Having trouble making the switch to bass

[mikey z]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but with that heavy extra fast casting combo, I'm thinking you should be able to spool up some heavy line and bury the hook point deeper in your soft plastic when you texas rig it to make it extra weedless and snagless and ready to fish some heavy cover. With all that rod backbone you will be putting a lot of force behind your hook sets. Plus you'll be set for topwater frogging and fishing weeds come spring!

[Boomstick]

For the most part, when you get a bass on a moving bait such as a crankbait or a spinnerbait, you'll know. When bass hit a moving bait, the majority of a time it's followed by a fairly distinct tugging on the line. When fishing a soft plastic, you might get the same thump but a bite may be as much as feeling your bait stop. In short, if you aren't sure, set the hook. With experience, you'll start to learn what is and what isn't a bite, but one important thing to note is that with baits like soft plastics and jigs  even the most experienced of us will be setting the hook in cases where we're just not sure.

 

On 12/2/2020 at 9:58 PM, Matthew Pye said:

What kind of hook did you use wacky rigged?  I've been using my same EWG worm hooks, but have lots of different types including various circle hooks and j hooks.

 

The traditional hooks for a wacky rig is something like these Owner All Purpose Worm Hooks.

 

One way that I fish a wacky rig a lot though I learned from a video Glenn posted on this very site. Take a jig head that is appropriately weighted for the rod you're using, generally 1/8oz for medium and 1/4oz for a medium heavy and wacky rig your worm onto that. Something like the Strike King Squadron works pretty well. This way it will keep the soft plastic suspended off of the bottom so it can free flutter.

 

The other way I often fish a wacky rig is on a drop shot.

[Squarebillsamurai]

Lots of really great advice already given. I also recommend a senko style bait wacky or weightless texas rigged on spinning equipment. A simple bait that's cheap, gets bit everywhere and is a visual and pronounced bite most of the time. If you haven't felt a bite at all yet I can understand your concern, but honestly you'll know it when you feel it (or see it when the line jumps). Like others have said here, it's like a sized up crappie or bluegill bite. But instead of a pop it's more of a WOMP feeling. But it heavily depends what you are fishing with as far as gear and lure. I've had some bites that throw slack in the line and others I didn't realize were there until i tried to "unsnag" my lure. Yes sometimes the bite can be very subtle and hard to pick up on, but don't worry about those bites at first. Keep at it and you'll get bit and know it, and like most people here you'll be addicted. As far as lures, I think you should fish whatever you think will suit your style the best and interests you the most. If you are drawn to soft plastics and want to learn how to use them, do that. If you want to learn it, you'll enjoy it that much more than something you're forcing yourself to try. Some people are finesse guys, some are power anglers and some are a mix of both. Find what you like to do and the fish will follow, Tight lines and good luck!