Where else are you going to hear stuff like this? Well, nowhere except FishStrong and Gary Yamamoto! Gary is a legend and he’s definitely found a system that works for him. On the day this video was recorded, Gary weighed in the big bass of the FLW Tour event on Kentucky!
Gary thinks “slamming” the rod back is crazy. I asked him about heavy cover and flipping scenarios and he still maintained that most anglers set the hook too hard. He believes that more fish are lost this way. It’s a very interesting take that goes against the trend of rod-breaking hooksets we see these days… a la Randall Tharp at Okeechobee style.
Gary also believes that today’s equipment is making wham bam slam hooksets even more unnecessary. Think about it… we’re using powerful rods these days with no-stretch braid and hooks that are 10X sharper than what our fathers used. Yet we’re setting the hook like we’re using a rusty dull hook tied to stretchy monofilament line spooled onto a fiberglass noodle stick.
Please weigh in your thoughts in the comments section below. I’m very interested on everyone’s take!
Fish Strong!
