I'm sure this thread is somewhere, but thought I'd be best to start my own with my own experiences. So I've just started bass fishing and really been enjoying it and the few fish I've caught. One problem I'm having is that if I'm fishing anything on the bottom (Carolina rig, T-rig, whatever) almost anytime it gets hung up on a rock or weed I always wanna set the hook. I don't mean like literally stuck on a rock, but even if it just gets hung up for a second to me it's just instinct to want to set the hook. The bites I've had are always obvious, but I've wondered how many fish I've missed thinking it was a rock. Especially with heavy weeds and grass on bottoms, I'll feel resistance even after I've tried setting just to then realize I had a pound of crud covering my lure. Any tips on how to tell whether or not it's a bite or just getting caught would be fantastic. Thanks!

 

He has spoken.... 

 

Watch your line. If you feel tension, and the line is moving, set the hook!

Unless you're using a jig I think the difference will be very obvious. A bite from a bass tends to give you several quick bumps and then constant pressure. With weeds you tend to feel the distinct difference, just one sudden bout of resistance and no line jerk. With bass you can feel the hits as he thrashes it around a good bit and the line will take off in another direction (but not always). With some other fish bites can be just as subtle as sudden resistance, but bass are ambush predators that will normally hit hard. A few good days of consecutive catches and the difference will be pretty plain.

if it pulls back you got a hit

I started using weedless hooks on my Carolina rigs. As I raise it up and let it fall I keep in contact with my senko feeling for a double tap on the line I watch the rod tip as it falls.

In fishing the split shot rigs we become line watchers for movement.

While on my honeymoon we went fishing and camping after a trip to Niagara falls.

I rented a row boat. I put on a inline spinner and handed the rod to my new wife. Over the weeds the line snagged so I thought. I took the rod and lost an 18" trout at the boat. Now fast forward years later I'm still catching neck for losing the fish. Fourty years later!!!!!!!! Is it a snag or a fish. I should of left the rod in her hands. Lessons learned. 40 years and still hasn't forgotten it.

Watch your line. If you feel tension, and the line is moving, set the hook!

 

 

Unless you're using a jig I think the difference will be very obvious. A bite from a bass tends to give you several quick bumps and then constant pressure. With weeds you tend to feel the distinct difference, just one sudden bout of resistance and no line jerk. With bass you can feel the hits as he thrashes it around a good bit and the line will take off in another direction (but not always). With some other fish bites can be just as subtle as sudden resistance, but bass are ambush predators that will normally hit hard. A few good days of consecutive catches and the difference will be pretty plain.

I agree partly with both quoted posters.

 

I've threw a weighted trick worm (small split shot on hook) and while typically I've encountered bass hit it and run,  I have had instances where bass gulp it on the fall without moving at all and felt the "live weight" upon taking my slack in and beginning my retrieve.  

 

With that said, the majority of my strikes on worms are thumps or thump and run.

I agree partly with both quoted posters.

 

I've threw a weighted trick worm (small split shot on hook) and while typically I've encountered bass hit it and run,  I have had instances where bass gulp it on the fall without moving at all and felt the "live weight" upon taking my slack in and beginning my retrieve.  

 

With that said, the majority of my strikes on worms are thumps or thump and run.

Yeah that is true with some worms. If it is a good sized bass with more developed mouth (in size) then this won't happen as much cause they will just suck the worm in with one quick open and close of their mouth. My friend and I were fishing at a pond and we spotted a 9lb pound bass spawning right on shore. I had already caught a nice spawner earlier that week so i said he could take that one. He cast to it for a hour trying to get it to commit on biting, and finally (after nosing it and barily nibbling it), it got ticked off enough to eat it good. One quick open and close of the mouth, and a 1/2 oz jigs with large craw trailer was gone. It was cool to see. Oh, and i don't know why he was using a 1/2 oz jig while bed fishing in 1 foot of water lol... Maybe that was the only jig he had or something, I can't remember  

hooksets are free

I'm willing to bet y'all are missing twice as many fish as y'all catch!

A 2# bass can inhale a 1 oz jig, a worm on a 1 1/2 oz punch rig or a lizard on a 3/4 oz Carolina rig and never move line or give off a tale-tale "tap".

When Denny Bauer was asked what a jig bite felt like he answered "I don't know but I know what it doesn't feel like." He went on to say I set hook on every thing, grass, limbs, rocks, logs every thing. But I'm 100% certain the no bass has biten my lure and I failed to set hook!

I take my students night fishing during a new moon, they are amazed by what they feel.

I really believe that its one of those things you have to learn and a good sensitive rod will help A LOT. Switching back and forth from my favorite texas rig rod and my other rods is no comparison. I had a good idea of if it was a bite or weeds before i bought a good rod but with it i can know for sure. IMO you can only get so good at it without a really sensitive rod. Another thing i do if i feel resistance is just a quick rod movement. Not a full on hook set but hard enough that if it is a bite you can keep going with the movement and set the hook. Kind of an abreviated hook set if that makes any sense

GLEN LAU BIGMOUTH & BIGMOUTH FOREVER!

Google it, Yahoo it, Bing it, GET IT!!!

I'm sure if someone was watching me fish while I use a jig or soft plastic presentation , they would think something is seriously wrong with me......

Posted this question on the way out of the house and was amazed how many replies I got. You guys rock! Thanks a bunch and gonna go get on the water hopefully tomorrow and try out all the tips and hopefully get some bites to test it out lol. Thanks again all of you!

Fishing weeds with a heavy weighted C-rig isn't a good idea. You can feel the C-rig weight and have no contact with the long leader and whatever you use on the hook, so you miss most strikes unless the bass eats the soft plastic and swims away with it.

Better choice is using a lighter weight like a finesse C-rig or what's called a mojo rig. With this rig you have better contact with what's going on with the hook. Bass don't have hands, if you feel something like rubber band pressure, set the hook. Another trick is shorten the distance between the weight and hook; 18" is better feed back than 30" with the finesse C-rig.

T-rig or jig you need to become a line watcher and line feeler, don't rely solely on your rod for detecting line movement.

Tom

hooksets are free

Use them! One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given. 

I'm willing to bet y'all are missing twice as many fish as y'all catch!

A 2# bass can inhale a 1 oz jig, a worm on a 1 1/2 oz punch rig or a lizard on a 3/4 oz Carolina rig and never move line or give off a tale-tale "tap".

When Denny Bauer was asked what a jig bite felt like he answered "I don't know but I know what it doesn't feel like." He went on to say I set hook on every thing, grass, limbs, rocks, logs every thing. But I'm 100% certain the no bass has biten my lure and I failed to set hook!

I take my students night fishing during a new moon, they are amazed by what they feel.

Even worse, like in Bigmouth, a 10 pounder can eat a spinnerbait without you ever knowing it was there!

They're all bites. Set the hook

If I'm working a plastic on bottom, where the price of the hook, weight and plastic are a 1.00 max, I will set the hook on anything that feels off. Yes, I have lost many setups like this, but I have also caught many good fish that didn't give me hat pronounced thump bass are known for.

Pretty common instinct when starting off bass fishing. Ive done it hundreds of times... when you feel a 'snag' wait a second or two to see if it keeps pulling without you reeling in. Then you will know right away if its a fish or not.

 

Its the best feeling when you know its a fish that has just took your bait and has just started swimming away with it when...BAM you set the hook and land a nice bass! Keep learning the feeling of different structure and you start to feel real differences between fish, and weeds.

If y'all wait...ya will lose

What i do is go to a pond with lots of bass, even if they are small. Go there and just practice with a small texas rig or small jig and just try to learn what it feels like to get a bite. I have a pond nearby that is filled to the brim with 12-16 inch bass, and it never gets fished much so the bass aren't as careful about what they eat. I can go there and catch 100+ bass in 4-5 hours and by the end of the day, i feel much more confident in bottom baits.