Best Equipment To Feel Bites

[livemusic]

I have a new rig -- Berkley Lightning Rod Shock Spinning Rod / Pfleuger President 6940 spinning reel / sufix 832 advanced superline braid fishing line 50 lb. I note that when fishing a worm, I can feel everything I come in contact with better than ever! I feel bass hit the work really well. I wonder if it is the rod or what? The rod is supposedly made for superline. A label says something like "super sensitive tip" on the rod. It is a 7' medium action.

 

I am wondering what provides such sensitivity? Rod, line?

 

Would a heavier rod provide more sensitivity for detecting strikes or less?

[A-Jay]

Braided line helps quite a bit.

 

Try the same rig with mono and see what you think.

 

A-Jay

[deep]

1. Knowing what a *bite* feels like- which comes only from experience.

2. Premium fluorocarbon line. Hold your line between your thumb and index finger.

 

A good fraction the time I set the hook on a bottom bumping bait, I don't even feel a real bite, I do it from instinct and sure enough there's a fish on.

[Sea NaCl]

Monofilament line has a lot more stretch than braided line making it a little harder to detect strikes. I'd say braid makes the sensitivity on a rod much better and also how thick the rod is in relation to the action of the rod. The thinner the rod is the more sensitive it will be. Pair up braid with a nice medium action rod and your good to go!

[kcdinkerz]

rod and line, the berkly lighting is a good rod but braided line can only help you out so much. If you get a chance go try out a higher end rod. What I do is head to cabelas or bps. buy a rod and test it out, then return it and wait for it to go on sale if I wanna buy it lol

[Ozark_Basser]

Your line and rod play a big role. In shallow water braid is going to be your best bet for sensitivity. If you went from a fiberglass rod to graphite, you are going to notice a big difference.

[Catt]

1. Knowing what a *bite* feels like- which comes only from experience.

2. Premium fluorocarbon line. Hold your line between your thumb and index finger.

A good fraction the time I set the hook on a bottom bumping bait, I don't even feel a real bite, I do it from instinct and sure enough there's a fish on.

This guy gets it

The best equiptment for feeling bites is between your ears!

[Jeff H]

Wow.  It blows my mind to think of what a disadvantage I'm at in my over 40 yrs of bass fishing since I've never been able to develop the trait of instinct for bite detection.  That would be a real advantage for sure.  How would one go about this?

[livemusic]

Your line and rod play a big role. In shallow water braid is going to be your best bet for sensitivity. If you went from a fiberglass rod to graphite, you are going to notice a big difference.

 

From fiberglass to graphite, notice a big difference -- in what way?

[Brian6428]

Question: whenever people say that braid has better sensitivity than mono or fluoro because it doesn't stretch, just how much do you guys think your line is going to stretch as you're dragging a 1/2 oz along the bottom? 

 

In my experience, it doesn't stretch any when working a lure, making the line that sinks (fluorocarbon) the most sensitive. 

[Capt.Bob]

Wow.  It blows my mind to think of what a disadvantage I'm at in my over 40 yrs of bass fishing since I've never been able to develop the trait of instinct for bite detection.  That would be a real advantage for sure.  How would one go about this?

X2,,, I have to pay for equipment made to increase the sensitivity, my instinct is to laking,,,,  

 

 

I think the best thing the OP has going is the line, the reels all pretty much come into play once the fish is on, but use mono and you would notice a bigger a difference than changing the rod to a fiberglass pole with the same 832. 

 

If you want to improve feel about all thats left to improve that is the Rod!!! I would only look at St. Croix Legend Elite or Extreme and build it with Recoil Guides, but that is if you want the ultimate,,,,, I would also have my builder build it with lightweight and sensitivity in mind!! I have changed to rods to recoil guides from alconites and the difference is simply unbelievable, If I had done this I would never believe anyone telling me this, but feeling is believing, it's hard to spend 100 bucks for guides when the guides on the rod you have, has nothing wrong with them,,,, but if you do they are lifetime and can be used on any blank anytime you want to change them, well worth the investment!!!!!! 

 

PS I missed the 50 pound at first,,,,,,  I think the 50 lbs. is way overkill, costing you sensitivity and distance along with smaller bait management, I would never use over 30 lbs test on my MF casting rods in medium action because it is as light as I go on baitcasters. I prefer 20 lbs test on my spinning rigs in that weight you will cast twice as far and have even better feel and much better lure response with finesse baits!!

[F14A-B]

I use mono predominately, better be a line watcher, that said I still can feel a pickup, at least sometimes.. But I rely on "watching" over "feeling"

[Jeff H]

Braid is night and day difference in sensitivity vs mono.  You could tie braid to a tree branch and feel bites.  But,  I think A-Jay already made this point without the dramatic example.

[BobP]

A spinning rod with lighter tip and good front/rear balance is most sensitive.  A heavier power rod will give you less sensitivity.  Braid is super sensitive to pull due to its lack of stretch.  However sensing bites is not always a matter of feeling pull.  If you're bank fishing and a fish swims toward you after inhaling your bait, braid will supply zero sensation while fluoro, the line with highest density, will often transmit a clue to you.  So choosing the type of line is always a mix of tradeoffs among sensitivity, durability, manageability, and cost.   

[RanndomUndead]

I have a new rig -- Berkley Lightning Rod Shock Spinning Rod / Pfleuger President 6940 spinning reel / sufix 832 advanced superline braid fishing line 50 lb. I note that when fishing a worm, I can feel everything I come in contact with better than ever! I feel bass hit the work really well. I wonder if it is the rod or what? The rod is supposedly made for superline. A label says something like "super sensitive tip" on the rod. It is a 7' medium action.

 

I am wondering what provides such sensitivity? Rod, line?

 

Would a heavier rod provide more sensitivity for detecting strikes or less?

Braided line on a glass/carbon fiber hybrid rod is nuts

[livemusic]

Braided line on a glass/carbon fiber hybrid rod is nuts

 

Tell that to Berkley; they say they designed the rod for Superline.

[RanndomUndead]

Tell that to Berkley; they say they designed the rod for Superline.

I hope you do realise that a tool is worthless if not multi purpose.

Just because its designed for one thing doesnt mean it cant excel at another

[kingmotorboat]

I used to have problems feeling. All I did was fish nothing but a t rig and jig on yo zuri. Now I got the feel for it. Best advice is to focus and if you feel anything different set the hook