LIVEBAIT HOOKED IN TOP LIP OR THE BACK (SINGLE TREBLE)

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No idea mate

But........

Shad live longer if hooked through front lips or bottom lip through nostril the most common place ment of hook is under the dorsal fin. Front lip hook technique makes the shiner swim in a downward motion, and works great for trolling. Hooking in the dorsal fin will make the bait swim up and away from the line or bobber, thus creating more action, but the bait will wear down much quicker and die sooner, so wait until you are anchored to try this technique. Anal fin hooking close to back bone, but taking care not to touch spine, will make bait swim down and away. Shiners can actually be steered under vegetation to exact points where you want to be.

Found here:

http://www.arkansasstripers.com/how_to_hook_and_fish_live_bait.htm <==CLICK

Try here also............

http://www.reelreports.com/articles/live-bait-fishing-muskie-pike-122.html <==CLICK

Lip everytime for me....no scientific thinking, I've just seen that many coarse fish attacked when bringing them in with a hook in their lip that Mr Pike must be used to that presentation!

Think you may be correct there, norbs.

Pike swallow their prey head-first. By hooking your baits in the top lip you're risking the chance of deep-hooking your fish. You'll hook plenty of fish that way but is it worth the possible hassle really? I'd fish the upper treble in the dorsal root and the bottom treble in the flank or the tail.

Andy Macfarlane wrote:Pike swallow their prey head-first. By hooking your baits in the top lip you're risking the chance of deep-hooking your fish. You'll hook plenty of fish that way but is it worth the possible hassle really? I'd fish the upper treble in the dorsal root and the bottom treble in the flank or the tail.

Single treble matey he's asking about....

dorsal for trebles the lip hooking can perish baits very quickly if the lips get closed by the hook

Even if I was using a single treble, I'd still hook the bait at the dorsal. It's the centre-most position on the bait. No matter how the bait has been taken, the middle of the bait stands a better chance of finding a hold in the pike's mouth. By hooking the bait in the head or the tail, you stand a chance of missing the fish completely or as I've said, in the case of lip-hooking, deep-hooking the pike.

Andy Macfarlane wrote:Even if I was using a single treble, I'd still hook the bait at the dorsal. It's the centre-most position on the bait. No matter how the bait has been taken, the middle of the bait stands a better chance of finding a hold in the pike's mouth. By hooking the bait in the head or the tail, you stand a chance of missing the fish completely or as I've said, in the case of lip-hooking, deep-hooking the pike.

This seems to make sense.

Did a wee bit of research to back this up......hopefully these pics will help
Although the info is talking aboot dead bait.........I reckon that the pic of the swallowed bait shows clearly the benefits of hooking the bait towards the rear of the bait.






SOURCE: www.hooklinks.co.uk

To be fair, the key thing to stop deep hooking is not to let bites 'develop'. I can only recall 1 deep hooked pike and managed to unhook that easy enough (always use semi's). In my 'limited' experience pike tend not to gorge like perch do, and so an early strike really does limit the risk of deep hooking....granted you may miss a few runs, but rather that than putting the fish at risk.

Can see the benefits of the dorsal hooking though....do liveys hooked this way fade quicker than lip hooked anyone?

Not at all. If anything they kick longer because there's nothing impeding their mouth and breathing. There's a sinewy muscle running along the bottom of the dorsal fin. If you nick the hook through this muscle, you aren't stabbing the bait in the flank or injuring it too badly.
I've even snipped my treble and released fish after using them as livebaits. They did their job but didn't get taken so I think it's fair to let them go afterwards. That's just me being soft.

Nice one Andy, I'll give that one a go I think.

i hook my lives in two ways...

if using a single or a double hook presentation the hook that takes the weight of the fish is the one under the dorsal fin...

this in my opinion lets they tired fish sit naturally in the water.. if im using two hooks i will put the other in the root of the pectoral fin.... yes this is quite close to the head of the bait but if you are paying attention there is no reason why you would deep hook a pike as they nearly always hit a live bait side on first..


i have found that hooking a decent size live bait in this way not only lets them last for hours, but i will return most of mine back to the lake at the end of the session with no ill effect apart from the holes where the hooks have been..

Slidze wrote:

Andy Macfarlane wrote:Even if I was using a single treble, I'd still hook the bait at the dorsal. It's the centre-most position on the bait. No matter how the bait has been taken, the middle of the bait stands a better chance of finding a hold in the pike's mouth. By hooking the bait in the head or the tail, you stand a chance of missing the fish completely or as I've said, in the case of lip-hooking, deep-hooking the pike.

This seems to make sense.

Did a wee bit of research to back this up......hopefully these pics will help
Although the info is talking aboot dead bait.........I reckon that the pic of the swallowed bait shows clearly the benefits of hooking the bait towards the rear of the bait.









SOURCE: www.hooklinks.co.uk

Looks a good illustration to a Rookie like me. Have yet to fish a livebait, venue permitting. Have seen others catch on them

I have fished countless live-baits over nearly 20 years of fishing and have found hooking through the top lip to be best...

While some have mentioned the possibility of deep hooking fish, I can say that I personally have never encountered such problems ever. This I simply put down to the fact that I never give a pike time on a bait and always hit a fish promptly. I also always insist on float fishing live-baits as it offers instant positive bite indication...

I actually fish a snap tackle, the top hook (semi-barbed) through the top lip, with the second hook (totally barbless) trailing as a stinger, and you'd be amazed how many times the stinger has caught the pike as it flashes past to snatch at the bait...

CHEERS,
Jeff

Not heard that one before Jeff. I like it.

Regards

Andy Webster