Distinguishing strikes between different species

[airborne_angler]

Just like many people I throw Senko style baits. I have switched over to Wacky style since last year. I dont know how it is anywhere else but in the lake I fish,I have Bluegill striking my baits on the fall. When this happens I try to discipline myself AGAINST setting the hook. I noticed the other day,on a Bass I boated,the bite felt just like a Bluegill and I set the hook for the heck of it. Could it be that by NOT setting the hook on what I think is a Bluegill,I may actually be missing some Bass?

I usually wait ,after I feel the "peck," for the line to start swimming before I set the hook. How do you all keep the pesky Bluegills at bay,and keep them from driving you absolutely stir crazy?

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I had exactly the same topic discussed yesterday in my boat.

Bluegills and other smaller fish are simply facts of life in bass fishing.

I think the conclusion was that I would rather swing and miss a bluegill than not swing and miss (or gut hook) a bass.

Wayne

[roadwarrior]

That's another reason I fish 6" Senkos. Buegill rarely bite and if they do it's just a quick peck, not a tap.

[mattm]

I agree with speedbead.  Not long ago fourbizzle posted a pic of a fish he almost didn't set the hook on.  It turned out to be a double digit and broke his rod on the hookset.  If I cast to the same place 2-3 times in a row with a senko and keep getting bit but missing the fish I will then move on and right it off as a bluegill.  If you set the hook everytime you know your not missing bass and you might just get a nice bluegill

[moby bass]

I usually feel the bluegill as several small taps in a row as opposed to a bass that is a single solid bump.

Sometimes, however the bigger bluegill will start swimming away with the bait, in which case, a hookset is in order.

[RoLo]

As already mentioned, the strike of a panfish is sometimes very similar to a bass.

I will say this, whenever you get that repetitive "Ratatat" it's always a panfish, never a bass.

Fish that I find most difficult to distinguish from bass are "bowfin" (mudfish to some).

The bowfin lives where bass live, eats what bass eat, strike the same as bass,

and fight the same as bass (frankly though, bowfin are stronger than bass).

Roger

[Shad_Master]

There is a stretch of bank that I fish pretty regularly - it is about 50 yards off of the main channel in this fairly small watershed lake.  The channel runs 20 - 25 feet deep and the bank shallows out at about 1 foot.  There are lots of grass and stick-ups out from the bank 10 - 30 feet.  There is an over population of blue gill on this lake, but the result is that the bass have really exploded in the last couple of years.  One pattern that I picked up on was to let the BG's hit my lure and even run with it - if I noticed a change in direction, I would set the hook and most times catch a bass.  It seems that the bass like to take the baits away from the BG's and will hook up even when they are not particularly active.  Also, later in the evening, the bass will pull off the channel into the shallows to feed, when this happens the BG's get the heck out of of Dodge.  During these times, if you are getting BG hits you know you are in the wrong area.  If you were getting BG bites and then they stop - hang on and get ready!

[Cajun1977]

i call the bluegill hits a machine gun  sometimes its  crazy the way they beg me to hook their  butts    lol