If you are a novice angler and have been following my fishing articles for the past few months you should have gained some insight on the basics of a very enjoyable, exciting yet relaxing pastime known as sportfishing.
Yet, I can write all the words and in the end I will have only covered half the battle for your in your quest to becoming a better angler. It's due to the fact that time spent reading and learning must be followed up by time on the water practicing and modifying what you have learned.
Quite often I relate some information to folks who in turn go out, give fishing a try and come back disappointed seeking vengeance for what they consider was a joke on my part. I could just about bet that those first timers actually had more fish take an interest in their offerings and even hit their razor sharp hooks than they could have ever had believed.
What I cannot teach those people are the factors such as developing a "feel" for fish or the sixth sense so to speak which can only be acquired by many hours on the water. What I can do for the novice angler, is to merely steer them in the right direction so that someday soon they will find all the rewards that sportfishing has to offer.
Far too often people have the misconception that when a fish "takes the bait" the incident will be something like trying to grab lug nuts off a speeding freight train - hang on and don't let go! Sure it happens on occasion but the general rule is more like attempting to see the trees shake when puffed wheat hits the ground.
Detecting when a fish has taken your lure or bait may be quite obvious as in the case of the big-water salmon hunter. This hearty breed of angler frequently makes use of a downrigger and rod holder. The movement is applied by trolling the boat. It's a "hands off" presentation and when a fish strikes, there is no debate what has happened.
As a matter of fact, many boat trolling applications reduce the probability that you miss the initial strike of a fish. To a lesser degree, casting and quickly retrieving a lure reduces the chance that you are going to let the hit slip by you unnoticed.
Problems in detecting fish strikes occur mainly when using live bait, using slow lure presentations or when drift fishing moving water. The task of detection is amplified here due to the fact that these are all slow presentations and a fish has plenty of time to react to possibility that he has been fooled into taking a false offering.
If you think fish are slow in reacting, try fishing smallmouth bass in shallow, clear water. It was on the rock shoals of Lake Couchiching near Orillia, Ontario a few years back that I was ridiculed by schools of bass that were feeding on the numerous rock shoals.
On occasion you could see the fish pick up the jig and spit it back out so quickly before I could react that I missed at least half of those critters. The problem was solved by adding artificial scent to the jig. The bass would then hang on to the offering long enough to allow a hook-set. The same could have been accomplished by adding live-bait to the jig.
So many times I refer to the fact that you should always use the lightest line and smallest weight possible for the situation. Light fishing line coupled with just enough lead weight to do the job will not hinder the transmission of a strike up the line, through the rod and into your arm.
Never should slack be allowed in your line for the same reason. If the fishing line is curled or bows in the wind, it is nearly impossible to feel what's going on at the business end. If you find in necessary to fish into the wind, you will become a chronic line-watcher. By watching the point where the line enters the water you can see the twitching which indicates a subtle strike.
Another remedy in this situation would be to use a float or bobber. Bobbers are used to see strikes instead of feel them. They are great for beginners and novices and have many other applications but are mostly used to maintain the depth of suspended live-bait and not for use when fishing with your offering on the bottom of the lake or river.
To maintain a better feel for the fishes strike many anglers will hold the fishing line between their fingers at a point ahead of where it enters the reel. The soft pads of your fingertips are extremely sensitive.
The rod, which is power reducer and an extension of your arm is a common source of the detection problem. A rod of high density graphite construction transmits vibrations quicker and stronger than the average fiberglass rod. Most of my rods are of graphite composition or at least graphite/fiberglass composites.
If you are casting let's say a spinner-bait, spoon or wobbling crank-bait, the lure sends out constant rhythmic vibrations which can be felt by the angler. If the vibration changes, set the hook! Something has changed and that something may very well be a fish strike. The worst thing that could happen is that you set into a weed or stick.
The most difficulty I have ever had with detecting strikes is when I drift fish fast flowing waters for trout or walleye. With both species it's a must that the offering be allowed to roll with the current on the bottom. If you do not feel that lure bouncing and ticking off the rocks you just aren't doing it right.
With all this constant bouncing, ticking and bumping going on it's mind-boggling to predict which tap, jolt or thump is a fish. Well after twenty years of stream fishing for rainbows, I can honestly say that a tink, poke or nudge is not a fish but if you feel a slap, thud or wham you had better set your hook.
