missed hits

Just wondering what people's opinions are on what to do after a missed pike hit on lures?
A few times I've had pike hit my lures and either not hooked up or they've shook the hooks off ..... When a missed hit occurs, do most people keep trying to reconnect with the fish, or move on and try elsewhere?
This happened on Monday and I tried and tried to get the pike to take again without success ..... So I moved on, however and hour later I got a pike in the same spot,
The same fish given time to regroup, or a different fish altogether? Who knows?
Thoughts anyone?

Fishing with floating deads last year I was hit 4 times in the exact same spot by the same fish of around 15lb, two large triple hooks and I just couldn't connect at all!

Even left it to mouth the bait for a short while and I needn't fear of it being deep hooked either cos I swear it was trying to pull the bait from the hooks?

Maybe if I was lure fishing or sink and draw it could've been a different story altogether with a lightning attack, who knows?

If we are talking lure fishing, missed hits ''can and do'' happen to everyone regardless of experience, it's just something we have to live with.
However, if you are experiencing an unacceptable degree of missed hits, it could be one of a number of reasons. Lure bulk, size of trebles employed, etc. Personally, I'd be looking at the hooks used, thickness of wire and whether they were ''needle sharp''.
All you can do is explore the possibilities, including rod position when setting the hooks.
Hope this helps.

If i miss a take i will try a few more cast's and if that fails leave the swim to calm back down and return a hour or so later

That's similar to what I do rains .... I just wondered if some people stick at the same area, knowing there's fish there .... Or leave it alone cos the pike will be off sulking after tasting ur hooks
Sean

My experience is that sometimes they will snatch a lure again almost immediately afterwards, or they will not be interested at all, no matter how many times that you cast at them. I theorise that if the fish has been 'pricked' in a softer part of the mouth it is unlikely to strike again any time soon.

In an attempt to reduce the missed hits to a minimum, I echo the points (forgive the pun) above regarding hook sharpness, this is especially relevant with lures. carry a stone to make sure you can dress the point to retain that needle sharpness.

Also, be very determined and positive when it comes to striking. If you are using mono, then setting the hooks can be tough especially with large hooks at long distance, braid helps. Also the rod needs to possess the beef to actually set the hooks at the distance that you choose to fish. Simply lifting into a hit may not be enough to set the hooks.

Only other thing I've found is that the smaller jacks, say up to three or four pound, often hit the lures lightening fast. They are tucked on the bottom and then shoot up and then back down in the blink of an eye. They often hit the lure and especially if it's a larger lure they are a ****** to hook in to because they've already hit and never got hold. This is of course as opposed to a larger pike who gets a decent hold of the lure pretty easily giving you a chance to set the hooks. This isn't a rule of course, just something I have found from lots of lure fishing.

If you're confident your hooks are sharp, plus the rest of the advice offered above, plus that the pike are not hitting and running then it's just lady luck is against you at this moment in time.

I find if a pike hits and you fail to hook it, then it is down to the fish and that instance of whether the fish will hit again. I will give it a few casts but I then tend to leave it a good half hour or more and then often the first cast gets the fish.

A couple of recent examples though to show the difference. I hooked a pike, played it 20 seconds or so and then it shook the hooks. The fish had a massive cut on its tail that you could clearly see. I cast back out but nothing. An hour later I cast in the same spot with the same lure. Fish on and when playing it you could see that massive cut on the tail again. Same fish, left to chill and this time landed it. Second example. I had a pike hit a lure and I didn't hook in to it. Cast back out and it hit again and yes I missed it again. Cast back and nothing. Quickly change to a soft lure in a totally different colour and nothing. Then quickly changed again to a Real eel and the fish took first cast.

Just makes sure your hooks are sharp!

My views are similar/same as some of the above posts; some lures are more prone to missed hits than others, some possibly due to the retrieve used?
Lots of variables come into it too, weather/water conditions etc.
Some pike are puddled and will hit again, i once hooked a pike of 6lb on a lucky 13 lure fished on a fixed spool outfit and mono line, it shook off, the bend in the rod made the lure hurtle across the surface as i lost the pike...which promptly took off after the lure and got hooked again, landed it 2nd time round. Strange but true.
Generally if they don't hit again within a few casts of the initial hit i leave them be, sometimes i try again later.
One below that hit and nipped the end off the tail in heavily coloured water, i cast straight back and caught it.



Phil.

I usually have a handful of casts after a missed hit, I seem to get a 50/50 split between them going for it again and just plain ignoring it, it's always worth a cast or two after its calmed down a bit though, sometimes 5 or 10 minutes is enough, other times it's been an hour or two later when I've gone back and managed to catch the fish.

On the other side of the coin I've had fish hit the same lure in the same spot 4 or 5 times and not hook up despite almost certainly getting a good taste of treble. One fish even came back for the 3rd or 4th time and hit my lure that was almost completely covered in weed!

I should mention that its only ever been small pike that keep coming back for more, I'm not saying that it doesn't happen with big pike but it hasn't happened to me