Hook sets are critical, particularly in Muskie fishing. Don’t get the hook set properly and the rest doesn’t matter. Rod position, or how you hold the rod in front of you, is key. Too many folks consider just "loading a rod up" to be sufficient for a good hookset. Leaning back may look good, with a big person and a heavy fish on the other end, but that really doesn’t drive hooks home.

Watch any good angler and you’ll see "snap" in their hookset. It should be a short, quick, "sharp" motion … sort of like you are trying to break something. This snap (similar to driving a nail with a hammer) will result in much better hooking percentages while maintaining position to fight the fish.