When A Fish Misses A Shaky Head...

[basslover12345]

What do you do if its at the end of a long cast?

[Busy]

I would retrieve it normally, maybe pause a second first.

[Gangley]

Fish dont miss shakey heads. It's not like a shakey head is fished so fast that bass cant catch them or miss them. If you "missed" a fish, odds are the fish didnt like your presentation or didnt like the lure and didn't commit to eating it completely. Change presentation and if that doesnt work change the lure. If neither work, move on.

[basslover12345]

Fish dont miss shakey heads. It's not like a shakey head is fished so fast that bass cant catch them or miss them. If you "missed" a fish, odds are the fish didnt like your presentation or didnt like the lure and didn't commit to eating it completely. Change presentation and if that doesnt work change the lure. If neither work, move on.

I mean, most of the 25 bass I landed today were hooked right in the hard part on the side of their lip, or they were hooked in the tongue

[Bluebasser86]

I mean, most of the 25 bass I landed today were hooked right in the hard part on the side of their lip, or they were hooked in the tongue

So do you mean what to do when you miss one on a hookset with a shakeyhead? Or what to do if a fish bites it and drops it? If you miss one on the hookset cast back, they'll hit it again sometimes. If they pick it up and drop it then try shaking it in place for a few seconds then let it sit motionless. It looks like a prey item that just had the dying shivers and is now an easy target laying on the bottom. If that doesn't work you might try a different color or adding some scent to your bait, there was something that the fish didn't like about your bait that caused them to drop it.

[Kyle Mahaffey]

I had a bad hookset yesterday with a shakeyhead. One minute he was on, the next he wasn't. I just left it be, and a second bass got it. I think sometimes it just happens.

[basslover12345]

So do you mean what to do when you miss one on a hookset with a shakeyhead? Or what to do if a fish bites it and drops it? If you miss one on the hookset cast back, they'll hit it again sometimes. If they pick it up and drop it then try shaking it in place for a few seconds then let it sit motionless. It looks like a prey item that just had the dying shivers and is now an easy target laying on the bottom. If that doesn't work you might try a different color or adding some scent to your bait, there was something that the fish didn't like about your bait that caused them to drop it.

They were dropping it, it was either a THUMP, then gone, or a THUMP! THUMP! Then Gone

[Kyle Mahaffey]

I don't think they liked it. Or you where waiting to long to set the hook and they figured it was fake and they spit it out before you could set the hook. When I work my plastic. I don't cast it too long, so it allows me to reel most of the slack in before it hits the water so I can be right there when they pick it up on the downfall.

[basslover12345]

I don't think they liked it. Or you where waiting to long to set the hook and they figured it was fake and they spit it out before you could set the hook. When I work my plastic. I don't cast it too long, so it allows me to reel most of the slack in before it hits the water so I can be right there when they pick it up on the downfall.

I was just using a little 2.5" Half of a Strike king zero on a 1/16th ounce jig head

[scrutch]

Could have been bluegills teasing you.

[basscrusher]

Could have been bluegills teasing you.

yep...

[aclark609]

I rarely and I mean RARELY have seen a keeper fish just thump thump on a bait. If you watch bass feed they don't pick up the bait with their mouth. They inhale it. I'm gonna venture to say it was a bluegill. However, if you wait a while to set the hook, a fish could spit the bait.

A half of a strike king zero is an easy meal for any bass to inhale. Bluegills also tend to hit your bait as soon as they see it hit the water.

[logan9209]

I rarely and I mean RARELY have seen a keeper fish just thump thump on a bait. If you watch bass feed they don't pick up the bait with their mouth. They inhale it. I'm gonna venture to say it was a bluegill. However, if you wait a while to set the hook, a fish could spit the bait.

A half of a strike king zero is an easy meal for any bass to inhale. Bluegills also tend to hit your bait as soon as they see it hit the water.

I would say half of my worm or lizard fishing has been a thump or a thump thump. The other half would be inhaled. I would have to agree with the rest. Either the bass didn't care for it or bluegill/ bream was messing with it. Sometimes, I will just leave it alone for a few seconds and then start my usual tactic again. If you tried to set the hook into air (water) then just recast to the same spot. More often than not the bass will go for it again. Who knows, you might get a different bass who couldn't believe the first past up such a good meal.

[Bluebasser86]

Wouldn't consider that a shakeyhead, more of a grub really. I fish that same presentation a lot and rarely have trouble hooking fish with the proper equipment. What rod/reel/line are you using? I fish mine on a 6' 10" ML/F with a 20 size spinning reel and 8lb nanofil with an 8lb fluoro leader. With a bait that size I set the shook immediately upon feeling anything. Even an 8 inch bass is going to inhale a bait that small very easily but if you keep trying to reel or pull that "thump thump" is probably the bass inhaling you bait and then spitting it back out.

[basslover12345]

Wouldn't consider that a shakeyhead, more of a grub really. I fish that same presentation a lot and rarely have trouble hooking fish with the proper equipment. What rod/reel/line are you using? I fish mine on a 6' 10" ML/F with a 20 size spinning reel and 8lb nanofil with an 8lb fluoro leader. With a bait that size I set the shook immediately upon feeling anything. Even an 8 inch bass is going to inhale a bait that small very easily but if you keep trying to reel or pull that "thump thump" is probably the bass inhaling you bait and then spitting it back out.

Using a 6'6 Medium Denali Finesse rod with 6 pound P-Line Fluoroclear

[basslover12345]

Could have been bluegills teasing you.

The thing is is that I landed some of the bass that did the same thing, and they were good fish, like 13 or 14 inches. Usually it was a TAP of TAP TAP and then the bass would run like crazy, But there must of been at LEAST 10-15 fish that spit it out in the more than 4 hours I was fishing. The Deeper fish did this, the shallow fish were literally choking on it

[Bluebasser86]

Using a 6'6 Medium Denali Finesse rod with 6 pound P-Line Fluoroclear

Have never held that particular rod but for a bait like that I like something with a soft tip that gives the bass a chance to inhale the bait before it's pulled away from them. You might try a lighter action rod and setting the hook as soon as you feel the bite. The bite on that bait is very much like what you described usually, either that or it just gets a little heavier.

[basslover12345]

Have never held that particular rod but for a bait like that I like something with a soft tip that gives the bass a chance to inhale the bait before it's pulled away from them. You might try a lighter action rod and setting the hook as soon as you feel the bite. The bite on that bait is very much like what you described usually, either that or it just gets a little heavier.

Would a Berkley Cherrywood 7" Medium be ok?

[basslover12345]

The other thing is that when I could see a bass take the bait when I was reeling it in, in some slightly clearer water, It looked like they were grabbing it with their lips and holding it that way. I was using Procure's Trophy bass scent

[scrutch]

Sounds like something wasn't quite right. When you got the lure dialed in, you'll be unhooking them from the back of the roof of the mouth. Waybe scent was right, and color or action wasn't. Who knows. When that happens, start tweaking one thing at a time and see if that changes the results.

[Hyrule Bass]

sounds like a bluegill bite to me too

[basslover12345]

Sounds like something wasn't quite right. When you got the lure dialed in, you'll be unhooking them from the back of the roof of the mouth. Waybe scent was right, and color or action wasn't. Who knows. When that happens, start tweaking one thing at a time and see if that changes the results.

The thing is, I was unhooking them from there, but that was when I was catching them EXTRA shallow, like less than a foot deep

[NCbassmaster4Life]

Using a 6'6 Medium Denali Finesse rod with 6 pound P-Line Fluoroclear

Change your line....that P-line IMO is pfffff

[Bobby Uhrig]

Excuse me but if you caught 25 fish- two things -jump for joy and call me to go with you

[basslover12345]

Excuse me but if you caught 25 fish- two things -jump for joy and call me to go with you

You know us bass fisherman, we always WANT MORE