Setting the Hook and Landing a Fish
Different hooks want different reactions, and the instinct to yank is wrong about half the time.
The moment a fish takes is where most beginners lose it, usually by doing too much.
With a standard hook, lift firmly. A smooth accelerating sweep of the rod, not a jerk. You are driving a point through cartilage; speed matters less than steady pressure and a tight line. If there is slack, reel it up first. A hook set into slack line does nothing at all.
With a circle hook, do not strike. This is counter-intuitive and it costs people a lot of catfish. A circle hook is shaped to rotate into the corner of the jaw as the fish turns away. Strike, and you pull it straight back out. Let the rod load, then simply lift into the weight.
With topwater, wait for weight. You will see the strike before you feel it, and the reflex is to set immediately at the splash. Do not. Wait until the rod tells you the fish is there. That is often a full second later, and it feels like forever.
Playing the fish. Rod tip up, line tight, let the rod bend absorb the runs. Do not reel against a fish that is taking line; you are just twisting it. Wait for the run to stop, then gain what you can.
Landing. Guide it to the bank or a net head-first. Most fish are lost in the last few feet, when the angler tries to lift a fish clear of the water on the line alone. Line is rated for steady pull, not for the shock of a thrashing fish hanging in the air.
Then handle it properly. Wet hands, support the body, hook out with pliers, back in the water quickly. A fish held up for a photo for two minutes is a fish that may not swim away.