Vegetation vs. Bite

[Dens228]

30 minutes ago, FishDewd said:

They're not free, they cost about $5 a pop for snagged jigs. Lol

Ha, I'm lucky in that fishing mainly from a kayak I can just paddle to the other side of the snag and pull it free.

I've only lost one jig this year.....Unfortunately it was in the mouth of a very large bass that snapped my leader at the kayak.

[FishDewd]

1 minute ago, Dens228 said:

Ha, I'm lucky in that fishing mainly from a kayak I can just paddle to the other side of the snag and pull it free.

I've only lost one jig this year.....Unfortunately it was in the mouth of a very large bass that snapped my leader at the kayak.

Yeah... bank fisherman problem lol. I can usually tell when it's a snag though.

[Fishingmickey]

     Mottel,  Bite detection can be very tricky. One of the things I have learned over the years is how a bite feels. Getting hung in vegetation, running into limbs/sticks/logs feels dead. When a fish hits or bites it feels "alive". A jolt or tap that moved up the line and is felt by my hands. What I am meaning is instead of me bumping it into something.  It is something bumped/grabbed/hit it.  I wasn't moving it or if I was it just feels like a different sensation.  When I am fishing soft plastics in vegetation I try to use the lightest jig head or worm weight I can get away with while still getting a decent sink rate and casting distance. I hang on the veg then pull and jiggle the bait free and then if it gets "knocked" right after it is freed it's likely a fish you can tell it is alive.  There is no substitute for time on the water. Fishing at night is a really good way to improve your ability to detect bites. Hope this helps.

Fishingmickey

     

[the reel ess]

For starters, when you use a weighted T rig, you'll usually feel the telltale "thump-thump" so you'll know that's fish...could be bream though. For a jig it's different, and I'll admit I'm not the best at it either. But veggies still won't move. Bass will. Sometimes you feel the thump with smaller fish, but usually, for me, it's moving line that tips me off. Reel up any slack fast and set hard. I've found that some baits fish will hold longer than others. A Berkley Powerbait they'll carry around all day. This covers up a lot of fisherman error, giving you lots of time to set a hook.

 

[geo g]

When fishing plastics in heavy weeds go with heavy braid or floro.  You will be able to determine a bite from weeds easier.  The fish will not be spooked by the line, and weeds don't pull back, only fish do.  Do not leave slack in your line, this helps with subtle bites.  The more you do it the better you will get at it.  The correct line will help a lot.  I never use mono for plastics, any more.

[Moto]

15 hours ago, Ksam1234 said:

I don’t mean set the hook on all pressure. Sorry to not clarify.  I can tell what weeds are for the most part , but there are times as @Catt had said that your not sure. And I noticed a lot of the times I wasn’t sure I didn’t bother to set the hook. So now if I’m unsure at all I set the hook until I get better at detection. 

But what if you set the hook into vegetation that you’re not sure about, and it gets snagged? How often does that happen?

[Derek1]

If it’s just veggies you should be able to get it out. Setting the hook should free it up. 

[Ksam1234]

4 hours ago, Mottel said:

But what if you set the hook into vegetation that you’re not sure about, and it gets snagged? How often does that happen?

I fish from a canoe and 99% of the time I get my lure back. But if you set the hook into weeds you shouldn’t get snagged so bad that you can’t pop free. 

[Koz]

Occasionally I'm fooled by weeds or some sort of structure, but the best way I can describe it is that the vibration I feel in the rod and line is different when a fish hits it. And of course, the line moving in a different direction is a dead giveaway.

 

Also, the vibration you feel depends upon the rod you are using. Some are more sensitive than others. NOt all medium heavy fast action (or other types of rods) are equal when it comes to sensitivity. Upgrading my rod opened up a whole new world of fishing for me.

 

A few here have mentioned snags. There are all sorts of tips regarding vibrating the line and lure retrievers online. But one thing I do is put on a heavy fishing glove, then wrap the line around my hand and start applying pressure. Using the glove ensures that the line - especially braid - does not slice my hand or cause any pain. More often than not the lure pulls free.

[Troy85]

On 8/14/2018 at 9:11 AM, Catt said:

 

Here's another one, the lightest most subtlest bite will be from the biggest bass!

 

This is so true.  The bite from my PB(9lb), was so lite that I wasn't even sure if it was a bite or not.  I remember thinking to myself, was that a bite or did my worm just land on a submerged stump. I just set the hook to be safe, I'm glad I did.

[Glaucus]

On 8/15/2018 at 11:19 AM, FishDewd said:

Yeah... bank fisherman problem lol. I can usually tell when it's a snag though.

But not a wade fisherman problem