It effects me more in current or high wind situations. The jig is my go to bait, so when I think I'm still, and I feel a pull, I will likely be found setting the hook on nothing (or a tree), then immediately realize that the boat just drifted 5 ft and that was the pull I felt  

 

Other than that, over time, I've just kind of learned what a "tick" feels like and can differentiate it pretty well from everything else... 

This happens to me often. Recently caught one of my PB with the opposite happening. Thought I got hung up on a log but ended up being a nice bass.

We call em "stick fish" around here and they fight pretty good til you can see em

Happens to me at the start of every season, especially pulling through some weeds where the lure gets caught several times in rapid succession and feels like head shakes.

 

People always say hooksets are free, but more than a few submerged limbs have taught me otherwise!

I do it pretty often as i would rather swing on nothing than not swing on a fish because it might be a snag. One thing that has helped me a lot with bottom contact baits is watching the deflection at the tip of the rod. If you have a rod with a soft tip, especially a lighter spinning rod, watch the tip of your rod the next time your in that situation. If you are in a snag and you gently lift your rod, a lot of the time it will bend an even amount to how much you lift your rod. With a fish though it will most likely be different, could be a little more or a little less than the movement of the rod. This might sound really simple but if you get used to doing this than you will notice bites that you would have never noticed just by feeling the bait. Lifting a tiny bit up on a spinning rod will barely put any pressure on the lure, usually not enough to really feel the fish but enough to put a little bend in just the tip. Give it a try, it’s hard to explain but it works amazing for me.

It doesn’t happen very often with me. I use weightless plastics most of the time, and if the bait stops, I slightly lift, if it’s a fish you will see the line moving or feel the peck. If it is just dead weight, no movement or peck, I don’t Usually set the hook, and it ends up being a clump of weeds. The main exception is once and awhile they fool me down in heavy grass.

I have more trouble getting a good hook set at times because bass almost always swim off with a soft plastic bait, and you have to know where the fish is exactly before the hook set . If they catch a piece of grass when they are swimming by, You are deceived about where they are. You are setting the hook on where you THINK they are, but they could be 10 feet or so past where you think.

This happens to all of us too: When you KNOW it’s a fish by the peck or movement , make a good hookset, and hook a log , stump , or branch. That does happen to me fairly often. They let go right before the hook set, I reckon.

Guilty on this one for sure! I've lost a few fish thinking it was grass etc so I try to assume it's a bite if it feels like one! Took two guys from work last year that aren't bass fisherman.  The lake was full of grass. One guy kept setting the hook on grass or stumps. Other guy starts riding him about it. The guy that was doing it gets bit and assumes its grass so he sets the rod down and starts hand lining it in for whatever reason...still haven't figured out why. He makes about two pulls with his hands and a fish well over 6 lbs comes up outta the water and spits his bait. I felt bad for him as this was possibly the biggest fish he'll ever catch. He didnt seem to mind much I guess because he's not a bass fisherman.  It definitely can be hard to tell what's a bite and what's not.

Hank Parker says hook sets are free.

 

So go for it and if you get snagged it is part of the game.