Depends on the bait and the rod. A single hook (jig, spinnerbait, etc) should be used with at least a med heavy rod. Treble hooks should be used with a lighter rod or at least one with a soft tip. On a single hook most of the time, I wait till I feel the fish's weight, then I I Try to kill the fish with the hook set even double the hook sets. You cannot set the hook too hard. With trebles, including topwater, I just use the fish's weight to set the hook. If I smash the hookset, I normaly pull it out of their mouths. Especially with topwaters with trebles. On a sweeping hookset, I try to sweep the opposite way they are traveling. Fish moving left, sweep to the right. It pulls the bait into the corner of their mouth instead of out in front of their mouth. On plastic finesse, I use a med rod with a fast tip. The hook sets better for me.

That's what I do. It seems to work for me. Even the pros miss hook sets.