Set the hook or not?

[rypka77]

I've recently got into bass fishing, and i've been getting very light bites when fishing soft plastics. Usually 2 little taps then nothing else. Should i set the hook when this happens, wait or what? It seems like i almost never hook them on the little bites. any input would be greatly appreciated

[A-Jay]

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

Hooksets are free so - I say get your money's worth whenever the mood strikes you.

Smaller than bass fish, like panfish, are notorious for 'tasting' soft plastics with little chance of getting hooked.

Finally you mentioned two taps - if it were indeed a bass, the first one might have been the fish picking up the bait and the second one was the fish rejecting the bait.

If @Catt had been fishing with you, there would have been a Third tap.  

A-Jay

[Smokinal]

Probably small baitfish, petch etc...nibbling at the tips of the bait

[Ktho]

I'd wind down and set the hook cause you don't know til you do, some of the biggest bass have the smallest bites.

[NHBull]

Swing for the fences,,,,,,,a Mississippi better than gut hooked, and I can't tell you how many times I got hit after the original set

[Falkus]

Two Tap Rule:

 

I always follow the tap one...avoid tap two at all cost ! 

 

First tab, the bass bit, the second tap is me tapping you on the shoulder telling you that the bass split out. Bass don't have hands; you feel anything strike....set the hook!

 

If you wait too long the bass will either spit it out or swallow it

 

 

Proper Form for Setting the Hook: 

 

1. Before setting the hook, you should be in a stable position with your legs about shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.

2. Your upper body should be relaxed, but ready to spring into hook-setting form at any moment. 

3. Get rid of slack line to ensure proper sets. It is critical to reel in slack line and point the rod towards the fish before snapping it back.

4. Elbows ! To get a powerful set, keep the elbows tight to the body to move the rod, line and ultimately the hook.

5. Once the slack is gone and you can feel weight, keep your elbows in and quickly snap the rod up and over your shoulders using your forearms. 

6. Timing is everything. A good rule of thumb is to set the hook fast. On the flipside, if fish are in a neutral or negative mood and hitting baits lightly, it's better to wait, let the fish take the bait, and set the hook after you feel the weight of the fish. 

 

[Catt]

3 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

Hooksets are free so - I say get your money's worth whenever the mood strikes you.

Smaller than bass fish, like panfish, are notorious for 'tasting' soft plastics with little chance of getting hooked.

Finally you mentioned two taps - if it were indeed a bass, the first one might have been the fish picking up the bait and the second one was the fish rejecting the bait.

If @Catt had been fishing with you, there would have been a Third tap.  

A-Jay

 

Three Tap Theory as explained to me by Shaw Grigsby 

 

The first tap the bass has inhaled your lure

 

The second tap the bass has expelled your lure

 

The third tap is me tapping you on the shoulder asking way you didn't set hook!

[scaleface]

   Those taps could be a a six inch fish or a 6 lber . Its hard to explain but I weigh my line without putting pressure on the fish . If it feels heavy I let em have it .That way I'm not setting  the hook in thick  brush   when nothing is   on it .  Some days little ones are nipping at it and some days almost all the taps are in a basses mouth .

[FreddoB]

One thing for sure - if they are panfish like bluegill and pumpkin seed - those will feel like a small machine gun fire on your bait. As I started learning "bass fishing" when I got bit like that, I'd throw a small crappie bait and prove it out. I've found, as mentioned above, that even a "tap" deserves a hookset attempt. You'll learn by trying and trying and trying. You will get to know the differences over time. I've probably freaked out many a small fish thinking it was a monster that picked up my bait when I tried burying the hook. I like the "one tap" idea mentioned above!!

[Clinton john]

First tap equals hookset, hooksets are free.

[Catt]

The art of feeling a worm/jig bite is a fine combination of watching your line and feeling for unnatural sensations of what your lure shouldn’t feel like.

 

Sometimes you will feel that classic “Tap”, sometimes you’ll only see line movement, sometimes your line will simply go slack, but sometimes there will only be a feeling of heaviness that is almost like your lure will not move. The bites where the bass moves after inhaling your lure are the easy ones to feel because there is line movement, the bites where the bass simply inhales your lure and just sits there are the hardest to feel.

 

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 your line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but the 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 the line; follow your lures down with your rod tip.

 

Pay close attention to the depth you're fishing, any sudden change in the amount of line you're using could mean you’ve been bit. For instance, if you're fishing 6 feet of water and the lure suddenly stops at the 3 depth, it's possible a bass has taken the lure. If you're fishing 3 feet of water and 6 feet of line sinks chances are good a bass is traveling with the lure. This is extremely true on the initial drop and no line movement maybe noticed.

 

What I’ll use to help my students is to take them out night fishing during a new moon!

[Todd2]

I can't add much that hasn't already been said..feel/see anything unusual, drop the rod and reel like crazy until your rod starts to load and then swing.

 

The problem I had the other night was I found a nice buried pipe line with my SI. So while dragging a jig along the rocks every drag feels like a hit. That's where I struggle, its easier if your rod is still, but when your moving the jig/plastic, its much harder for me.

[Fun4Me]

"my jig falls on an oak leaf and drifts to the left, I'm pullin the trigger, I'll promise you. You let me get a little fishing line on there, no uh uh, no I'm swingin. Let me throw some where and pick it up and it's hung, i'm jerkin. jerks are free, swing" - Gerald Swindle    

[scaleface]

1 hour ago, Todd2 said:

feel/see anything unusual, drop the rod and reel like crazy until your rod starts to load and then swing.

 

 . Theres a good video here where Glenn demonstrates  how to set the hook.  He explains to take most of the slack out but not all of it , then set the hook .

[Todd2]

23 minutes ago, scaleface said:

 

 . Theres a good video here where Glenn demonstrates  how to set the hook.  He explains to take most of the slack out but not all of it , then set the hook .

Yeah, that's a good video but on drop shots and c-rigs I reel into them pretty good and then set. Even on t-rigs and jigs on longer casts, I hook up better by reeling into them a little and then set.

 Shorter, more vertical casts are where I leave a little slack. Just a weekend warriors opinion...lol

[kiteman]

i will tell you this, small nibbles and setting hooks can easily result in your line getting tangled!  i've set the hook so many times that i rip the lure out of the water and it gets messy tangled up around my rod.

 

i read a lot of articles about setting hooks anytime you feel a bite and i strongly disagree.  as others have said it's usually small fish nibbling.  however if you see your line moving side to side but don't really feel a tug like a bite, it means your fish is devouring your lure and you need to set the hook.  i've had this happen a lot and ended up with hooks swallowed in the gill or gut and resulted in a dead fish.

 

at the end of the day your call, as someone else said hook sets are free. i am going for the big fish so the nibbles i don't bother with and reel faster to get the lure away from the curious smaller fish.

[Doelman]

When fishing soft plastics, when I get a bite I say "hey that's a fish" then reel down and set the hook if I feel weight.  You need to give the fish at least a second or two to eat it.  The only time I set the hook immediately when I feel a bite is with a bait with trebled hooks

[tander]

When in doubt, set the hook !!!

[WRB]

Catt explained how to fish a soft plastic worm or craw as well as it can be explained in words. We all have our hook setting techniques and each angler will develop what works for them in time. I like the story that bass don't have hands only a mouth, so set the hook when your lure in inside it!

Tom

[Catt]

In a Bassmaster University video titled “Denny Brauer on flipping and pitching”, in it Denny answers viewer questions and one question was “what does a jig bite feel like?” Denny’s answer was “I don’t know but I know what it doesn’t feel like!”, he went on to say he felt 100% confident that not a single bass wrapped it’s lips around his lure and he didn’t take a shot at it.

 

His next commit was “observers in my boat might think I’m a complete idiot because I set hook 20 times but only landed 5 bass so the other 15 times I didn’t have a clue want was going on and they may be right but one thing for sure the other 15 times were not bass.

 

When in doubt, drop the rod, reel the slack, & set the hook! 

[ohboyitsrobby]

I'm of the belief that when you feel the tap to wait and look for line movement or pressure. My partner who's won way more money than I have and a way more experienced angler sets on the tap. We both catch fish. Do I feel either ways better not sure just a individual comfort thing. And I rarely get hooks swallowed this way. On Friday night I had one swim halfway to the boat before I could catch up to set the hook and no gut hook. My main reasoning for my method I suppose is I've probably hooked more non-fish with a t-rig than any man should at my age lol

[earthworm77]

Hooksets are free, when in doubt, set the hook.

[jbsoonerfan]

Always set the hook, and if you don't connect you just tell the person you are fishing with "I just missed a GOOD one", they will never know the difference and neither will you.  

[NiX]

Reading through this thread makes me want to go out and start swingin' on some fish. I guess I need to set the hook more often. A lot of times i'll get hit, reel down, and if I don't see or feel any line movement I pass on the hook-set. I have felt the double tap but not anymore, I am going to start swinging on first tap.