Need help keeping marlin hooked

[Cardinal Sin]

The past year we have been 0 for 10 on getting a marlin to the boat. Strike drag is 12lbs., fight drag is 25lbs.. Lures are single hooked. Marlin spit the hook no more than 1 min after strike every time and we are at a loss as to what to do to get them to the boat. Only thing else I can think to try is to go to double hook rigging even though I have heard from many that hook-up ratio is decreased with double hooks.?. Any help is appreciated.

[Andaman Andy]

Size lures? Size Hooks? Type & Brand of Hooks? Hard or soft head, trolling speed? distance of lures from boat?

[clt_capt]

it might help to see some pics of your rigs...

Hook position, hook sharpness, stiff-rig, semi-stiff rig, etc all play a part...

[Patudo]

Take us through your setup in more detail Cardinal. Also some more info on the fish that came off could be useful ie. size, species and what it did on the bite/until it came off. The more info we have to work with the better the chances of being able to suggest something constructive.

It's like if I went 0 for 10 strikes to hookups in a row on natural bait and needed your help, you'd probably want me to run you through not just the rigs and gear I was using, but what I was trying to do on the hookup and what happened with each fish. Trying to identify and clarify the cause of each loss, whether it was preventable and if it was, the right corrections that need to be taken.

On the subject of single vs two hook rigs, I've always found single hooks to work pretty well for me. I was lucky enough to catch all five out of my last five bites on single hook rigs - four blues from 175 to around 500 lb and a white. There is no silver bullet though.

[teddyp]

If these are all Blue Marlin then keep the same lures in the same place it is working. Try using an 90 degree off set double hook stiff rig. If its white marlin then its a whole different ball of wax. My biggest piece of advice is sharpen your hooks before you put them in the water every time.

[Bert Rodgers]

If these are all Blue Marlin then keep the same lures in the same place it is working. Try using an 90 degree off set double hook stiff rig. If its white marlin then its a whole different ball of wax. My biggest piece of advice is sharpen your hooks before you put them in the water every time.

Most mates will probably agree that not properly sharpening hooks is the #1 reason for poor hookups.

Bert

[SeaMarie]

Along with knowing your setup on the rigs themselves, it is just as important to know what your are doing, as the captain, with the boat at hook up and during that first minute or so. I promise you it has a direct effect on how many you get to the boat!!

ab