Rod tip for strike indicator

[Angealy]

When growing up, I never used the "feel for fish by holding/touching the line" trick but now i use it almost all the time.

I even use my spinning/spincast outfits like a fly fishing outfit.

This seems to work really well most often or not and using the "feel for fish line" trick here is a deadly combination.

However, I am now interested in this rod tip for strike indicator method and i am willing to give it a try.

[IndianaFinesse]

On 9/22/2017 at 3:22 PM, Team9nine said:

...And this is why I love spending so much time out in open water tossing lightweight jigs for crappie - the best way to learn about pressure bites. It's how I showed Wheeler.

Is there a bass lure that would teach pressure bites similarly?  I'm not much of a crappie guy, and the crappie have been so slow around here that the number of bites would be pretty low.

[BigAngus752]

10 hours ago, 3crows said:

Unless you hookset into a log.

I'd rather buy packs of Mustads than get skunked!!!

[Team9nine]

1 hour ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Is there a bass lure that would teach pressure bites similarly?  I'm not much of a crappie guy, and the crappie have been so slow around here that the number of bites would be pretty low.

 

You need to make a trip or two to Cat or Coon. The beauty of crappie is that you can "practice" on several hundred fish on a single weekend. Some waters it might take all year to see those totals of bass. The bite is very similar though. HL is a nice exception for the bass. Ned is the bass substitute to a large degree, along with the dropshot, and you've already mastered the former. The only limiting thing is that you get a lot more "lift" bites (push) with crappie than you will with bass.

[IndianaFinesse]

8 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

You need to make a trip or two to Cat or Coon. The beauty of crappie is that you can "practice" on several hundred fish on a single weekend. Some waters it might take all year to see those totals of bass. The bite is very similar though. HL is a nice exception for the bass. Ned is the bass substitute to a large degree, along with the dropshot, and you've already mastered the former. The only limiting thing is that you get a lot more "lift" bites (push) with crappie than you will with bass.

Cat's a fun lake, I usually head out there once or twice in the late fall.  I haven't used much for crappie jigs in the past though, but that's all I'm bringing next time.

 

 The only issue I have with the ned rig is putting it down lol, sounds like this is a good excuse not to.  I still can't seem to catch more than a bass or two per outing on the drop shot though, for some reason I can not seem to get that technique figured out.  And I like  other finesse techniques...

[ClackerBuzz]

On 9/22/2017 at 12:46 PM, WRB said:

There was for a short time a thread by Matt Allen using the rods deflection for strike indicator I thought was a good topic.

 

I don't keep up. Why was the thread taken down?

[WRB]

10 hours ago, ClackerBuzz said:

I don't keep up. Why was the thread taken down?

Probably because it was a unauthorized Tactical Bass video?

Tom

[WRB]

Who in your opinion is the top finesse bass angler?

For sake of argument I will vote Aaron Martens for the top pro finesse angler. How does Aaron detect strikes? He feels his line and watches his rod tip. I know this because he learned how to finesse bass fish from a friend of mine Dick Trask. Trask was a rod tip watcher and line feeler, he learned the art of line feeling from Zank (John Zankowski) who was a safe cracker in feeling line, he sanded his finger tips! Aaron completing agianst Trask or Zank during a tough fineese bite on our local lakes couldn't beat them, they were that good at the slightest strike detection. Aaron could find bass nobody else could, Trask and Zank caught them by weighing the line for any indication of a pressure bite. 

Tom

[Further North]

Interesting topic...I sidetracked myself, as I began thinking: There's nothing in the gear world that compares to stripping in a fly...the line is in your hand...you can feel everything...

[bchase44]

This may sound dumb, but I was fishing this afternoon and recalled this thread. I have to completely readjust my left hand (holding the reel instead of the rod) to get the line close enough to apply my finger for feeling bites.

 

On spinning gear I have to literally grab the line with my right hand.

 

Is this how you do this or am I doing it wrong?

[J Francho]

I did a bunch of finesse fishing yesterday, and what I noticed needed improvement was the time between closing the bail, and getting to a point where I could detect a bite.  This was most prevalent when skipping docks.  A few times, there's a bit of slack, and that's when I saw slight line movement, as I flipped the bail.  I didn't lose those fish, but I feel like I could miss some or probably did.  I started cupping the spool  at the end of the cast, which helped quite a bit.  Sort of like how you'd slow a baitcast spool when a bait touches down, during a pitch cast.

[Catt]

11 hours ago, WRB said:

Who in your opinion is the top finesse bass angler?

 

Oh I don't know but Roger Moore or Bobby Murray comes to mind!

 

Aaron's problem is he can't get out of second place!

 

Probably the most iconic name associated with running his line between his thumb & forefinger is Hank Parker. He doesn't palm his reel but holds his rod in front of the reel.

 

I seldom watch my line or rod tip & don't run my line between my fingers but there again I night fish a lot relying on feeling strikes through my rod's exposed blank.

[Troy85]

Visual cues is how I fish senkos and weightless flukes, a majority of the time I will see the strike rather than feel it.  Makes it tough on windy days to fish these baits.

[Bulletman20XD]

Can't see the need---If a fish bites just enough to move a rod tip on even a mildly sensitive rod this movement will transmitted to your hand to detect the strike!  

[IndianaFinesse]

Thanks guys, watching my rod tip for pressure bites helped me catch 38 bass in 45 minutes today (all on shaky heads).  I was amazed at the bites I was missing, and I use an Abu Garcia villain spooled with 8 pound braid so it has good sensitivity, but even with that I bet I caught at least five bass that I would not have detected otherwise.  I definitely think longer rods would be helpful, I'm thinking instead of getting a 6'10" rod for jigs I'll probably get a 7'2".

[WRB]

13 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Oh I don't know but Roger Moore or Bobby Murray comes to mind!

 

Aaron's problem is he can't get out of second place!

 

Probably the most iconic name associated with running his line between his thumb & forefinger is Hank Parker. He doesn't palm his reel but holds his rod in front of the reel.

 

I seldom watch my line or rod tip & don't run my line between my fingers but there again I night fish a lot relying on feeling strikes through my rod's exposed blank.

Aaron's fishing skills are not the reason he hasn't won a Classic. He was over 6 lb lead when he forgot to check in after returning to the dock 30 minutes early that disqualified his limit catch in the Chicago 2000 Classic. 

Guido Hibbon also comes to mind. I mentioned Aaron because he is the only Elite finesse angler I knew before he travel east.

It takes time to program your brain to interpret what the fingers are feeling and it takes concentration, can't let your focus drift.

Tom

 

[Catt]

Aaron Martens:

2002 classic Lay Lake 2nd

2004 Classic Lake Wylie 2nd

2005 Classic Three River 2nd

2011 Classic Louisiana Delta 2nd

 

Dude gotta pull one off!

[S Hovanec]

The majority of the fish I catch on drophot, I don't feel the bite.  The bait is on the bottom with a slack line.  When I pick up the slack, there is pressure and I sweep a hookset.