Welcome Gary! Still thinking about the best fish(Pickerel)  that got off from Thursday last , so decided on mapping my thoughts here .

JOHN;; MY OPPINION IS;; THE HOOKS ARE THE CULPRIT !!  TO SMALL OF A HOOK;; TO DULL  OF ONE;; PREVENTS GOOD HOOK SETS !  I KNOW OF NO FISHING REEL;; THAT CAN KEEP UP WITH A RUNNING FISH !  IF A FISH ; HOOKED; COMES STRAIGHT AT YOU; AND YOU  ( BURN THE REEL ) TO CATCH UP TO IT; DO YOU EVER REALLY CATCH UP TO IT ?? A RESOUNDING;; NO ! IS THE ANSWER !  EVEN MY AUTOMATIC FLY REELS;; CANT CATCH UP TO A RUNNING FISH; AND MY AUTO REELS ARE SUPER FAST !  KNOWING YOUR A REALLY GOOD ANGLER;; KNOWING WHAT; AND WHEN TO FIGHT A GREAT FISH;; TO LOOSE ONE;; ;; GOT TO BE THE HOOK ITSELF !!

Glad to have your point of view . Yup hooks and how sharp is a good point .Pun intended .  The treble that caught three fish ,lost the big guy this past Thursday , oh I mean I lost the fish .I thought I had him on and a solid hook set then he ran deep the wind kicked up a breeze and I lost my direct contact with the fish and bink he was off . I agree though I should've sharpened the hooks after three fish on that lure  .

You got me thinking Carl maybe I'll change the Blue Fox treble #4 to a bigger bite hook .it hooked three but lost two .Pickerel . They are just so fast right now they are hard to get a good hook set on at times. Plus when the wind puts slack in your line right when your getting the hit or have them on makes it hard to keep them on . Not complaining just trying to figure out how NOT to lose fish .

JOHN; FOR WHAT ITS WORTH BUDDY; WHEN I USE TO FISH FOR BASS;  OR OTHER BIGGEER FISH;; I ALWAYS CHANGED OUT MY TREBLE HOOKS; ; FOR BETTER;; STTRONGER; AS WELL AS WIDER GAP HOOKS;; AND HAD MUCH BETTER HOOK UPS.. A LOT OF THOSE ALREADY ON CRANK BAITS; OR WHAT EVER; COME WITH NOT SO SHARP HOOKS;  TALKING TO SEVERAL BASS PROS; IN THE PAST ( AND PRESENT ) JUST ABOUT EVERYONE OF THEM ;; CHANGE THE HOOKS THAT COME ON THEIR BAITS !   HOPE THIS HELPS YOU BUDDY; YO UMIGHT EVEN PUT A LITTLE ; DRESSING ON THE TREBLE TAIL HOOK !!

Easy to do on the plugs with split rings  but the Blue fox spinner doesn't have one. I realize now . You are right on my Bass plugs and Top water baits with split rings I've changed out a lot of hooks for bigger sharper wider bend hooks and it pays off . If I recall correctly , the Zara Spook was the biggest culprit of having lost fish with improper hook size .Though it may have been that the fish that hit it  to "chase it away " instead of eat it .When that happened went right back with a 6" plastic worm and caught some of those fish . You are absolutely right that some of those older baits had ridiculously poor hooks on them . I have very few treble hooks left that I use for changing out . I am with you on this .Thanks man!

I may just cut off the treble on the blue fox spinner add a small split ring and new better, sharper  and bigger hook. I have some concern the balance of the spinner wont be as good . It obviously attracts fish the way it is . 

JOHN;; TRY A GOOD;; BARREL SWIVEL  WITH A SPLIT RING !!!  IT WORKS GREAT !

I'm not getting what you mean Carl-you mean to attach the hook to or to attach to main line ?I use a snap swivel to main line so I can switch up sizes of spinners or spoons .

JOHN;; MANY TIMES I ATTACH A GOOD BARREL SWIVEL ; AND  SPLIT RING TO ATTACH HOOKS TO JIGS N STUFF ;; SPLIT RING ON BOTH ENDS; ATTACH TO JIG ; THEN THE HOOK;; LETS THE HOOK KIND OF ROTATE A LITTLE; AND WITH DRESSED TREBLES;; JUST ADDS TO THE LURE;; TRY ONLY ONE;; SHE IF YOU LIKE IT

...one of the main reasons i would lose a northern pike is they grip a large bait so tightly with their teeth i wouldn't get a great hookset. the bait doesnt move in their mouth therefore no hook penetration. many times they open their mouth in the net releasing the bait.

one of the benefits of using braid will also increase the chances of a good hook set... no stretch.

Hmm.... interesting about Pike Slip! Yes, I wondered about braid verses mono hookup percentages !

I've encountered a few instances where I've pulled my lure right out of the mouths of Pickerel I can see have made the bait disappear into their mouths. I am wondering if when i see that again I shouldn't either wait for them to start swimming away before setting the hook or tighten up on it gently then try a hard set . I usually set quickly when i see that happen because I'm concerned they will drop the bait before i decide to set .TIMING , it's a trick.

Slip Sinker ,what kind of line are those Pike biting through ? I thought you only fished braid . They are not biting through that are they?