tap tap wiffffffff - missed fish on soft plastics

[Dan:]

How long is the rod you are using?

[bartoopuck]

A few more response to questions,

Im using a 6'5" rod, med action.

my worms are the standard berkley worms, nothing special, i do notice the ends of em are all torn up.

[FutureSoldier]

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

Hahaha I like it.  ;D

[Dan:]

A few more response to questions,

Im using a 6'5" rod, med action.

my worms are the standard berkley worms, nothing special, i do notice the ends of em are all torn up.

Try a longer rod or one with an XF action. I don't know if its just my imagination but I always prefer a longer, stiffer rod for plastics, especially when I'm going to be setting the hook at a distance. They get more pressure to the hook point more quickly than shorter rods that have more give.

[timothy_spain]

i get those subtle taps on my t-rigged plastics too. usually they're smaller bass, bluegills, or rock bass. what i do is down-size my hook and bait, then let that little wretched have it! haha

if the line pulls, set the hook.

[fishinflip415]

Most of the time tap tap is small fish. When it's a bigger fish you won't feel the tap tap it will just be a tick or you will just feel pressure. Small plastics t-rigged will usaully get the attention of the smaller fish before the bigger fish.  8-)

[Mr.Sheephead]

bass ingulf lures and surprisingly they bite hard! i was releasing a bass that took a nice hold of me tho it did not hurt it gave me an idea of how hard they actually bite and they bite fairly hard so dont worry about them not being able to bend the worm down to expose the hook. another thing is sunnies and panfish have more power than you expect if the thumps feel somewhat light and fast thats a pan fish if its a bass the thumps are harder and usually are 1-3 thumps only in a moderate pace pan fish will thump ya lots of times and fast! if this keeps happenning all i can say is try to not set the hook and just reel in fast and you should be able to tell from there on out whats wrong

[bartoopuck]

thanks for all the great responses.

[Gangley]

I was having a horrible time yesterday trying to keep the panfish off of my 10" worm. They would rapid fire tap it, or simply pick it up and drag it off. I set the hook numerous times before I actually saw one of them in the water doing this. After that, I would slowly apply tension to the line and if it was the panfish, they would generally spit it out or rapid fire tap it again. After actually seeing it happen, it made it a lot easier to detect bass from panfish. The larger of my two fish yesterday came after pulling the worm away from biting perch, and almost instantly after pulling it away, i felt the real thump, and set the hook. The best way for me to tell though, is simply applying pressure to the line during the tapping. Generally, if there is no pressure, just a bunch of taps, then its panfish. If there is weight, I set it hard.

[jdw174]

The "tap-tap" means that the fish has inhaled your lure and is trying to crush it.  If you even take time to say "SON"......you'll usually haul air.   8-)

[D4u2s0t]

let me give an example, and tell you why I disagree with blind hooksets...  yesterday, I had a bunch of bluegills nipping at my bait...  a wild, blind hookset would have not only taken my bait out of the strike zone, but probably would have spooked the 4 lb bass I caught by setting the hook on nothing.  Majority of the people that say "you feel something set the hook" would have not caught that fish.

I feel like setting the hook when you're not sure is a careless way of fishing, and is a beginner's technique. with some practice you can learn to feel the weight on the line and set the hook just as quickly as someone that swings for the fences wildly at the first indication of line movement or rod twitch.  If you can't instantly tell the difference between a perch, bluegill, crappy, or bass, you need to pay more attention when you're fishing, because they are all very different and distinct bites.  99% of the time, I can accurately tell you what species is on the line before I can see it, based on the way it bit.  When I feel a gill pecking at my bait, I leave it there, because many times it will bring the attention of a bass, and the bully bass will come in and take the bait from the gill.

With the amount of panfish in my lake, I can guarantee you that i will outfish ANYONE that "sets the hook" at any indication of a bite.

(this applies to my home lake, and I try to do the same on other lakes.  obviously this does not apply in areas that don't have as many panfish.)

[Catt]

I can guarantee you that you're missing a lot of bass by thinking you can tell the species by the bite.

[D4u2s0t]

I can guarantee you that you're missing a lot of bass by thinking you can tell the species by the bite.

In clear water where many times you can see the fish?  Don't think so.  That's why when i'm not sure I feel for weight.  I'd miss a hell of a lot more fish taking a wild swing at a perch.  Again, keep in mind i'm talking about water that is so overrun with panfish, you can catch them every single cast if you target them, and baits with appendages that last "long" still have their arms after 2-3 casts.  Not unusual to throw a spinnerbait and trailer, and on the first cast the trailer arms are gone.  I also said in areas or lakes without such an abundance of panfish, I don't use that approach.  You're almost guaranteed to have at least 3-4 panfish hit your bait on any given cast... so, you can either learn to feel the difference, or you can strike out almost every time, and take your bait out of the strike zone before you have a fish worth setting the hook on.

[YNCBASSMAN]

i noticed you are using a med action rod.  what kind of line are you using?  mono stretches for days and fluoro has a bit of stretch to it.  i use braid and MH rods for all of my plastics.  i fish a ton of big worms, frogs, etc.  but i do keep one spinning reel rigged with 20lb power pro for weightless applications.  since there's no stretch to the braid, setting the hook is never an issue.  it's when i've gone back to mono and tried setting the hook i miss fish.  and make sure you reel down until you can feel the weight of the fish, with mono, cross their eyes, with braid, just flick the wrist.

[Mr.Sheephead]

I can guarantee you that you're missing a lot of bass by thinking you can tell the species by the bite.

this is coming from a shore angler.... thats a false statement i can tell 100% of the time what is on the line and what isnt when shore fishing you come across so many panfish that it becomes clear what is and whats not even the smallest bass i have caught i was able to tell from his tugs it was a bass..... panfish and bass have way different feels when tugging the line but thats just me i shore fish 100% of the time so i know from lots of experience what is tuggin my line and what isnt

another thing... doing hooksets when you THINK its a bass is a waste of a good soft plastic my brother does blind hook sets alot and he has torn up my new plastics in just a hour compaired to mines im still using after catching 5-20 bass with it blind hook sets or hook setting when a panfish is tuggin ya will just tear up your plastic lures

[D4u2s0t]

I agree.  I think if an angler can't tell the difference between a few species of fish, they need to pay more attention to the bite.  If you're confusing bass for a gill or perch, you're not paying enough attention. 

[SJB1226]

I do agree that it is pretty easy to tell the difference between bream and bass strikes on soft plastics.. HOWEVER No one can tell me that they can "100% of the time tell you what it is before he sees it" I agree the moment its hooked I can tell right away if its not a bass. But Pan fish 90% of the time is a very different strike then bass HOWEVER there are times when a big gill will pop the bait hard one time and slowly siwm off with it or just set there and when you lift to see you will just feel weight just like a lot of times better bass will do... Mudfish/Bow fin hit soft plastics JUST like a LM most the time and even fight a lot like a bass and can trick you with ease... and if you think you can tell the difference between pan fish and bass 100% of the time you must not have ever had a  whoremouth better known as a War mouth lol.. hit your Plastic work or flipping jig.... they will suck the lure up giving you that solid tick that a bass will give you most the time and swim off with it or just set there and all you feel is the lure get heavy JUST like your most of the time better then AVG. bass will do... I understand what these guys are saying HOWEVER if you wouldnt have said 100% of the time I would agree with you... however 100% of the time is just simply not true theres to many different fish down there and to many different ways that fish could hit for you to say I know 100% of the time what it is before I set the hook, Im a VERY good bottom contact lure guy and feel anytime the jig bite is really on or theres a good flipping/pitching bite/area going on Im a big threat at that event to win it. I fish with SUPER premium rods, reels and lines, the most sensitive rods money can buy and Im very good at telling whats going on at the lure and theres NO WAY I can say I know 100% its not a bass thats bumping or just picked my lure up and is swimming off with it UNLESS I CAN SEE the fish that is doing it.

If you still want to tell me you can tell 100% what it is by just feeling the bite WITHOUT SEEING the FISH thats doing IT.... well then you just sound like.......well you get the picture :

let me give an example, and tell you why I disagree with blind hooksets... yesterday, I had a bunch of bluegills nipping at my bait... a wild, blind hookset would have not only taken my bait out of the strike zone, but probably would have spooked the 4 lb bass I caught by setting the hook on nothing. Majority of the people that say "you feel something set the hook" would have not caught that fish.

I feel like setting the hook when you're not sure is a careless way of fishing, and is a beginner's technique. with some practice you can learn to feel the weight on the line and set the hook just as quickly as someone that swings for the fences wildly at the first indication of line movement or rod twitch. If you can't instantly tell the difference between a perch, bluegill, crappy, or bass, you need to pay more attention when you're fishing, because they are all very different and distinct bites. 99% of the time, I can accurately tell you what species is on the line before I can see it, based on the way it bit. When I feel a gill pecking at my bait, I leave it there, because many times it will bring the attention of a bass, and the bully bass will come in and take the bait from the gill.

With the amount of panfish in my lake, I can guarantee you that i will outfish ANYONE that "sets the hook" at any indication of a bite.

(this applies to my home lake, and I try to do the same on other lakes. obviously this does not apply in areas that don't have as many panfish.)

[D4u2s0t]

I never said 100% of the time... most of the time, yes.  read the rest of my posts, geeze.  I said when i'm not sure, I feel for weight.  Go out and catch 200 panfish in a few hours, many times, and tell me you don't get better at feeling the difference.  Some of the worst panfishing days i've ever had on my lake was about 10 an hour, all the way up to catching them every single cast for the entire trip.  There's been a few days where the bite was off, and I couldn't catch anything anywhere in the lake.  But, I'd be willing to bet i've caught more in a good week than most people catch in a year... NOT because i'm a better angler, because that's how many panfish there are.  When you catch that many panfish, all the time, of course you're going to be able to tell a little better than someone that targets bass mostly.

I live on a mountain, and my lake warms up MUCH slower than surrounding areas in the state...  Bass fishing doesn't pick up usually till late may, early june... So early in the season, after ice out, I mainly target panfish until the bass bite picks up.  Anytime someone comes up that isn't really into fishing, and won't be willing to not catch anything, (I'll glady target nice sized bass, and have no problem not catching one.  just enjoy being on the water!) it's panfish time.

[SJB1226]

Now I agree with you 100%!! I wasnt trying to be rude just miss understood your post and you are right it will make you a much better fisherman when you dont set the hook on every bump just be aware of what your lure is doing and KNOW how the lure feels in the water. theres alot of people out there that go by the ol sayin "When in doubt ****** him out" and you know there has been times when I set the hook just because The lure felt like it moved a little more then I moved it with the rod tip but no heavy feeling nor a tick or bump it just felt like I moved the lure a foot and it moved two foot not one... some times the fish will spit the lure when they feel you apply any pressure on them and I was in a tourney so I went tight and set the hook and it was a 5 and a half # fish... I will do it some times if I have had a fish or two drop it when I picked up to see how it felt after that I will be a little quicker to set the hook but I never set the hook at everything because like you said it will cost you a lot of spooked fish and time out of the strike zone. wade fishing for flounder dragging jig/mudminnow on the bottom for flounder down here in FL will teach you perfectly how to set the hook fishing plastics for bass. a lot of times the flounder will suck it up when you drag it past him and stop it to reel up the slack and you will not feel the strike sometimes nor will you see the line swim off because they dont move off when they grab it all you will feel is weight and some times weight and then a slight bump when you apply a little pressure to him. I line watch a lot as you have to when fishing when fishing jigs and plastics for bass...however I depend on feel more then line watching and by doing so I get very intune with what my lure feels like and anytime it feels different a flag pops up and the only way to know if that flag popping up is a bass causing it to is by lots of time and EXP on the water and trusting in your skills to tell you to set the hook or not.. like he said when you set the hook at Blue Gills ect ect. you are spooking the bass close by and removing your bait from the strike zone and when moneys on the line the longer the bait is in a active strike zone the more fish you will catch... if you want to win tourneys and you depend mostly on pitching to do it like me then nothing is more important then having your bait in active strike zones almost ALL the time and NOT!!! spooking fish

Like I said bro I wasnt being a jurk... the way I took that and im sure most others did to is dont set the hook unless you know its a bass 100% and theres no way of doing that so you have to go by skills to decide .. so your rookie bass guys or guys that dont trust/like soft plastics/jigs will have a hard time developing that skill of feeling and knowing whats hitting the lure takes time on the water and they will miss a lot of fish learning how to decide whats hitting while learning what the different fish strike like.

this is my outlook on the subject and I hope I didnt upset you buddy with my post I was just trying to make a point of my own and I did understand what you was saying and agree with you.

I never said 100% of the time... most of the time, yes. read the rest of my posts, geeze. I said when i'm not sure, I feel for weight. Go out and catch 200 panfish in a few hours, many times, and tell me you don't get better at feeling the difference. Some of the worst panfishing days i've ever had on my lake was about 10 an hour, all the way up to catching them every single cast for the entire trip. There's been a few days where the bite was off, and I couldn't catch anything anywhere in the lake. But, I'd be willing to bet i've caught more in a good week than most people catch in a year... NOT because i'm a better angler, because that's how many panfish there are. When you catch that many panfish, all the time, of course you're going to be able to tell a little better than someone that targets bass mostly.

I live on a mountain, and my lake warms up MUCH slower than surrounding areas in the state... Bass fishing doesn't pick up usually till late may, early june... So early in the season, after ice out, I mainly target panfish until the bass bite picks up. Anytime someone comes up that isn't really into fishing, and won't be willing to not catch anything, (I'll glady target nice sized bass, and have no problem not catching one. just enjoy being on the water!) it's panfish time.

[grimlin]

I'm with Catt on this on....I've had bass do the tap,tap,tap on me,thinking it was a bluegill only to find it actually was a bass because i set the hook.

There are times i feel one tap and my line goes swimming sideways...typical bass bite(I thought so too)? Wrong! It was a bluegill stupid enough to try and eat a 5" yum dinger.

If you fish for bluegills enough like i do,you already know how stupid it is to not pull your bait away....I've lost enough arms and legs on my baits letting a bluegill peck at it instead of pulling it away thinking I'm going to spook the Bass.

Better safe than sorry,Set That Hook!.... :-/

[Pikesnogle]

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

Amen!

If it's a fast tap like it sounds like it might be chances are it's a minnow.

[D4u2s0t]

I'm with Catt on this on....I've had bass do the tap,tap,tap on me,thinking it was a bluegill only to find it actually was a bass because i set the hook.

There are times i feel one tap and my line goes swimming sideways...typical bass bite(I thought so too)? Wrong! It was a bluegill stupid enough to try and eat a 5" yum dinger.

If you fish for bluegills enough like i do,you already know how stupid it is to not pull your bait away....I've lost enough arms and legs on my baits letting a bluegill peck at it instead of pulling it away thinking I'm going to spook the Bass.

Better safe than sorry,Set That Hook!.... :-/

For the people that haven't actually read my posts, and just want to comment on them, i'll say it again...  This pertains to my home lake only... 

Grimlin, you would rarely, if ever catch a bass in my lake like that, same with anyone else that just sets the hook at any indication of a bite.  I tend to throw more durable baits, mostly hard baits for that reason.  I try to use a spinnerbait, or crankbait pretty often.  My go-to soft plastics are senko type baits, and other more durable baits that won't get ripped apart so easily.  I throw smokin roosters often, they don't get ripped up easily.  Most baits with appendages are out, unless they're very strong.  If you throw any type of plastic, and let it sit, you're guaranteed to get a bunch of panfish bites pretty much every cast.  So constantly "pulling it away" will do nothing but pull your bait out of the strike zone before the bass gets to it.

My father came up yesterday, wanted some perch, and we went out and I caught them no exageration every single cast.  My worm didn't even hit the bottom before it was snatched up most times.  If you want to succesfully catch bass in my lake, especially with soft plastics, you have to learn the difference in bites, which I don't find to be as hard as everyone else describes.  I find a bass bite to feel NOTHING like a panfish bite...  and the same goes for the other way around.  The guys that can't tell the difference just need to be more aware of the bite... 

[grimlin]

I'm with Catt on this on....I've had bass do the tap,tap,tap on me,thinking it was a bluegill only to find it actually was a bass because i set the hook.

There are times i feel one tap and my line goes swimming sideways...typical bass bite(I thought so too)? Wrong! It was a bluegill stupid enough to try and eat a 5" yum dinger.

If you fish for bluegills enough like i do,you already know how stupid it is to not pull your bait away....I've lost enough arms and legs on my baits letting a bluegill peck at it instead of pulling it away thinking I'm going to spook the Bass.

Better safe than sorry,Set That Hook!.... :-/

For the people that haven't actually read my posts, and just want to comment on them, i'll say it again... This pertains to my home lake only...

Grimlin, you would rarely, if ever catch a bass in my lake like that, same with anyone else that just sets the hook at any indication of a bite. I tend to throw more durable baits, mostly hard baits for that reason. I try to use a spinnerbait, or crankbait pretty often. My go-to soft plastics are senko type baits, and other more durable baits that won't get ripped apart so easily. I throw smokin roosters often, they don't get ripped up easily. Most baits with appendages are out, unless they're very strong. If you throw any type of plastic, and let it sit, you're guaranteed to get a bunch of panfish bites pretty much every cast. So constantly "pulling it away" will do nothing but pull your bait out of the strike zone before the bass gets to it.

My father came up yesterday, wanted some perch, and we went out and I caught them no exageration every single cast. My worm didn't even hit the bottom before it was snatched up most times. If you want to succesfully catch bass in my lake, especially with soft plastics, you have to learn the difference in bites, which I don't find to be as hard as everyone else describes. I find a bass bite to feel NOTHING like a panfish bite... and the same goes for the other way around. The guys that can't tell the difference just need to be more aware of the bite...

I still think you could be missing a potential bass bite and not even know it.

[Catt]

D4u2s0t, this discussion started of with bartoopuck stating "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."

That 1 or 2 bumps/taps/ticks does not indecate a bream/bluegill/perch bite, add to this the statement "so i give er the whole heave ho" and you have the ingredents for getting skunked.

I my opinion bartoopuck is either not setting hook soon enough, not getting all the slack out of his line before setting hook, or not setting hook with authority; all common mistakes of an inexperenced angler throwing plastics.

[spooksandflukes]

In my experience when you get those little taps it may be smaller bass or a perch. The blue gill feel like a little machine gun. If they keep it up and I know there are bass in the area I will swith to a blue gill color jig and pump and glide it a little further out from the bank. I know this sounds bad but I see so many fisherman fishing plastics around chunk rock. When the bait falls in between larger rocks you feel a bump or series of bumps then they set the heck out of the hook. This usually ends badly either hung up or cutting the line outright. Then they swear the fish cut them off. Keep the line fairly tight and keep it still for a moment if you feel a bite or just weight on the line swing it. One more thing try to use the most sensitive rod possible it makes a world of difference.