got a bite, but now what

[Yankee_lake]

Say your fishing and you get a bite but fail to hook the fish, what should you do... Like what the other post says and follow up using something else or keep that lure/plastic in the water and wait for it to bite agian?? Would that happen?

[GobbleDog]

If you set the hook and missed, it's difficult to get that fish to bite again. He's probably already felt the sting of the hook.  But if you never got a chance to set the hook, then he'll probably hit it again. I'd throw the same worm back out and hope for the best.

That said, I once set the hook on a fish and broke off. About 10 minutes later, d**n if I didn't catch that same fish with my old hook still lodged in the side of it's mouth. Must have been a very hungry fish.

Even more amazing.... another time when I was fishing... I got a bite, but the fish only had the tail of the worm in his mouth so when I set the hook, the worm came off. I reeled in and put a new worm on and started casting again. 5 minutes later, I got a bite and set the hook. When I reeled in the fish, I noticed that the fish amazingly still had the OLD WORM in his mouth. He must have been down there sucking on that worm for five minutes or so. And he hung onto it even when he bit the next worm. The odds that of that happening have got to be one in a million.....

[BassMaster]

if the fish is really aggressive and you didn't hook it at all when it hit, just let the bait sit there and chances are the fish will go after it again.  as for the whole follow up bait, just keep what you have on there, it's not really necessary to change when you've missed a fish.  if it bit that particular bait, it will probably bite it again.

[BassMaster]

If you set the hook and missed, it's difficult to get that fish to bite again. He's probably already felt the sting of the hook. But if you never got a chance to set the hook, then he'll probably hit it again. I'd throw the same worm back out and hope for the best.

That said, I once set the hook on a fish and broke off. About 10 minutes later, d**n if I didn't catch that same fish with my old hook still lodged in the side of it's mouth. Must have been a very hungry fish.

Even more amazing.... another time when I was fishing... I got a bite, but the fish only had the tail of the worm in his mouth so when I set the hook, the worm came off. I reeled in and put a new worm on and started casting again. 5 minutes later, I got a bite and set the hook. When I reeled in the fish, I noticed that the fish amazingly still had the OLD WORM in his mouth. He must have been down there sucking on that worm for five minutes or so. And he hung onto it even when he bit the next worm. The odds that of that happening have got to be one in a million.....

glad to see you're on the same page as me... and the odds of that happening are actually fairly high... like i said in the last post, if the fish is really aggressive, he will strike again.  sounds like you were using a powerbait worm ... those bass loooove those powerbait worms... ain't nothin with a stronger scent than those... too bad they cost you an arm and a leg at the store.

[GobbleDog]

Actually, it was a Zoom Trick Worm. And I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. But Trick Worms aren't scented ... at least, not much. It was a miracle that the bass hung onto it.

I've never heard of "power bait", but this weekend I was down in Lake Okeechobee throwing Chompers.

A Chomper looks exactly like a Senko, but it's got the strongest (and nastiest) garlic/onion stink you've ever smelled. It's so strong that you really can't even keep them in your tacklebox without stinking everything up. But the bass sure seemed to like them.

[BassMaster]

powerbait... you know, Berkley powerbaits... and those zoom trick worms are the shiz. i've caught several on the mean green red trick worm. i only have 2 kinds, and they both work very nicely the mean green red and the red pumpkinseed green.  i would like to know what other colors have been producing fish for other people, too.  i'm always willing to learn something else from other people's experiences.

[GobbleDog]

powerbait... you know, Berkley powerbaits... and those zoom trick worms are the shiz. i've caught several on the mean green red trick worm. i only have 2 kinds, and they both work very nicely the mean green red and the red pumpkinseed green. i would like to know what other colors have been producing fish for other people, too. i'm always willing to learn something else from other people's experiences.

Ok. Berkley Powerbait. You're right, I have heard of those. But I've never thrown em.

You're stealing my thunder with the Trick Worms. It's actually my #1 bait. And dang if we don't both use the same color - green pumpkin/red flake. It's my bread and butter.

I aslo have green pumpkin (without flake), but I only seem to use them when I run out of the others. I also have black Trick Worms. Normally, I'd never use em, but I once had a situation where none of the other colors were working, so I tied it for fun and it worked really well. Now I always keep some black ones stashed in the back of the box, even though I rarely ever throw em.

My buddy caught his biggest bass on a Trick Worm Camo ... 9.5 lbs. I've since used them and they're ok, but I'm with you - green pumpking/red seems to be the best.

I personally hate Zoom's Watermelon seed color. It looks like it disapears in some lakes. I quit buying those altogether. And I've never done very well with the June Bug color Trick Worm either, (even though I love JuneBug curly tails.... go figure)

By the way, I'm interesting to hear what hook and weight size you use with the Trick Worms. I use 1/0 worm hooks and VERY little black bullet weights. From 1/16 oz. all the way to 1/64th oz. (which looks like a bebe) depending on the wind and depth. Finesse fishing at it's finest.

[BassMaster]

man, watermelon seed is one of my hottest bass producers in the pond i go fishing at a lot.  it's good for the worm/lizard to dissapear... it's camouflaged like most animals are in their environment.  i always use Gamakatsu 4/0 G-Lock Worm Hooks, when i texas rig them, i use anywhere from 3/16 to 3/4 oz bullet weights.  but for the most part, when the bass are aggressive i'll use it weightless.  the action of those trick worms are SICK!!!  sometimes i'll even split shot them with 2 3/16 oz splitshots or sometimes just one.

[GobbleDog]

man, watermelon seed is one of my hottest bass producers in the pond i go fishing at a lot.  it's good for the worm/lizard to dissapear... it's camouflaged like most animals are in their environment.  i always use Gamakatsu 4/0 G-Lock Worm Hooks, when i texas rig them, i use anywhere from 3/16 to 3/4 oz bullet weights.  but for the most part, when the bass are aggressive i'll use it weightless.  the action of those trick worms are SICK!!!  sometimes i'll even split shot them with 2 3/16 oz splitshots or sometimes just one.

As fisherman and humans we're trying to make correlations all the time, even when they probably aren't even there.  If you try a new color and it doesn't work after a only a few trips, you start to discriminate it. It gets in your head.  I have no confidence with Watermelon Seed, even though it probably works just as well as my Green Pumpkin. And you have to have confidence in your bait.

I'm shocked at the size weights your using. Is that for deep water or something?  I don't even own a 3/4 oz. bullet weight. The biggest I have is a 1/4 oz and I rarely use it, but when I do it's for my curly tail worms. I can't even imagine using something that big with trick worms. But if it's working for you, you must be doing something right. Where are you fishing?

That 4/0 hook you use is heavier and robbing the bait of a little bit of action, but you probably get better hook sets than I do with my 1/0. I know I'm missing a few fish every once in a while because the hook is so small, but I like finess fishing it as small as I can get.

I've also thrown Trick Worms weightless before and it works great when it's shallow and no wind.

[Marty]

I fish Trick Worms weightless with a 3/0 or 4/0 Mustad hook with the keeper.

As to followup baits, my personal experience says that fish don't hit again if they've come in contact with the lure the first time. But followups can be very effective when a fish boils and misses a topwater.

YMMV.

[ENCBassin]

I've always been a fan of tossing a Pop'r in after a missed strike. Bass will instinctively look toward the surface to see if they injured the "prey" on the first strike. You have to have one at the ready, though, or they'll move on or retreat back to their cover.