Detecting Bites On The Fall

[GoRavens]

Can somebody explain how to do this? I'm casting from banks so is it harder to do?

[Jar11591]

A lot of the times when a bass hits a bait on the fall, the line will jump and may or may not start moving quick. You may also feel a slight thump in the handle. Easiest way to tell is to watch for anything irregular in the line. Suddenly slack or taught could mean a fish has hit it.

[MarkH024]

Watching your line is your best bet. Difficult to see if you use a lo-vis line (green/moss/black) so you may want to consider a hi-vis on the applications that get hit on the fall. You can always run your index finger just above the reel to help with feeling the tension but watching your line is going to be your best bet.  You want to see your line "jump". That's usually a pretty aggressive bite.  If you just see the line steadily moving in a direction, that tends to be a more subtle bite. 

[Raul]

As the guys explained, sometimes you see the line twitch a little bit, sometimes the line moves in a different direction, the rate at which the line is sinking changes ( it slows down ), suddenly you get the sensation that the bait has "dissapeared" from the end of the line ( meaning that you suddenly cease to feel the drag of the bait on the line as it sinks ).

[ww2farmer]

Watch your line, watch your line, watch our line.................did I mention watch your line. Especially if your letting a bait fall on slack line. I don't care if you have a $400 Loomis or a $15 Wal-mart rod, if your bait is falling on slack line they best way to detect a bite on the fall is by.......wait for it...........watching your line.

[stk]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned before, but watch your line.    If i'm throwing a jig, I'll try to get an idea of where the bottom is by casting and then counting to see how deep the water is.  If you cast and your line stops before your mark, then maybe a fish....

[WRB]

Feel your line, very difficult to see slight tension changes in your line, lot easier to feel it.

Standing on ground is a solid platform and easier to detect sinking lure strikes than from a boat.

When a bass strikes the sinking lure ( jig or worm) on slightly slack line the lure stops sinking, the line in the water stops moving, the tension on the line changes, set the hook.

Fish at night, can't see the line, only feel it, best way to sharpen your jig/worm strike detection skills.

Tom

[Catch and Grease]

You can feel your line but if your using braid you pretty much have to watch it, braid has near zero feel on a slack line....

[einscodek]

I do both .. watching for any irregularities or changes in the fall of the line and feeling for any irregularities.. tightness/slack/sidestep

Anything unusual if its not obvious I will quickly tighten to get a better feel to sense if its structure or fish.

Finesse really requires you put all of your attention in and that inlcudes all senses you can apply

[Raul]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned before, but watch your line.     

 

Nope, I don´t think is has been mentioned before.

[OroBass]

I agree with WRB on this. I do line watch but if you can feel what your bait is doing you will detect more strikes. I learned by paying close attention to what my bait feels like without a bite it was alot easier to feel something different. For example I'm fishing 8 for and I "feel" that my bait stopped around 4 fow... bam set the hook! Maintain alot of contact with your line but also concentrate on what your bait is doing. Practice practice practice. I'm learning jigs and let me tell you. Developing that sense from hours of plastic fishing is helping tons. Also I fish from a tube at water level and it can be tricky to do everything sitting down in the water.

[hoosierbass07]

When all of you talk about watching your line on the drop, are your bails closed or open on your spinning reels and are you in free spool on your baitcasters or are they already engaged while the lure is dropping?

[OroBass]

For slack line lures like senkos or anything else I need to fall vertical, I cast a slight arch in the line and engage the spool.

[HeavyFisher]

Like everyone else says, real in the slack and watch that line.

[WRB]

You can feel your line but if your using braid you pretty much have to watch it, braid has near zero feel on a slack line....

You need to night fish with braid.

Tom

[Catch and Grease]

You need to night fish with braid.

Tom

I don't night fish but if I did I wouldn't use braid for applications that involve a slack line...

[geo g]

Like most have said before, watch your line for any jump or slight movement. When letting a bait fall on slack line, once the bait hits the water, I will pull an additional yard or two of line to get a true free fall. You will see your line jump way before you feel it. So always be a line watcher, have a fast reel to take up slack quickly, then set the hook hard.

[WRB]

The key is controlling your slack and knowing the rate of fall of the lures you are fishing. Some of the best jig/worm anglers use braid at night and fish controlled slack line because it transmits line movement feel better than FC or mono. The concept that sight or watching line is better than feeling line maybe a result of anglers palming reels instead of running line over or under fingers tips. You can't see line move in the wind but you can feel it.

Strike detection is one of the most misunderstood aspects of bass fishing.

I am not saying do not watch the line for movement, I am saying you can't always see your line move, you can feel it, so use all your senses and focus on what is going on below the water with your lure.

I know and fish with some very good bass anglers who rely on line watching and haven't ever caught DD bass on jigs or worms. The bigger a basses mouth gets the harder strike detection becomes and the reason most anglers never detect big bass strikes unless the bass eats the lure and swims off with it.

Tom

[everythingthatswims]

Hook sets are free

[papajoe222]

I'm going to add something that hasn't been mentioned and that's counting down your presentation. The first thing you need to know is how long it takes your bait to get to the bottom. It doesn't make a difference if you know the depth of the water or not, just start counting when it hits the water and stop when it hits bottom....in addition to watching your line and feeling.  On subsequent casts, if you continue counting past the point where it should have hit bottom, or it stops falling before it should, one of two things has happened. The depth of the area where you just cast is either deeper or shallower, or a fish has taken it. Reel down and drop your rod tip, gently raise the tip when all slack is out and if you feel anything other than what your bait should feel like, set the hook.  If you're not sure, set the hook and by all means, if you feel something pulling back.........

[WRB]

I know there is a lot of banter going on, look at the 1st sentence #18 post, know your rate of fall. My advantage with ROF is decades of fishing lures that have similar ROF, if the lure stops when it shouldn't I set the hook, other experienced anglers instinctively do the same.

Tom

[gulfcaptain]

Watch your line as stated several times, also feel it, keep a finger on the line as well as I also end up with a finger on the spool and I'm sure it's been mentioned before, if it doesn't feel right, SWING! I know we have all heard that swings are free.  I'd rather swing on something I thought was a fish then realize that I had a bite and didn't swing.  ANYTHING that doesn't feel right with the bait your fishing odds are there's your bite.  

[shanksmare]

Detecting bites on a slack line fall can be pretty simple or you can make it unbelievably compicated. If you follow ww2farmers advice it becomes a rather simple process. You watch the line and watch for some indication of a hit. Do you detect a tick in the line, is it moving off to the side, does it feel spongy when you lift the lure (bass swimming towards you). You can also run the line over your index finger (which as ww2farmer says is far more sensitive than any rod regardless of cost) to aid in bite detection.

 

If you decide to go the "fall rate" route, well things get a little more complicated. A 1/4 oz. jig falls a lot slower than a 3/4 oz. jig. Naturally different trailers make the jig fall at differant rate. A grub slow the fall down a lot less than a beaver style bait. If your fishing a dropoff the fall time will vary with the depth.

 

Both methods will generally work, one method is relatively simple the other not so much.

 

If you decide to fish a jig on gelspun braid it will fish differently then the same lure on mono. When you fish the jig on mono, the line has more water resistance so the jig tends to lift up off the bottom as you move it. Since braid is much thinner in diameter, it has less water resistance and the jig tends to drag along the bottom moreso than it would with mono.

[Catt]

The most difficult part of jig fishing is feeling the bite, many guys will tell you it ain't like the bite you get with a Texas Rig but it is so get that notion out of your head. But like a Texas Rig those bumps, thumps, tics, & taps are the easy ones to detect, it's the ones where the bass inhales your jig without any tell-tale signs or line movement. I say now is the time to bring forth all the expertise on feeling subtle bites storied away in your brain from Texas Rigs, Wacky Rigs, Drop Shots, & so on.

You will also hear "bass don't hold a jig long", don't be surprised when a 2# bass inhales your 1 oz jig without any tell-tale line movement & proceeds to sit there until you apply to much pressure at which time they spit it.

The art of feeling a worm/jig bite is a fine combination of watching your line & feeling for unnatural sensations if what your lure shouldn't feel like. Some times you will feel that classic "tap", some times you will only see line movement, some times your line will simply go slack, but some times there will only be a feeling of heaviness that is almost like your lure will not move. Feeling a worm/jig bite requires keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amount of slackness in you line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but to the experienced worm/jig angler it makes total sense.

Maintain contact with your lure at all times, allow the lure to free-fall unrestricted, but without letting slack form in your line; follow your lure down with your rod tip.

Pay close attention to the depth you are fishing, any sudden change in the amount of line you are using could mean you've been bit. For instance, if you are fishing 10' of water & the lure suddenly stops at the 6' depth it is possible a bass has taken the lure.

[slimshad]

When taking guys that dont fish alot, I see them doing the "check".  I see his line jump or move down the bank and he is lifting trying to see if he is "still" on there.  I will always remember the Bill Dance line "They don't have hands"  if you feel a tug or bump, it is in their mouth.  This is true 96% of the time where I am from.  The other 4% is when spotted bass are eating a jig.  Sometimes they hit the bait, spit it out, then eat it again.  I guess they are killing the prey first.  Anyway, SET THE HOOK if you feel anything...  They don't have hands and hook sets are free.