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I usually use only one set of trebles, pushing the trace through the deadbait with the hooks in the head area and strike early, you lose some but rarely get them gorged, with a livebait, i just liphook with the one barbed hook on the trebles, not perfect but works for me, cats, one big hook through the root of the tail.

Problem with standard swingers is they are not as sensitive as a drop-off indicator. I use my Delkims as the front, but always watch the float, (on 1 rod) and respond to any bleeps on the other rod(s). The drop-off should fall off on any line movement, but very occasionally pike will scoff a bait on the spot. No matter what you do, at some point you will get a deep hooked fish, and for an inexperienced angler, it is scary unhooking them, having your nose next to a pikes mouth, sometimes with your mouth pulling the line tight to bring the hooks forward (and stomach!), one hand under the gill rakers, and the other working in the other gill to remove hooks with pliers or forceps. A couple of years ago, I had a decent 20 break me off as the line rubbed over a metal cable in the margin. A week later my mate hooked and landed it, and I had to take out 2 sets of hooks, his from the mouth, my previous weeks trace from further down in the mouth. It was his first 20, and after holding it upright in the margins for 10-15 minutes swam off safely. It is probably actually harder to unhook smaller fish (2-4lb) than a bigger one if deep hooked, there is simply no room to work, you can only fit a couple of fingers under the gill to open the mouth. If I don't have to actually put the fish on land, unhook it in the water I will. I have had numbers of fish hooked on the top upper hook (I usually use a single), and rather than net them, gill them, then 'flick' the hook free with forceps. If you net them, the risk of a flying treble catching in the mesh, and a wriggling fish catching everything up, making a mess of the fish and the net. Don't know if the pic helps, but that was a mid double that you can see i'm straddling on the mat, having just unhooked, slung the pliers and hooks out the way, and getting my fingers carefully out the way.

MY FAV: 1980's Richworth vhs Video Guide to Good Fishing! Featuring Clive Diedrich and Malcolm Winkworth the titles are: -The Basics on Boiled Baits, -Tackle and methods -Terminal Tackle -The end result I even had the original Richworth vhs videos burned to dvds, i watch them around xmas time ...oh boy do these bring back HAPPY memories! Oh I wonder how many old skool carpers here would love to see that footage again!