Feeling the bite

[CristianB27]

So im not sure if guys read one of my other posts where i talk about struggling to catch a single fish. But i think my issue is feeling the bite. When I cast out into the water i'm only waiting to fill that "Tic Tic" type of bite where i can feel a slight tug. i don't wait for anything else. Ive come to realize that there are other kinds of bites you don't even really feel besides a visual bite. so i can i try to feel those other kinds of bites? some people say its a mushy feel? like what the hell does that mean!? 

[Bassin' Brad]

What kind of rod and line are you using? 

[Drew03cmc]

Feeling those isn't easily done. When I'm using my soft craws on creeks for bass on a M spinning rod, I catch 5x the fish by sight than by feel. Watch your line. Use a high vis line with a fluoro leader...

[FishDewd]

1 hour ago, CristianB27 said:

So im not sure if guys read one of my other posts where i talk about struggling to catch a single fish. But i think my issue is feeling the bite. When I cast out into the water i'm only waiting to fill that "Tic Tic" type of bite where i can feel a slight tug. i don't wait for anything else. Ive come to realize that there are other kinds of bites you don't even really feel besides a visual bite. so i can i try to feel those other kinds of bites? some people say its a mushy feel? like what the hell does that mean!? 

It's a process... I struggle with that myself after growing up fishing primarily for catfish and perch, which always make it quite obvious when they are on the hook. I guess it comes down to knowing the water and the lure you're using. Could be a weed you caught... or it could be a fish. Experience thing I guess... If in doubt, reel in and set it.

[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 bait shouldn't feel like. Some times you will feel that classic Tap, some times you'll 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 line will not move. The bites where the bass moves after inhaling you bait are the easy ones to feel because there is line movement, the bites where the bass simply inhales your bait 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 bait. If you're fishing 3 feet of water and 6 feet of line sinks beneath the mat, chances are good a bass is traveling with the bait. This is extremely true on the initial drop and no line movement maybe noticed.

 

Strikes will sometimes so subtle with no line movement that they can go unnoticed if you feel is a spongy sensation, as if the line suddenly got heavy set the hook. 

 

The hook set is the only part of this sport that is still free so when in doubt drop the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook.

[jbmaine]

Feeling the bite can happen several different ways. The tic,tic feeling or the line twitch are some what self explanatory. the "mushy" I relate more to a gut feeling , or instinct. This is what I believe happens. When you use a lure, say a tube, you cast it out, let it hit bottom, then drag or hop it across the bottom. You do this multiple times. Your mind is processing all the information. It feels / looks like this as it's sinking. It takes this much resistance to start it moving. If it bumps against a rock you feel the change and may set the hook. If there is nothing there then, just by the solid feel, you know it had to be a rock. If you feel a softer change in resistance and pull up a weed then you know what going thru weeds feel like. Your mind stores all this accumulated knowledge. 

  At some point something different will happen. You may not consciously notice the difference but your mind is screaming " set the hook "

 I have set the hook on fish only because my mind "gut " said to. I have also set the hook on brush, sticks, weeds, all manor of things, but more often than not, it is a fish.

 I would suggest sticking with one bait for now. The more you use it, I believe the better your mind/ gut/ instinct, will tell you there's a fish on.

 

 

[NHBull]

@Catt sums it up nicely.  This year I went to high-vis line and while it feels like I took a shortcut, I am landing a lot more fish, with few gut hooked.

 

edit.....on the fall, I keep the top of my pointer finger touching the line as line moves before the tip of the rod

[Mobasser]

As Catt said, this takes practice.  What's helped me is to keep my rod tip up- 10oclock position after the cast, and during the retrieve.  This way, you can see the line where it enters the water better. The tension- slack that Catt mentions is 100% true. Experience and practice the best teacher. Good luck

[islandbass]

I can’t really add much more to the excellent advice given. 

 

That mushy feeling is not as hard to detect so much as knowing to react. How so? Because you felt it, lol. You just need to react by setting the hook instead being like a deer in the headlights, thinking, “is that a bite or not,” lol. 

 

Here is the thing I try to be mindful of. If I am feeling or sensing something, anything, different with the line, and I know I did not cause it, there is a good chance something took my bait, even if I failed to detect a nibble. Set the hook. If I was wrong, it’s no sweat off my back. 

 

 

[Darren.]

It can be confusing for sure. I think time and experience

on the water will hone your instincts for what is a bite 

and what is not.

 

This is why TV shows make it sound easy, these guys like

Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston, et al., have YEARS of 

experience and can tell a blade of grass from brushing the 

fin of a shad on your way though a grassy flat. (I kid, but

it's almost true  ).

 

I remember when I first really concentrated on jig fishing.

I was looking for the mushy feeling Hank Parker talked 

about. Nope. Never felt it. But I kept at it, and even when

dragging through a weedy area, I'm now able to tell when

I get a hit, mushy or not. It is purely instinctive now, taught

by experience of throwing over and over and over.

 

Sometimes when I catch one I try to wade back in my thoughts

past the adrenaline and figure out what I felt and how I knew

to set the hook....

 

As for worming like Wacky and Texas (which is somewhat

similar to jig), I do like using yellow braid for those bites that

are not detectable.

 

Don't know if this is helpful at all. But some awesome responses

from the others above, like @Catt. Learn from these guys. 

[Airman4754]

Another thing I will add is if you think you have a bass on real down into it. If it was a short strike you missed it anyway. If the fish actually ate it you will feel it start to load up. You're already there so just set the hook appropriately to the power of rod you are using and the wire gauge of your hook. 

[FishDewd]

One thing I thought to add, is if you can have your index finger riding under the line (like on a baitcaster) while working the lure. Basically you hold the pole by holding the reel and let the line ride over your finger. I've been able to feel a lot better since I started doing this, even those really subtle bites I am starting to be able to detect now. 

[Glenn]

Nothing helps more than experience.  Here's the easy way how to get it...