Head on hits

[Danoutdoors]

I’ve had two absolute arm wrenching hits this year that are standing out in my mind, I haven’t hooked the fish and initially I thought that they were big fish but now I’m maybe thinking not and that they could have been moderate fish that have hit the lure hard heading directly away from me, Both hits to a glider so a front on hit seems plausible I think, I’ve had a reasonable year with some good size fish but these two interactions are sticking out in my mind and I’d like to figure them out a little more, any thoughts folks? thanks

[Will Smith]

Dan, I know that you are a thinker and there is nothing wrong with that but, you are maybe thinking too hard, you have had two good hits which you missed, just be pleased that you got them in the first place.
You can think things like this to death but, you will never know for certain what actually happened if you did not see it with your own eyes, it is mysteries like this that keep the interest in our sport going, if it was all clear cut and predictable we would soon get sick of it.
Embrace the Mystery and enjoy your fishing "Patience you must have my young Padawan" .

[Danoutdoors]

Lol, No Will I must know! if I can get a better idea if they were big fish I can fish more confident and catch those particular barstewards!

[Will Smith]

Aye, you've got it bad son, it will drive you .


Will.

[Danoutdoors]

I’m certain of that Will!! There’s no hope or turning back for me, full steam ahead for them big pikes

[MarkBerrisford]

I had a fish hit a crankbait head on and it nearly ripped my arm off, if i’d have missed it i’d have sworn it was huge as opposed to the 7lb it actually weighed!! that fish wasn’t actually hooked but the lure was just wedged in its mouth!

[andrew_nagel]

Is there wild trout in the water? I've had quite a few wild trout in recent years and the hit is something else. So much so, that now when I get a very hard hit that doesn't get hooked I put it down to trout (and hard luck).

[Danoutdoors]

I had a fish hit a crankbait head on and it nearly ripped my arm off, if i’d have missed it i’d have sworn it was huge as opposed to the 7lb it actually weighed!! that fish wasn’t actually hooked but the lure was just wedged in its mouth!

What’s the chances!? I will keep going back and hopefully wedge a few myself

[Danoutdoors]

Is there wild trout in the water? I've had quite a few wild trout in recent years and the hit is something else. So much so, that now when I get a very hard hit that doesn't get hooked I put it down to trout (and hard luck).

Yes Andrew they are present, I’ve had one before and it gave a hell of a account of its self time will tell if they are prolific and it wasn’t a one off, I’ll keep after them.

[Steve Le maitre]

Dan if the water is clear then absolutely. Have had the same thing trolling, nearly ripped the gunnel from the boat. Absolutely savage take.

[Mike J]

I had an arm wrencher a few years back, the lure was hard bodied and mega sized and the fish smashed it like nothing I have experienced in freshwater, sadly it manged to escape but while I was connected there was very little I could do to control the fish despite using 100lb and an XXXH Westin rod.

Not pike but relating to crash strikes; I have trolled lures for Marlin and tunas using 22lb Power Gum as a breakaway release and providing the hook is touching anything softish it will bury the 12/0 beyond the barb on the break.

[Danoutdoors]

Nice one chaps, think this lets me believe they might not have been as epic pike as I had thought, maybe a trout or maybe moderate pike taking head on, nothing quite like that stonking hit tho. Ever in search of the next one

[fergie68]

We used to get very savage takes when trolling perch baits we rarely hooked up due to the hooking set up and large metal vane on the mounts we used at the time. We came to the conclusion the large trout would hit the perch head on killing them before trying to swallow them or maybe just trying to take them in one movement hence the massive force of the take.

[Mike J]

When I trolled Grafham in the early days I had hard hits on my 600 Cisco's that didnt hook-up.
Just to experiment I added a big swivel and another ring between the hook and lure body and stepped the hook size down to outbend 4's.
Browns to over 10lb resulted, all hooked in the body, so many I had to stop using the lure.

Might be worth a try where you are?

[Danoutdoors]

When I trolled Grafham in the early days I had hard hits on my 600 Cisco's that didnt hook-up.
Just to experiment I added a big swivel and another ring between the hook and lure body and stepped the hook size down to outbend 4's.
Browns to over 10lb resulted, all hooked in the body, so many I had to stop using the lure.

Might be worth a try where you are?

If I stack up anymore hits like the ones I’ve described I will definitely start to employ your method

[Danoutdoors]

We used to get very savage takes when trolling perch baits we rarely hooked up due to the hooking set up and large metal vane on the mounts we used at the time. We came to the conclusion the large trout would hit the perch head on killing them before trying to swallow them or maybe just trying to take them in one movement hence the massive force of the take.

Wonder if there is a blind spot on the perch that they are taking advantage of by hitting directly on, possibly unlikely but just a thought, I bet you enjoyed those hits

[Danoutdoors]

Dan if the water is clear then absolutely. Have had the same thing trolling, nearly ripped the gunnel from the boat. Absolutely savage take.

Super clear water, I endeavour to find out just what these mysterious smashers are

[John Milford]

Just to add another 'unknown' into the mix . . .

I once had a day on a river when my companion and I had hit after hit without any hookups. Jarring 'takes' that you would think were impossible to miss?

When we finally saw one of the culprits at close range it turned out that the pike were whacking our lures with their mouths closed!

Some kind of aggressive territorial response, we guessed, but very odd that they all seemed to be doing it at the same time?

[Danoutdoors]

Just to add another 'unknown' into the mix . . .

I once had a day on a river when my companion and I had hit after hit without any hookups. Jarring 'takes' that you would think were impossible to miss?

When we finally saw one of the culprits at close range it turned out that the pike were whacking our lures with their mouths closed!

Some kind of aggressive territorial response, we guessed, but very odd that they all seemed to be doing it at the same time?

Interesting John, I was out live baiting a few years ago and had something quite similar, I had a livo suspended just above my keepnet, whilst chatting to my mate the livo started jumping out the water so I knew what was about to happen, as I got to the rod the pike smacked it rather than took it, cloud of scales, this happened about 3 times and then it finally took the bait, odd behaviour to experience at such close quarters

[fergie68]

We used to get very savage takes when trolling perch baits we rarely hooked up due to the hooking set up and large metal vane on the mounts we used at the time. We came to the conclusion the large trout would hit the perch head on killing them before trying to swallow them or maybe just trying to take them in one movement hence the massive force of the take.

Wonder if there is a blind spot on the perch that they are taking advantage of by hitting directly on, possibly unlikely but just a thought, I bet you enjoyed those hits

We had a theory they were hitting the perch head on to avoid the spikes.
My mates Cork handle still has a big dent in it from one of those takes.
We were discussing it on a thread a while back how certain baits were taken differently when trolling.

[Danoutdoors]

We used to get very savage takes when trolling perch baits we rarely hooked up due to the hooking set up and large metal vane on the mounts we used at the time. We came to the conclusion the large trout would hit the perch head on killing them before trying to swallow them or maybe just trying to take them in one movement hence the massive force of the take.

Wonder if there is a blind spot on the perch that they are taking advantage of by hitting directly on, possibly unlikely but just a thought, I bet you enjoyed those hits

We had a theory they were hitting the perch head on to avoid the spikes.
My mates Cork handle still has a big dent in it from one of those takes.
We were discussing it on a thread a while back how certain baits were taken differently when trolling.

I see, makes sense

[Mark Phillips]

Just to add another 'unknown' into the mix . . .

I once had a day on a river when my companion and I had hit after hit without any hookups. Jarring 'takes' that you would think were impossible to miss?

When we finally saw one of the culprits at close range it turned out that the pike were whacking our lures with their mouths closed!

Some kind of aggressive territorial response, we guessed, but very odd that they all seemed to be doing it at the same time?

Yep, I've had the same thing happen John. Seen it very close up too, where a big pike head butted the lure - mouth closed, zero hook up. It did that twice and she was a 20+ fish too. Very clear to me that the pike wasn't trying to eat the lure, just see it off. Funnily enough, that was on a river. I put it down to territorial behaviour and have seen it a few times now, even had it happen on a certain trout water.

[andrew_nagel]

Zander do it when protecting their eggs. It's the only time I see zander follow.