tap tap wiffffffff - missed fish on soft plastics

[bartoopuck]

Ok so i have really gotten into soft plastics. Im wrigging the worm, usually weightless, with the hook being just barely sunk into the back of the worm, so its weedless. ( texas rig)

I have been getting tons of hits on it. It goes a lil something like this:

i feel the rod hit, bam, bam, 1 or 2 times, then i see my line moving, so i give er the whole heave ho, and nothing. Im guessing the fish is biting on the part of the worm hanging off the hook, the extra 3-4 inches of worm under the hook. How can i land the fish thats doing this?

[D4u2s0t]

are you sure they're always bass?  I get tons of hits on plastics from perch and bluegills, they always rip off any appendages pretty quickly.  I can't throw a spinnerbait trailer more than 2-3 times before it has no arms lol.

if they are bass, you're probably either setting the hook too early, or too late.  Sometimes they bite the end, and then they suck it into their mouth...sometimes they just swallow it whole... 

if i'm not sure, before i set the hook i'll lift the rod a little to see if i feel any pressure, and if i do BAM!  If I don't feel pressure, I leave it right there for when the fish comes back.

[flipin4bass]

if i'm not sure, before i set the hook i'll lift the rod a little to see if i feel any pressure, and if i do BAM! If I don't feel pressure, I leave it right there for when the fish comes back.

This is a good way of testing a bite, I use it a lot. However, if you see your line moving, that's a sure sign the fish has it in its mouth.....set the hook. I've caught myself "sleeping at the reel" many times as I watched my line move across the water.

[SirSnookalot]

I was taught by my father to always let the fish take the bait, then a fairly gently hookset based on timing.

When I host my own fishing tv show I'll hook em hard.

[tommy]

im my experience, tap tap tap is usually a 9 inch fish knocking on the door....

[Sam]

Happens all the time.

Small bass, crappie or bluegills.

It can also be that 10 pound lunker you are seeking.

Do what Hank Parker says to do. Set the hook, hard.

It does not cost anything and you may nail that big one. Or that small one. 

[Catt]

so i give er the whole heave ho, and nothing.

When in doubt

Drop the rod

Reel the slack

Set the hook like you're trying to break something 

[Goose52]

I get the taps all the time. As mentioned above, it's usually always a small brim, perch, or juvenile bass. Like D4u2s0t said, I usually reel in the slack and wait to feel the weight of the fish before I set the hook. In my experience, a sizable bass will usually make up their mind pretty quick about whether they want the offering and grab it...and won't peck at it like the small fry (hopefully I don't miss any lunkers with this theory!).

Having said all this, as Catt and others just said - when in doubt - SET THE HOOK - swings are free !

[Fish-r]

Set the hook like that fish stole your bike..... unless you are fishing a lot of timber ;D

[Catt]

Bass do not have hands so tell me again what you waiting for?

This is the way Shaw Grigsby put it to me, its call the three tap theory.

The first tap the bass has inhaled your bait

The second tap the bass has exhaled your bait

The third tap I'm tapping you on the shoulder asking you why you didn't set hook!

Drop the rod, reel the slack, & set the hook 

[Five-Alive]

X2 on what Catt said but if those tap taps are like a machine gun then it is typically a blue gill but that being said if I get those machine gun tap and my line is moving off I am dropping the rod and taking my chances with a hook set.

[Jigfishn10]

You mention that you see your line moving and as stated above, 9 times out of 10 that fish has that lure in its mouth pretty well. Reeling down while lowering your rod adds enough pressure to that bait that make the bass clamped down harder. SET THE HOOK.

[dman]

with the hook being just barely sunk into the back of the worm, so its weedless. ( texas rig)

I always missed fish like this as well...I started rigging "texsposed"...I bring all my hooks through and skin hook it in the back for the weedlessness...My catches went up instantly and by a huge margin.....Its a lot easier for the bass to break the "skinhooking" than to drive the hook through the worm...give it a try

[tyrius.]

i feel the rod hit, bam, bam, 1 or 2 times, then i see my line moving, so i give er the whole heave ho,

This needs to change to this

i feel the rod hit, bam, so i give ert he whole heave ho,

Everything in the middle is a waste of time and results in more missed fish.  If you waiting for the line to start moving off then you're going to be missing tons of fish. 

[Shad_Master]

I stumbled on to a pattern a couple of years ago on a lake that is infested with blue gills and large bass - when I felt a light tap and saw my line moving I would wait - then when I saw the line change directions, I would swing.  What I believe was happening was that the BG's were swimming away with the bait and the bass were taking it away from them.  If I let 'em swim away, often they would drop the lure and I would keep on fishing.

[D4u2s0t]

I stumbled on to a pattern a couple of years ago on a lake that is infested with blue gills and large bass - when I felt a light tap and saw my line moving I would wait - then when I saw the line change directions, I would swing. What I believe was happening was that the BG's were swimming away with the bait and the bass were taking it away from them. If I let 'em swim away, often they would drop the lure and I would keep on fishing.

that's one of the reasons why I  like to feel the weight if i'm not 100% certain... SO many panfish in my lake, you can literally catch them every cast if you want.  And they peck at anything, and will even pick up a bait and move it around.  What i've learned is that if you can learn to tell the difference quickly, you will avoid spooking the bass on a crazy hard hookset when there's nothing there to set the hook on. 

If you really pay attention to the bite, you can tell pretty easily if it's a bass, bluegill, or perch.  They have very distinct ways of picking up your bait.  I don't like to take the bait out of the strike zone until I feel it's the right time, because many times if a gill comes and starts playing with your bait, that will put the bass in alpha mode and they'll come and take it.  If that bait is out of the strike zone, not gonna happen.

And just to clarify, if I "feel the weight"  (which isn't all the time, just like I said if i'm not positive) it's a very fast process, the casual observer would just think I'm either setting a hook, or moving my bait.

Learn to feel the bait and the bite...  I can tell when a perch bites, when a bluegill bites, when a bass bites, and after I set the hook majority of times I know what's on the line before I start cranking it in.  All it takes is some awareness and the willingness to really pay attention to what's in your water, and learn their feeding/strike habits.

I know the old saying is set the hook if you're not sure...  I disagree, and say learn to be sure through feel.  Yes, hooksets are free, but swinging an empty bait or a bait with a gill nipping is worthless.  If I swing and miss, I try to think about every possible scenario, pick the one that best suits what happened, and try to not do it next time.

[Redhed]

Bass do not have hands so tell me again what you waiting for?

This is the way Shaw Grigsby put it to me, its call the three tap theory.

The first tap the bass has inhaled your bait

The second tap the bass has exhaled your bait

The third tap I'm tapping you on the shoulder asking you why you didn't set hook!

Drop the rod, reel the slack, & set the hook

;D  YEP!.. i fish weightless a LOT! when you feel that first tap, yank... now if you are catching a lot of small or very small bass you dont go by taps, you go by your line movement.. personally i dont get off on catching really small bass so i awlays set the hook on the first tap, my dad however is the opposite he will catch anything he can.   

also how far back are puting your hook? how big is the hook you are using?? for large worms and large lizards i use EWG 4/0's or maybe even 5/0's and i put the hook further back on the bait to help.

reglular sized worms i use 3/0 or 4/0 (depends how much weight i want on the worm when i fish it weightless). if they are short striking it switch baits or put your hook further back on the worm.

[Catt]

There is a certain underwater ridge on Toledo Bend that has been named by locals as "Machine Gun Ridge", for what ever reason the bass on this main lake ridge will hit your worm with multiple times exactly like Bream/Perch. Upon setting hook anglers are quickly amazed to find out these "Machine Gun" hits are bass in the 3-5 lb range!

I've experienced this phenomenon on various bodies of water and with various species of bass; Kentucky bass are notorious for these kind of hits.

I have learned years ago that some of you lightest bites that have no line movement will be some of your largest bass.

[Redhed]

I have learned years ago that some of you lightest bites that have no line movement will be some of your largest bass.

exactly... the 7.5lber and the 9.35lber i caught earlier this spring was just like that. i almost though i had just hit something small or perhaps went through really light brush but no it was large bass. something told me instantly it wasnt right and to jerk. i am glad i did.. both were on a spinner bait. one on a road bed (7.5) and one under a large oak that had fallen during the winter (9.35)

[tyrius.]

I have learned years ago that some of you lightest bites that have no line movement will be some of your largest bass.

Yep, bass don't get huge by wasting energy.  Simply inhaling the food and sitting there is the lazy man's way to grow huge.

My PB was caught on a jig where no discernable strike was felt.  Jig just got "heavy".

[salmicropterus]

I caught a 9#+ a few months ago and it was a bluegill like tap tap tap. I put some tension on the line and it felt tight but dead like a snag then the snag started to move and I set up. Frankly, I think I was probably lucky on that one that it wasn't a spit-out. All that said, my hook ups on senkos and wacky rigs has improved by being more patient and feeling the weight a bit. I am sure I am missing some bites and I think we have all have. You can watch a fish take your bait and kind of gradually walk off with it and not feel a thing even after the line moves. The art of worm fishing is an integration of feel, sight and a slight sense that "something is different" when a fish is on. On this I am a C hoping to become a B

[farmpond1]

Do the worms you use have a brighty colored tail? Or lots of tenacles?  Bluegill are notorious for pecking at those.

As an experiement, try a thicker bodied soft plastic that doesn't have any appendages.  I can't guarantee the bass will hit it but at least it'll take away anything for bluegill to nibble on.  And if you aren't hooking/catching anyway, what have you got to lose.

Also, rather than going weightless, you might peg a bullet weight on it just to see how that configuration works out.  Just a thought.

[bartoopuck]

well, amazing response. thanks all. 

The hook size i use i believe is a 5/0. either way on a 7 inch worm, the hook comes through just past where the worms heart? is. so that leaves about 2 inches or so of worm dangling.

From what im reading, the bites im feeling feel like they may be dinks nibbling.  Lets see what i can do this weekend.

[Smiths.R]

If the line is moving, a fish is attempting to swallow your lure.  I do the same thing a previous responder said; after a tap or two, I just life the rod and look for weight on the line.  If there is, I attempt to dislocate Miss Bass's jaw.

[Nice_Bass]

Bass do not have hands so tell me again what you waiting for?

This is the way Shaw Grigsby put it to me, its call the three tap theory.

The first tap the bass has inhaled your bait

The second tap the bass has exhaled your bait

The third tap I'm tapping you on the shoulder asking you why you didn't set hook!

Drop the rod, reel the slack, & set the hook

Love it, and will be repeating in my inner circle.  Thanks.