Bite detection

Hi I got a new rod for surf fishing for bass it is 12ft with a 4-8oz casting weight. The rod is to heavy to hold in hand and the tip is very stiff so the problem I am having is not being able to detect a bite off a bass, sometimes when I reel in half the bait is gone and sometimes when I think I have a bite the bait is still on the hook any feedback would be much apreciated thanks.

You will know if you get a bass bite it is very heavy. Sometimes crabs can clean your hooks of bait without any knocking on the rod tip. The waves can create a bend in the rod tip at times but you will see this after while as being constant with the wave pattern and weed catching on the line can also pull the tip a bit. A bite will be irregular sudden etc rather then the slower gradual pull of wave or weed. The other classic bass bite is when the fish picks up the bait and it travels towards you creating a slack line pat

Thanks pat how would you know if you got a slack line bite?

If your lead is stuck in the beach whether a grip or not and the line is tight it will suddenly go slack or loose. You will see there is slack line its no longer taut meaning the fish has picked up the bait and rather than going against the rod and out it has swam towards you so the line is loose hope this makes sense

One way to get used to bite detection is to fish with two rods and compare the rod tip movement on each as patk said the waves and weed will all move the tip.

Thanks for the help lads.

On some rods I feel the bite through the tip, if they are sensitive tip rods. On more heavier rods I feel the line that I am holding in my fingers, I slowly lift and feel every poll of the tide, rock, crabs and sometimes fish. When something different to the ordinary happens, slack line, a pulling tap or the pleasing hit, I try to set the hook. Some rods will detect the strike better, some are made to bully a bass out of heavy cover. I believe that the sensibility of your fingers is the best detector, the line moving or going limp, or the rod tip jumping. Use tip lights, bells, whatever you fancy to alert you, the decision when to connect is always yours.

One of the rod's I use Abu Garica Stigma, the tip is very sensitive that I can see the tip moving when the peeler is being attacked by the cannibalistic crabs and have learned how to read what the tip is showing me, seafisher you will get to know what the rods is showing you the more hours that you put in fishing but you will know a Bass take. Hope that is of some help to you.