Baitrunner with Circles

Wayne,
For fishing during the day I always leave my reels locked and let the rod load up to set the circle hook. At night I unlock the reels and use the clicker to let me know I have a hit and gently apply pressure to the spool until the rod starts to load and then I engage the reel. I feel that if you engage the reel sharply when the fish is stripping off line the result is the same as if you had set the hook J hook style which is not the way to get circles to hook up.
Hope this helps...W

 

I use clickers on a few rods because the holders are not too sturdy for a big fish to run on with reel engaged. Have seen this be a heated debate but I find no difference in hook ups as far as clicker/no clicker. As far as what I do when the clicker goes off I put a hand on the rod to help the weak holder then engage reel as he is pulling off line, then rod for the rod to bend down. In an ideal situation I would however lock all rods down the big ones usually dont mess around and take it down pretty quick.

 

I let them run a little, raise the rod and then just start to reel slowly.................that turns off the bait runner and sets the hook for me. I rarely miss a hook-up.

 

I always leave mine with the baitclicker engaged, and when I get a fish that starts running line solid, I Flip the handle and start reeling in slow. Once I know hes hooked I just keep steady pressure on him and give a couple slow yanks to ensure the hook is set well.

 

Why dont you just turn the bait clicker on, but leave the reel engaged, and loosen the drag a little..So when the fish hits, it will take some drag, causing the clicker to sound, but they will still hook themselves up since the reel is engaged? I do that when drifting cause its hard to control the boat, watch the fish finder and watch 6 rods all the same time..Dont loosen the drag too much, just enough to where it will take a little drag and give you a heads up that you got a bite, then you can pick the rod up, tighten the drag a little, and the fight is on.

 

When I first learned to fish for Wels Catfish in France, the guides would always have the Baitrunner OFF! We used the Bouy System and it required the line be at Extreem Tention. This in conjuction with a lighter tether line on the bouy (a rock, water jug with anchor or tree) that would break once the fish took the bait would set the hook. Now with circle hooks, the need for the Snap-Back to set the hook is not required. If you decided to use the baitrunner, you would in my opinion, tighten the secondary drag as tight as it could be or just loosen the main drag enough to force the rod to bend. This would then set the circle hook as it pulled across the side of the cats mouth. Last weekend I got an 18 1/2lb. Channel on cut shad. The hook was a circle and I did use the baitrunner. It was set to just allow line to come off and the rod to bend. It can work, but you must use the trial and error approach to find out what works best for you. JMHO!!!!!!!!!!!

HOPPY4