Striking on what bite!

Rampant

I dont agree with you at all on this, How is it a "cant answer question"?

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Rampant you have the medals for not striking the fish straight away and rockhopper has the results with striking straight away... so what is the answer?
Really depends on what you are fishing for and the way you are fishing. I would agree with you and rockhopper but I wouldnt pick one over the other.

Tommy[/quote]

I am not knocking rockhunter in any way, he is obviously an excellent angler and his reports are always a good read but he doesn't say how many fish he misses.

I still don't agree with you that its a unanswerable question.
How can you not pick one technique over the other, you either strike or don't strike......... you cant do both ?

am not knocking rockhunter in any way, he is obviously an excellent angler and his reports are always a good read but he doesn't say how many fish he misses.

Thanks - praise from the master is praise indeed
I do miss a few - but its usually a good knock on the rod and the fish is gone by the time I have picked it up.
I have noticed that at times bass will readily take the bait - as in the session a few weeks ago when I had 19. I didn't need to strike then, most of the fish grabbed the bait, hooked themselves, and ran slackliners in towards the shore. But other times they behave much more timidly - as on my last session on 1st April. They seemed to be tentatively picking up the bait but dropping it right away. I had five bass that night, but probably had at least 15 bites which I didn't have a chance to strike, I was either sitting down (I had a long day working in the garden and my back was aching - I normally stand close to the rod and grab it the instant I see a tap, or hold the rod until I feel a tug) or casting out the other rod.

Of course one explanation could be hook sharpness! The night I had the 19 bass I had just made up a new bunch of rigs so had brand new hooks. Whereas the night with all the missed bites I was using the same rigs so the hooks were obviously no longer as sharp. I am a bit lazy when it comes to making new rigs or replacing hooks. For the next session I will replace all the hooks and try to refrain from striking and see what happens

Credit where its due bud

Hook sharpness is very important alright. I probably change my hooks every 60 - 90 minutes depending on how quickly I am turning over casts.

I probably change my hooks every 60 - 90 minutes depending on how quickly I am turning over casts

Sh!t - no wonder you dont need to strike, I definitely need to change my hooks more often!

Credit where its due bud

Hook sharpness is very important alright. I probably change my hooks every 60 - 90 minutes depending on how quickly I am turning over casts.

really??have to start doing that myself,do you know when hooks loose their sharpness ie.sharpness for fish. or do you just change them every hour?

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most match anglers will only use new hooks and for a relatively short time. you must remember though that most match anglers use small hooks often of very fine wire and replace them regularly as it could mean the difference between winning and losing a very important match. for general angling dont get too caught up in this as any hook will catch fish most of the time as long as it doesnt resemble a sharp spoon of course.


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I am fairly new to sea angling and was wondering the same thing about when to strike. When fishing I have been trying to strike after the first one or two knocks. For some reason I thought it was always necessary to strike and this has resulted in a quite a few missed fish. I am going to try to let the fish hook themselves on my next outing and perhaps just as importantly replace the old hooks on my rigs! Always great info to be found on this site...

I would never reuse hooks unless their 6/0 or larger. I use a sharpening stone for my pulley rigs as the point is quickly over ground.

if the fish are not unionised then it is an unofficial strike!

I second everything Rampent said, absolutely no need whatsoever to strike. There is enough resistance with your submerged line, even with a rolling lead to set the hook. I never strike fish, lads yanking into fish are more at risk of yanking the hook out than anything else. Even on the boat, fishing for finicky little wrasse, a minor lift of the rod tip is plenty enough to set a hook. The only exception on the "no strike" rule for my sea fishing has been when shark fishing to drive home a heavy gauge large hook. Keep your hooks sharp, keep your baits neat and reap the rewards. Leave the striking to the fly fishermen.

Surely the length of line you have out would have a bearing on this question . I heard that there is so much stretch in mono you would hardly even move the hook at 40 yards . I must try laying it out on the beach , hold the business end and have someone strike with the rod . Could be informative .

Surely the length of line you have out would have a bearing on this question . I heard that there is so much stretch in mono you would hardly even move the hook at 40 yards . I must try laying it out on the beach , hold the business end and have someone strike with the rod . Could be informative .

good point blowin, certainly an issue a lot of people would say

thinking about it also, i realise that:
a) when i get a good lunging pull when bait fishing then i simply lift into it and start reeling, i dont strike. when a good pull from the fish occurs then the chances are it will or has hooked itself, theres no need strike and possibly rip the hook out
b) when a fish is constantly biting and nibbling, but not providing that confident lunge to indicate its probably hooked, then i do strike on the bigger bites to try and hook the fish. this goes for float fishing too when fish are pulling at the float but not getting hooked
it brings me back to the size of hook issue. as r.wreckfish says, presentation (and hook sharpness) is the key

there is a right answer: striking can be more beneficial depending on type of fishing and fish. beware tentative fish - go try mullet fishing!

as for lure fishing, then striking is usually the norm i reckon. can imagine most people striking to set the hook (when they are confident the fish has a proper hold of it.. )
as for flyfishing? - now thats another story..

btw, good luck to those who say they will never strike again