Strike

Lads whiles I was fishing for bass last nite I got 3 huge bites. i hit the first one early and missed a decent fish. hit the second one late and missed another good fish. third whopper of a bite nearly took my rod of the rest so i hit it and played a huge fish half way in until it spat the hook out. Is there any rule or advice on when to strike when getting big bites??? especially in a surf beach situation? any advice would be great i was really annoyed with loseing that many fish especially a whopper in the surf like that!!

I was told once that bass will hit a bait hard with there sharp gill covers. Then return and take the bait. I believe this is a stunning action they use on the likes of sandeels. So from this I tend not to hit the Bass early. Actulally I'm more likely not to strike at all but to wait until the second rattel and then lean into the fish and try not to lose contact at any time with the fish if I can.

spitted hooks are a way of life but if you can keep in contact with the fish you can lower the chances of this.(even if it means running up and down the beach).

My 2 cents worth!

[I was told once that bass will hit a bait hard with there sharp gill covers.]
If thats true scara why don't bass get hooked through their gill covers?. I would suggest not to use a rest when bass fishing KK. Holding the rod allows you to judge when to strike and you can also react faster to slack line bites. If you continually miss fish and you think they are bass try using bigger hooks.

Circle hooks are the way to go, if like me you leave your rod in the rest and don't tend to react fast enough to bites. :D

Its horrible being caught in two minds weather to strike, lift in to a fish or just leave it, and when ya miss it its twice as worse. but its a nice change from not getting any big bites so i really shouldnt Complain!!!
gona try again tonight hopefully i can get some action with a much smaller surf. Cheers lads!!!

Keith

I agree with Chiggywig, leave the rod rest at home. If you hold the rod you will soon get a feel for when to strike the fish. Another bonus is that you will be far more mobile, which can be important when targeting bass.

Lads whiles I was fishing for bass last nite I got 3 huge bites. i hit the first one early and missed a decent fish. hit the second one late and missed another good fish. third whopper of a bite nearly took my rod of the rest so i hit it and played a huge fish half way in until it spat the hook out. Is there any rule or advice on when to strike when getting big bites??? especially in a surf beach situation? any advice would be great i was really annoyed with loseing that many fish especially a whopper in the surf like that!!

KK your line was to tight next time after u cast let plenty of slack in the line 8/10 ft. you will still see the bite when you do dont strike wait till the fish has hooked itself then quickly tighten up i miss few if any bass this way. when u have hooked up a bass play it with the anti reverse turned off when the fish runs let the handel go be ready to stop the reel when the fish stops. never try and bully them normaly they will come in close once hooked then shoot of its at this stage that most fish are lost by the angler not giveing line quickly enough forget about using the drag use the backwind. after 2/4 runs it shoud be ready to beach walk slowly backwards when it gets in to the last wave it will make several darts seawards again use the backwind then when it just hangs in the surf wait for the bigger wave when u feel this lift the fish take a few steps backwards when this receads the fish shoud be on the beach.
hope all this make sence :)

[KK your line was to tight next time after u cast let plenty of slack in the line 8/10 ft. you will still see the bite when you do dont strike wait till the fish has hooked itself then quickly tighten up i miss few if any bass this way]KK .

Do you get alot of deeply hooked fish doing this cortaz?

99% are lip hooked, have a look.

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last nite

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