How To Set The Hook With Shrimp Jigs (8 Fish Caught In 8 Casts)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
Getting a proper hook set is important for two reasons:
- It’ll help you catch more fish
- It’ll help you gut hook fewer fish
And this second reason for setting the hook properly has a double benefit — gut hooking fewer fish is obviously better for the fish, but it’ll also save you time from doing surgery removing your hook.
The less time you spend doing surgery, the more time you’ll have to fish, and the more fish you’ll catch!
So in this video, you’ll learn how to set the hook when using shrimp jigs.
You’ll also see lots of fun fish-catching footage and plenty of examples of this tip in action, as I caught eight fish in eight casts!
Check it out below.
How To Set The Hook With Shrimp Jigs [VIDEO]
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Here’s the gear I was using:
- Lure: Power Prawn (Insiders only)
- Rod: 13 Fishing Omen Black
- Reel: Quantum Smoke S3 Baitcaster
- Line: 30 lb. PowerPro
- Leader: 40 lb. Ande Mono
- Glasses: Smith Optics Guide’s Choice
- Boat: Pathfinder 2400
Best Equipment For Fishing With Shrimp Jigs
When it comes to properly setting the hook with shrimp jigs, it starts with your equipment.
If you have the wrong gear, it’ll be much harder.
So here’s what’s most important:
- Rod
- Line
- Reel
For the rod, you want a fast action rod with a sensitive tip and strong backbone.
The sensitive tip will let you feel the strike, while a strong backbone will provide enough power to set the hook.
Fast action rods only bend at the top, while slow action rods bend in the middle.
Slow action rods are like wet noodles — they don’t have much power and it’ll be much harder for you to set the hook.
For the line, you want braided line.
There’s no give in braid, so you’ll be able to get a strong hook set.
If I’m fishing docks, like in this video, I use 30 lb. braid.
But if I’m fishing open flats where I’m not likely to get wrapped around structure, I use 10 lb. braid.
The reel is the least important here.
All it does is pick up line.
When I was younger, I used to buy $200 reels and $100 rods, but now that I know better, I get less expensive reels and higher-quality rods.
Here’s what I was using in this video:
- Rod: 13 Fishing Omen Black
- Reel: Quantum Smoke S3 Baitcaster
- Line: 30 lb. PowerPro
Setting The Hook With Shrimp Jigs
When you’re retrieving shrimp jigs, remember this: the strike almost always happens when the lure is falling.
So as you’re bouncing it off of the bottom, keep the rod tip up and wait to feel the strike.
When you feel a thump, reel down, then when the rod starts to bend, pull back on it.
You don’t need to do a Bill Dance hook set, just pull the rod back to get the hook firmly in the fish’s mouth.
Setting the hook as soon as you feel the thump will help you hook more fish in the lips and fewer fish in the throat or stomach.
And if you miss a hook set, pause, let the bait go back down to the bottom, then resume your normal retrieve.
They’ll often come back and hit it.
Conclusion
When it comes to setting the hook with shrimp jigs, come prepared with the right equipment and be ready to set the hook as soon as you feel the strike.
You don’t need to swing for the fences in your hook set, but when the rod starts to bend, pull back on it tightly to get the hook into the fish’s mouth.
Have any questions about setting the hook with shrimp jigs?
Let me know down in the comments.
And if you know someone who needs to see this video, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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what weight jig head were you using?
I was using a 1/2 oz Power Prawn jig head while filming this video because the water was around 8 ft deep and I had a decent amount of current.
Did you have a rattle in the power prawn…scent???? Pretty amazing streak there with the prawn.
I did not have a rattle in the prawn on this trip, but I did have some Dr. Juice on it.
Hi Luke
I do surf fishing in Southern CA. Can you recommend a fast action lite wt. rod 8′ or 9″ 2 piece.
Thank you.
Peter
Make sure to ask this question in the Community platform because there are a good amount of surf fishermen in there (I don’t do much surf fishing so I just use the same 7’6″ fast action M to MH power rods when I hit the surf): https://community.saltstrong.com/
Great Video!!
Thanks Richard!
While this advice about how to hook fish does make sence I have to disagree about your observation about rods and reels because I have found that f one uses a cheap reel even with a good rod saltwater corrosion will happen and chances are that reel that you saved money on just showed how much it’s worth today’s reels can take saltwater corrosion a lot better now then before but to me you buy cheap you get that in performance now that’s not saying I believe that you have to go in debt when buying good reels but to cheap is usually not a good thing like life anything good you have to work for it well the same goes for fishing tackle anything that you buy cheap because you wanted to save a bunch of money probably isn’t worth the materials it was made from I stick with the brand’s and tackle I know and have had for years that haven’t let me down that way I have one less thing to worry about catching fish is challenging enough let alone wondering if your rod or reel is up to the challenge but thanks for the advice and all you do
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Steven! I agree that going too cheap can very well end up costing more money in the long term. With today’s reels, a $70 spinning reel can get the job done and last a long time if cared for. I used to always get $180 to $230 reels, but I’ll now never spend more than $99 for an inshore reel after testing out a lot of different reels over the past 6 years.
Great Video, very similar to the way I fish a plastic worm for bass, Texas rig.
Thanks Joe!
Is there that much difference between the 2 TFO series Rods
Yes. Their inshore rods are a bit nicer with lighter material. I still personally prefer their professional series because their butt sections are shorter and they have a cool hook keeper that enables me to easily secure lures to the rod while they are rigged weedless.
Thank you, Luke. I’ve only been fishing for about a year, so this video helped me so much. I appreciate all your videos, but this one made a huge difference for me.
Thanks so much for making time to post the nice comment Dana!
Question that always confuses me… the rod used , 13 fishing omen black, is rated for 8-17lb test, yet you use 30. When is it acceptable to go over the rated line values, does it matter at all?
It is generally best to stay within the rod’s recommended strength. My original plan was to use 20 lb line which was very close to the 17 max… after getting owned by some big snook, I bumped it up to 30 lb.
Luke, if you were using spinning gear for fishing the docks, what would the braid and leader pound test be?
I go with 20 lb braid and 40 lb leader when targeting snook with spinning gear fishing docks… if the water is clear, I’ll sometimes go down to 30 lb leader to help get strikes.