found when pumping a fish with a long limber rod is to keep it down low instead of up high. Turn more with your body than using your arms, ala spey.