How to reduce your number of hook pulls

“It happens to all of us,” explains Milky, “but there are few things you can do to reduce the amount of hook pulls. First off, keeping the rod tip high; let the rod do the work when playing the fish, especially when it’s close in. Using a very sharp hook and creating an angle with a bit of shrink tube (or a pre-formed Taska Line-Aligner) over the eye of the hook to help it flip over will really help. Using a blunt hook will take a lot more force to penetrate the flesh compared to one that’s fresh out-the-packet razor sharp and might then fall out as the fish shakes its head.

There are various ways of checking your hook point, but personally I use what’s known as the ‘Nail Test’. I check every hook point on my nail before casting it out and if it’s sharp the hook should dig in, if it’s blunt it will simply glide across your nail.

“Finally, using beaked pointed hooks will help too. Although they might not penetrate as easily as a straight pointed hook, they will stay in better thanks to their claw-type shape.”