Trying to explain what a bite feels like...

[TriStateBassin106]

A friend of mine I fish with is having trouble detecting bites. So after watching me instinctively set the hook over and over again he asked me to explain how to detect slower bites and I tried my hardest to explain that it's all about feeling the bottom and knowing what is what...he doesn't seem to have a hard time with moving baits so far.

 

I've tried explaining to him that I'm not the fastest gunslinger in the west once it comes to bite detection and hook setting but I've definitely programmed myself over time mentally to know what doesn't feel right at the end of my rod tip, I've had many times where I felt that sudden out of place *Thump* and out of habit I set the hook on fish or snag.

 

So far he's only been able to detect bites when his line starts darting but he thinks every rock or bump is a bite now lol.. to keep this story short how can I best explain to him more on how to detect those slower presentation bites? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dogfish_Jones]

Best way that I tell people is, feel for a tap...tap on the end of the line.

[Glaucus]

It's a combination of senses in my opinion. Even when the line doesn't run it still looks different. Bumping rock or wood or whatever just feels different. I feel like you feel a bite throughout the whole rod whereas bumping something does not reverberate through the whole rod. I don't know. I've been asked and I just say spend time fishing and pay attention. That's how I learned the difference.

 

[JediAmoeba]

15 minutes ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

A friend of mine I fish with is having trouble detecting bites. So after watching me instinctively set the hook over and over again he asked me to explain how to detect slower bites and I tried my hardest to explain that it's all about feeling the bottom and knowing what is what...he doesn't seem to have a hard time with moving baits so far.

 

I've tried explaining to him that I'm not the fastest gunslinger in the west once it comes to bite detection and hook setting but I've definitely programmed myself over time mentally to know what doesn't feel right at the end of my rod tip, I've had many times where I felt that sudden out of place *Thump* and out of habit I set the hook on fish or snag.

 

So far he's only been able to detect bites when his line starts darting but he thinks every rock or bump is a bite now lol.. to keep this story short how can I best explain to him more on how to detect those slower presentation bites? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Start with baits that are easier to detect baits on - something like a Texas rig worm with a 1/4 oz weight pegged.  (When the weight isn't pegged it adds a dynamic where the weight can fall and false bites can be felt.)

I have found lightweight baits, like a ned rig are very hard for noobs to detect bites on...bite detection is something that comes over time- Braid makes it easier for bite detection but will also ruin the learning curve if he switches to mono or a coplymer.  

 

[jimmyjoe]

   The best way is to use a rig that's good for "feel" but not very good for acquiring the fish.

   A rig that consists of a lightweight, light power rod with fast action, combined with a lightweight reel and braid, will give the best tactile feedback. Best to use it wacky-style or T-rigged weightless at first. The less mass involved, the better.

   This setup is NOT to catch more fish, although it may do that, too. It's to give a beginner a clearer idea of the touch sensations involved in fishing. It makes it easier for him to "program" his instincts so as to react better and more productively.

   And yes, I said "instincts". I'd say at least half of our reactions are not thought-out, but instead they are instinctual.

  

   The reason I said that this set-up is not all that good for acquiring fish is that a light power with a stiff tip (which gives the best feedback) is a recipe for fish to drop the hook, especially when they jump. He'll get over that, eventually.

 

   Good luck to both of you!       JJ

[Catt]

Denny Brauer answers viewer questions in a video I watched, 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!”, I set hook on everything, twigs, leafs, grass, 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 what was going on & they may be right but one thing for sure the other 15 times were not bass.

[soflabasser]

The big ones will often pull back and let you know what they got when you set the hook. Other times you will barely feel a bite if at all. When in doubt set the hook.

[schplurg]

You can tell him whatever you want but the only way to learn this, in my opinion, is by trial and error. I'm still learning it and will be for quite some time.

[BrianMDTX]

7 hours ago, Dogfish_Jones said:

Best way that I tell people is, feel for a tap...tap on the end of the line.

I struggled with this for years. Everything I read (no internet back then lol) said “wait for a tap-tap-tap and set the hook”. Which is great..unless everything you feel seems to be a tap lol. 
 

It’s not 100%, as a bass can pick up your bait on a slack line and you’ll feel nothing (but you’ll see the line start running the majority of the time), but if working a TR or a jig on a tight line, there’s a difference between a bite and when the bait hits structure. To me (and I’m no expert), if it feels like I’m pulling the line tight against something it’s structure. If I feel something is pulling the line tight, it’s a bass. And a stop on structure does not feel like a tap-tap-tap in succession. 
 

It is a learned thing for sure. 

[Sam]

As the great Hank Parker says, "it doesn't cost anything to set the hook."

 

Yes, the tap tap is a bite. But it could be smaller fish like bluegills and they can drive you crazy.

 

Also, in tidal waters crabs can grab your plastics and hang on, letting go when you start to reel them in.

 

And if the bait gets "heavy" without any tap tap or line movement, set the hook.

 

Watch your line when fishing Senkos, shaky heads, drop shots, etc. When the line moves the fish has your bait. When the drop shot gets heavy, set the hook.

 

Also, when you cast and the bait does not continue to sink, set the hook.

 

When your plastics feel heavy, set the hook.

 

When your moving bait stops or gets heavy, set the hook.

 

Use MegaStrike, JJ's Magic, or other scents of your choice to allow the bass to hold onto the plastic or hard bait longer giving you more time to feel them on your line to set the hook.

 

If you are afraid of losing the baits on submerged wood and grass then consider using a weedless hook for plastics and avoid the submerged wood and grass with your treble hook baits, or go with a vibrating jig or spinnerbait. If you Texas rig and hide the hook's point under the plastic's skin, you can avoid hangups. But once the hook point gets exposed, you may get hung up.

 

Pro's Secret:  Practice how the bait feels without any fish on the other end. Cast out, reel back in open water. Play with the bait by shaking your rod's tip to see how it feels.  Get to know how the bait feels when you cast it and let it sink.  If the bait feels anyway different when fishing, set the hook.

[Catt]

On the subject of feeling a worm or jig bite; many people say the two are totally different but I believe they are very similar.

 

Worm/jig: with these baits the bass will simply flare its gills causing a vacuum which moves water and your bait into their mouth. With this bite there is very little if any line movement thereby not much is transmitted to your rod tip.

 

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 should 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 lure will not move.

 

The bites where the bass moves after inhaling your 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.

[Mobasser]

The thing is, you may not actually feel anything. Saturday I had two bass that were just " there" when I lifted the rod. I never felt a tap, or saw any line movement. It takes practice for sure, because the bite varies day to day.

[SC53]

Best way I’ve taught people is to have them throw a worm out, close their eyes and then have them lift the worm and barely tap their line with my rod. Do it a few times and they’ll get the tap tap. 

[Catt]

A few years back I quite teaching what a t-rig/jig bite feels like & stated teaching what it doesn't feel like.

 

We should be feeling all those bumps, thumps, tics, taps they are the easy ones of detect. It's the ones where the bass inhales your bait without any tell- tale line movement.

 

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 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

[geo g]

Sometimes they will slam the bait, sometimes just a light tick.  I try to detect the bite before I ever feel a slight tick.  I do that with plastics by keeping my rod high with a bow in the line.  If that line moved at all, I take up the slack until I feel some weight and then set the hook like it’s a 12 pound bass.  Being a line watcher is key to fishing plastics.  You can see it before you can feel it through your rod.  Be a line watcher!

[Mobasser]

I've also come to the conclusion that the bigger fish are the harder strikes to feel. Small bass are always in competition for food, and are more apt to strike harder. Big bass, at least from my own experience, can eat what they want, when they want. They don't have to worry about a dink taking they're food away. They can swim to the bait, and suck it in in a heartbeat. They can also blow it out just as fast.

[scaleface]

Some people never get it . No matter how many fish I caught  with a worm meaning we were on fish , my uncle just could  not pull the trigger on a bite .Unless he felt the bass moving , he never got it .This went on for years .

[Mike 126]

I really like this topic as I struggle with fishing worms and probably miss 99% of the bites.  My first choice in fishing is fly fishing for trout.  Typically when nymph fishing you do a roll or flip cast into a running riffle and tight line following it though the feeding zone.  The bites are subtle and you will see the line stop for a split second as the trout will suck in the nymph and then spit it out realizing its not real.  Every guide I have fished with has always told me to set the hook even if you think it was a fish but aren't sure.  While I still probably miss a lot I definitely feel more than I do when bass fishing.

 

For me fishing for bass is a whole different experience.  For some reason moving from a river to a lake is just hard for me to do especially with worms or other soft baits.  I usually have more confidence with crank baits because the strike is more pronounced.  This past weekend I decided that since I'm struggling with worms and crayfish that I should just fish those to develop my sense of a bite.

[BigAngus752]

Man I missed a ton of fish waiting for the “tap”. A ton!  The hardest thing to learn is sensing that “mushy” or “weightless” feeling. I still swing too late sometimes but my summer fishing success has gone through the roof after learning what the “weightless” feeling of a big bass just holding my jig or worm in it’s mouth feels like. 

[TriStateBassin106]

3 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

Man I missed a ton of fish waiting for the “tap”. A ton!  The hardest thing to learn is sensing that “mushy” or “weightless” feeling. I still swing to late sometimes but my summer fishing success has gone through the roof after learning what the “weightless” feeling of a big bass just holding my jig or worm in it’s mouth feels like. 

I've mastered weightless senko fishing this summer. 99% of weightless senko bites are a straight up thump or mushy feeling. A tap tap tap feeling is usually a smaller fish, feeling a heavy load on the other hand usually guarantees a bigger fish. 

[scaleface]

If the lure is falling and there is a tic , thats a fish . If you ate lifting the rod and feel a tic , that is most likely a stick or something but maybe a fish .I use mono because I'm use to it . When I go to raise the bait I do so quickly  but softly , that probably doesnt make sense . If the bait is not moving , theres a reason . I have to make a decision based on years of worm fishing on whether to drop the rod and set the hook or drop the rod and feel for a fish . One thing I am not going to do is keep pulling . 

3 minutes ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

A tap tap tap feeling is usually a smaller fish, feeling a heavy load on the other hand usually guarantees a bigger fish. 

Not in my experience . I cant tell the size of the fish by the bite . I've 7 lbers go tap , tap , tap .

[TriStateBassin106]

1 hour ago, Mobasser said:

The thing is, you may not actually feel anything. Saturday I had two bass that were just " there" when I lifted the rod. I never felt a tap, or saw any line movement. It takes practice for sure, because the bite varies day to day.

Yeah that has happened to me aswell. Usually when the bass is swimming towards you. 

4 minutes ago, scaleface said:

If the lure is falling and there is a tic , thats a fish . If you ate lifting the rod and feel a tic , that is most likely a stick or something but maybe a fish .I use mono because I'm use to it . When I go to raise the bait I do so quickly  but softly , that probably doesnt make sense . If the bait is not moving , theres a reason . I have to make a decision based on years of worm fishing on whether to drop the rod and set the hook or drop the rod and feel for a fish . One thing I am not going to do is keep pulling . 

Not in my experience . I cant tell the size of the fish by the bite . I've 7 lbers go tap , tap , tap .

Hmm that's pretty unique for bigger fish to do that though. All my solid fish usually just straight up slam the bait or my rod gets heavy and the line starts zig zagging. 

[Bird]

We have lots of bluegill where I fish and they go tap tap tap half way back to the boat.

I've found bigger fish move the bait.

 

Also found that floating braid can serve well as a bite detector on the fall.

[BigAngus752]

14 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Not in my experience . I cant tell the size of the fish by the bite . I've 7 lbers go tap , tap , tap

It’s funny, the little LMs fight like the devil and anything over five pounds is just dragging a wet lump in comparison. I’ve caught two over 5lbs this year so far and while I was thrilled, they weren’t hard to get to the side of the boat, even dragging one out of water willows. My toughest fights are always seem to be in the 3-4 range. Rod-bending fights to the boat.

[Bigassbass]

To simplify things all you really need to know is the tap at the end of the line, little bitty fish can't make a huge tap and for sure big fish can.  Having a good fishing rod helps always, you can't feel much if you're fishing with heavy line and a rod the size of a broom stick.