I just got back from swinging spooning for steelhead. I hooked 4 fish but landed none of them! Although fish have come off the hook before, I have never had it happen this often. I'm looking for a little insight.

My Setup: Rvrfshr or BC Steel spoon with 1/0 hooks connected with an improved clinch knot using 8lb fluorocarbon leader to 40lb Power Pro (I also use 15-lb Maxim sometimes). Drag set pretty firm on Curado on a medium action 8'6" rod.

Fish 1: Broke at the hook knot. Leader was making bad knots.
Fish 2: Broke in the middle of the leader. Ditched 8lb junk and switched to 15lb fluorocarbon. No strikes. Then 10lb mono.
Fish 3 and 4: Bite, head shake, hook set, shake....fish lost with rig intact. Both times.

0-4. That is pathetic. The leader was a problem on two fish but I'm questioning my hookset now. I usually set moderately to see if it is a fish or rock, followed by a sweep of the rod up and toward the bank to target the corner of the mouth. Sometimes I revert back to a straight up hookset. Especially after trout fishing (which was the case here).

Any thoughts?

Jeff

Prefer straight 12lb UG or 15lb UG w/12lb UG leader for coho and winter steelhead. Never liked the braid much.

I always follow the hookset mantra of "when in doubt,... rip their mouth out". Then again I have a lot of stretch to play with considering my set-up.

Never had one break at the knot. Have had hooks bent and lost them off the hook, but that's just the name of the game.

I have recently been putting on a clinic on how to lose steelhead on spoons. Many fish have attended. Sometimes that is just how it goes regardless of what you do.

Word's of wisdom as spoken by Stam hisself.

Winterun

To an extent, days like that are part of the game. However, I think you are making some mistakes, based on your description. First, I wouldn't go under 12 pound leader when using braid, unless you're using a noodly rod like a Loomis 1141. If you do use lighter leader, you need to down-size your hooks. The bigger the hook, the more powerful hookset you need. I like 12 lb UG leader and #1 or 1/0 hooks for standard size spoons. Second, it should be unusual that you're not sure if you have a rock or a fish. A large percentage of steelhead strikes on spoons are either a hard tap or a freight train. There are those that are soft, but you should be setting the hook with conviction whenever you think a fish is on the line; unless it hits like a freight train - you don't want to set the hook while a fish is peeling out 50 yards of line! If you're having a hard time differentiating strikes from rocks, you need to do something to improve your sensitivity (change your rod or the way you hold the rod). If my spoon just stops, I don't strike; I wait a second. I'll usually feel a fish if there's one there, then set the hook. Third, you are using too short of a rod for spoons IMHO. It will affect your ability to achieve a good hookset, not to mention your ability to mend the line and keep the spoon down. Last, I assume you're using 1/0 siwash hooks. Keep them razor sharp! Check them after every snag or fish. I prefer Gamakatsu's and wouldn't go bigger than 1/0 unless you're ok with putting some eyes out. I often go smaller.

All that said, it's never 100%. Parts of a steelhead's mouth are hard and getting the hook in the right spot is partly up to the fish. I think you'll have better luck next time!

ditch the flourocarbon all together...definately not needed

When spoon fishing, especially when going barbless, expect to lose a fair amount of fish.Not much you can do...just part of the game. Using a sickle style hook can help as well as offsetting the hook point a bit but again, I have my worst hook to landed ratio when spoon fishing. That being said, I still fish them a lot.

You can decrease the number of breakoffs by doing what others have said and bump up the leader size. Fluorocarbon is worthless for spoon fishing.

I have used straight mono, braid with a 20 foot mono leader, and hi viz mono with a 20 foot mono leader. With the leaders, I use a nail knot tool to attach the leader and it has worked good for me. My favorite setup is the last but will use any of the three with confidence.

I would have never imagined using straight braid to the spoon but if Stam says so, by golly I'm sure it would work. I would not have had the confidence to do that without someone like him saying so.

Fish'em hangback.

Negates a lot of the direct leverage the heavy spoon imparts when attached directly to the hook.

Was thinking about rigging a few that way.

4" bead chain?

50# Max UG to Octopus sickle for the hangback spoons I've used in the ocean/bay/river.

Haven't tried it on heavy casting spoons..... yet.

Hey Ripley, some out-of-the-box R&D is calling out to ya!

I think you need more stretch in your rig to keep em buttoned on there. Too easy to work that hook out with a couple headshakes otherwise. If you gotta use braid (and I don't know why you would if metal is the main offering with that stick) then you need a goodly amount of mono spliced onto the end of it to keep some stretch in the tether. The stretch will keep the hook tight. If you have a noodly enough rod to keep it tight despite the braid and fluoro, then you're using the wrong rod IMO. I'd go straight 12 lb mono and bust their chops like Bill Dance,

fb

Heck, I didn't know you were referring to BC steelhead. Whole different critter...you could probably use 3/8" steel cable and they'd still bite.

Can someone please explain "hangback", preferably with pictures?

How do the steelhead know they're in BC?

I rock 40lb PP straight to the swivel. I also use a pretty aggressive hookset. Sometimes fish come off, it's part of the program.

1. "ditch the flourocarbon all together...definately not needed"

2. I like to idea of PP, right to the spoon......I've been twitching Coho's...using 30# PP and it's been NO PROBLEM. My rod is a Cabelas, 10 foot, 8-15#, reel is a Stradic 30 and it handles the fish. very well.

Good luck with finding success to your problem.......thousands of people would love to be able to hook and lose that many steelhead.

Fish'em hangback. LMAO, are you serious?


Stam has it right on in this thread.

Spoons? Mono? Braid? Hang Back?

Baaaa!

Might as well be using bait.

Heathens.

Spey Pride!!!!



PS. Only a serious note, I'm giving up on the sickle siwash hooks. They are a fad that don't work for crap. At least not up to the "hype" that they get around here. Going back to old school and using the Herzog-offset siwash.

It is in their genes.

Hey, we have a Parker siting...nothing like a good spoon thread to bring him out of the woodwork.

On second thought, spoons don't work. Just stick with old style Okies and pink worms.

I have some I'll sell you.

Regarding "hangback", the next thing I'll be trying is a fly tying trick using braided loops instead of bead chains to attach the hook. I gotta find something to use all that braid I bought that I'm not using.

I fish almost everything hangback these days. Just the way I roll.

Herring, eggs, shrimp, spinners, spoons, Apex, hootchies, and flies.

The primary concern is hooking them anywhere but INSIDE the mouth. My goal is to keep the incidence of a mortal hooking wound down to the absolute bare minimum.


Whenever possible I want to keep that hook AWAY from the goods my fish is trying to ingest.

Now if I can just come up with the ultimate hangback for Kwiks. Still stumped on that one.

Couldn't agree more! Really, how can a fish pay attention to the minuscule line of color in the mainline when there is two inches of silver, gold or brass flash radiating through their retina! (Francis?)

I think Steve's fish pic speaks volumes. Same thing goes with plugs. I say worry about leader material when your drift fishing or other techniques such as float and jig fishing over hatchery fish.

If you prefer braid, lighten up on the set and drag. With mono, hit yourself in the arse with the rod tip and adjust drag to your comfort zone!

The single most significant factor that improved my hook to land ratio was swtching to 1/0 matzuo siwashes on all my spoons! Used to use gamis and I absolutely will never look back! Oh and silver plate for most conditions.

Dern nice fish stam! That hole always grants me the little peanut fish heading for the tiny crik accross the river there.

Absolutely highly Commendable Eyefish! I love the hangback on all my saltwater and estuary troll fisheries. I happen to be a damn fly flicker now in the rivers after spooning for years and I have to say the "hangback" works great behind big pieces of purple rabbit and marabou on the swing.