I am using a 6 6 med action rod and a abu garcia spinning reel with 40 lb p pro braid to fish my worms.  I dont feel like i have missed many bites when i get them maybe 1 or 2. But could i be getting undetected bites? I have a hard time seeing this line i have almost got to a point where during the fall i give her a jer just in case. I have hooked 2 fish like that on senkos.  I fish is pretty stained water here in FL.   My other rod and reel i fish with is a MH fast action Gander rod with a Daiwa exceler bc reel. 6 3 1 . I have 50 lb spooled on it I use it for my heavier baits and cranking . Although i havnt caught a fish on it yet ive only had it out once. So in case i am missing something it seems like an alright setup?  

When watching your line? You want to watch the part that is in the water  i take it? I try to watch it all but the braid seems to lay on top then slowly go down with the bait. It being dark colored its hard to see i guess.  Any recommendations?  What can i do as far as rod or line setup?  I like the reel on my spinner setup, but i will be purchasing a new rod for it soon.  Will a specific kind help?

-Randy

when fishing say senko you should have little slack in line. watch for the point where the line meets the water. I use 10# mono and am short sighted  8-) but I can see it clearly at 20ft. when retrieving the 'point' should be coming back at you, but if it suddenly changes path, like turning sideway, set the hook. there's no snag to be felt in this case. a rod w/ an xfast tip will help somewhat, I don't know much about action tho, just use almost anything comfortable

Thanks for the reply! yeah thats the part of the line i have been trying to keep an eye on.. But i guess i havnt trusted my line watching technique becasue unconsiously i stop watching it and startgetting in slight contact with my bait, and just kinda twitch it along the bottom every 15 seconds or so. and then i cant even explain what i even feel when i set the hook and bring one in it seems to all happen so fast.

Just wondering if there are any lines rod combos out there that will make this easier for me...

i watch my line while I'm developing the amount of slack I want on the fall with soft plastics. after that it's a combo of slack line watching and reeling up quickly to feel the bite. it helps to have a 7:1 or higher reel for it, but it's not a necessity. the big thing is being connected to your lure at all times, whether through line watching or controlling slack. can't really say much about it other than that. g'luck!

I have a g loomis bsr 803 mossyback it's MH action w/an x-tra fast tip

and this season  i've used it the least out of all my rods and i've caught the most fish w/it it's my favorite rod EXTREMELY SENSITIVE !

PS (IT'S A NON GLX MOSSYBACK)

to tell the truth, I am so used to fishing slowly with worms/jigs I started driving slowly also. 6.4:1 ratio is still too fast for me to handle. I'd just cast the worm, wait for it to settle down for a while and do something else in the mean time, or just cast it ashore and let it crawl into the water. when I first started fishing the lake I currently go to right now w/ no knowledge whatsoever about what is going on underneath the water, I caught 30+ bass in 3 days (2 hrs per day) including a 6 pounder. do what the pros say, when you're in doubt, set the hook

Just recently, I started fishing more seriously with plastics and jigs.  I have been watching the line and it takes quite a bit of concentration.  When I switched rods and started using my Fenwick Techna AV (MF) I found it to be a day & night difference in terms of feeling the bottom.  I got so excited that I ordered a MHF the next week.  So, depending upon your budget, the rod can make a difference in feeling the bottom.  However, I think it is still important to watch your line.  Line movement will still give you information that you may not feel when the line is slack.  The right sun glasses (or prescription in my case) might help.  Cheers

HEy thanks for the replies guys!   I got a pretty decent MH fast action gander mountain tourn rod  i paid 80 bucks for i am real happy with it so far.  And i just picked up 2 Med gander bass series rods they feel alot better than the other rods i was using. I have the 7 foot spooled with 50 lb power pro, and i have the 6 6 spooled with 40 lb power pro and the 6 ft rod is spooled with 14 lb trilene xt

WATCH YOUR LINE; If it does anything unusual SET THE HOOK!! This has helped both my Jig and Trick Stick fishing

Yeah i do that alot and alot of times i catch a log or tree and my wife laughs ar me.. But i have also not missed any bites that i know of.