Line Watching????? 2024
JWOA reply :
How do you become good at line watching??? I dont watch the line I usually feel everything....but the most versatile fisherman is the one who can do multiple things. I would like to learn how, and I guess its easier if its not so windy...
dodgeguy reply :
concentration
cajunpapi reply :
watch the line determine ,how it acts when hits bottom . Detect any change with eyes, can't feel these type of bites.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I'd suggest trying some hi vis white or yellow braid with a leader to make your line easier to see. Once you see what a bite looks like a few times you should be able to tell what it looks like with any kind of line. The braid floats also which will help with bite detection. Something like a weightless senko or wacky rig are good baits to learn how to watch your line with.
Sam reply :
Sometimes you will not feel the bite and have to note what the line is doing to decide to set the hook.
I was fishng around some wood with a shaky head when I noticed my line was about four feet to the right heading into the wood. I had not felt any strike and was wondering why the line was four feet over from where it was cast. There was no current or wind so all of a sudden I woke up, reeled in the slack and set the hook on a beautiful 2.5 pound bass that had picked up the bait and strolled towards the wood with it.
Another time I was throwing a Senko when it stopped falling on the cast. I thought that it had settled on a stump when I realized that there were no stumps in the area I was fishing. So I set the hook and caught another one. Seems he saw the Senko falling, inhaled it, and just sat there enjoying the newspaper.
Do not rely on only on sense. You need to feel and see what is going on. Always keep a finger on the line coming off the spool; watch your line; and if anything looks or feels different, set the hook!
I would rather see you look funny setting the hook on nothing then losing the bass of a lifetime.
Sam reply :
By the way, as an after thought, at a previous Bassmasters University we were told to rig up your bait and throw it out a few times to get the feel of how it is acting and feeling without a fish.
If the bait feels any different in any way, set the hook.
You can thank Hank Parker for this tidbit of information.
Got1Fishing reply :
I'm a hardcore line watcher and I will say I get mentally exhausted after a day of fishing haha. I learned to line watch very well with braid, because it floats. Your line will either move (left or right), hop, or sink. Once you see this on your line you can set the hook. This is usually when fishing a jig or t-rig.
That is a very general description, because I also feel the bites, but this should get you started. You will pick up soon after how your line acts after bites.
Delaware Valley Tackle reply :
I like hi-vis line for this reason. Use a leader if it gives you confidence, but I'm not convinced bass can see line or care if they do. Watch where the line meets the water.
Felix77 reply :
On 11/13/2013 at 10:08 PM, Sam said:By the way, as an after thought, at a previous Bassmasters University we were told to rig up your bait and throw it out a few times to get the feel of how it is acting and feeling without a fish.
If the bait feels any different in any way, set the hook.
You can thank Hank Parker for this tidbit of information.
I second this! I didn't hear it from anyone but ended up practicing "feeling the bottom" this way with jigs, weighted t-rig stuff, tubes etc. when I began fishing. Once I could "feel" bottom I could begin feeling subtle differences. Caught me some good fish as a result.
Line watching to me is all about patience and concentration like someone else suggested. Stay alert and observant and you will catch some more fish.
J Francho reply :
One day a few years ago, I was pitching a jig from my kayak. I was standing, letting a soft breeze quietly push my slowly over a weed flat. With all the weeds, and little wind, the water was very clear. I pitched a jig into a pocket, and a huge bass violently grabbed my jig, and headed back into the wed canopy. The startling part was, I felt NOTHING. Had I not witness what happened, I may not have set the hook until it was too late. I was kinda slow on the hookset anyway, being startled. What I did remember was the tiny, almost imperceptible "hop" the line made. I try to watch line closely ever since.
Here's that fish - you can see it was barely hooked.
kschultz76 reply :
It is a key skill and will catch you more fish. Since I was introduced to doing it my catch ratio went up, and I know I've caught fish I never would have known were there. No matter how quality and sensitive your rods are line watching is a must for this subtle light slack line bites. My dad and wife can't always understand why I hook up with more fish then they do and this is why.
RoachDad reply :
On 11/13/2013 at 8:56 PM, Jay_White said:How do you become good at line watching??? I dont watch the line I usually feel everything....but the most versatile fisherman is the one who can do multiple things. I would like to learn how, and I guess its easier if its not so windy...
Well, the old guys who taught me to fish as a kid, told me to keep my finger lightly on the line. It works for me. I don't think watching the line can improve on that. Just my opinion.
Catt reply :
I fish at night a lot so I've learned not to watch my line, during the day I'm aware of what my line is doing, I just don't stare at it.
TrippyJai reply :
I'm a line watcher myself. When I started out fishing with a cheap rod combo and cheap mono line, there was literally no sensitivity and you had to be aware of what your bait was doing at all times. When I don't pay attention at times, my line will start moving sideways and I would have never noticed it if I didn't watch my line. A lot of people I've fished with will look at their rod tip instead of the line.
Marty reply :
I don't know how you become good at line watching, nor do I know if I'm good at it or not. What I do know is that I've caught many fish on soft plastics when I've seen the line move off to the side but felt nothing. So I think it's very important to be a line watcher.
SirSnookalot reply :
On 11/14/2013 at 5:15 AM, Catt said:I fish at night a lot so I've learned not to watch my line, during the day I'm aware of what my line is doing, I just don't stare at it.
Me too.
I never line watch, 60 years of fishing has taught me a few things. I don't often drags worms and jigs anymore but I did yesterday. Fishing senkos with braid in 20 mph winds was enormously productive, there is no loop in the line even without using weight, I like to let them fall on their own, I just keep my rod low to the water and the line is not in the air. Did I miss a bite, frankly I doubt it.
Alpster reply :
On 11/13/2013 at 10:23 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:I like hi-vis line for this reason. Use a leader if it gives you confidence, but I'm not convinced bass can see line or care if they do. Watch where the line meets the water.
This^^^^
flyfisher reply :
I have caught many a fish i never felt but the line acted differently. I will also echo to watch where the line enters the water. I fish a lot of weightless soft plastics and you almost have to become a line watcher to be successful in this technique because it is as much about the lack of motion as it is actually moving....if that even makes sense 
Bankbeater reply :
You need to watch the line if you are dead sticking. If your bait isn't moving then you aren't going to feel anything. Usually the line will start moving off to the side, tighten up, or start getting a lot of slack in it. When that happens it is time to set the hook.
jignfule reply :
On a PB a few years ago, after over two hours without even a tap, I notice my hi- vis line moving ever so slowly back to the boat. I felt nothing, set the hook and nabbed a pb. Gotta watch the line.
WRB reply :
If the line doesn't move, you will not feel it. You feel line movement, line isn't a living nerve!
No rod ever made will be as sensitive to line movement than your finger/ thumb tips, they have living nerves to transmit the movement to your brain. Believing that your rod can transmit line movement better than a finger tip touching kine is naive.
Being aware of what the line is doing requires that you feel and watch the line. Watching line for movement takes practice and becomes as natural as feeling line move. Strike indicators can be obvious or subtle, the obvious take care of themselves, detecting subtle strikes requires practice. The best spot to watch line move is where it enters the water. The other area of the line to watch is the controlled slack, if you are not moving the lure and the line tightens slight more, something has added resistance to the lures movement, usually that slight change in slack line is a strike.
Don't for a moment believe that only bass anglers should be line watchers, this applies all types of fish. I have watched live bait tuna anglers on a drift miss the fact a that a tuna had their bait and swam back toward the boat, sometimes under the boat and out the other side without them detecting line movement of feeling the fish until their rods starting to bend.
Tom
wnybassman reply :
Line watching when bladebait fishing is very important. Not sure how many fish I have caught on it setting the hook after seeing the line jump and never feeling a thing.
kschultz76 reply :
I agree with WRB about line watching with other species. I started to learn when drifting weightless night crawlers fishing for trout. I've found line watching with finesse soft plastics key in my bass fishing. If you put enough tension on your line to stand a chance of feeling those subtle strikes you negatively affect your presentation and never actually get the bite.
As all have said watch your line where it enters the water, look for subtle jumps, a change in its angle as it enters the water, the line moving off to the side, against the current, or back towards the boat. Then carefully drop your rod tip and reel up slack, if you feel pressure and the line continues to move set the hook and let the fun begin.
mjseverson24 reply :
I line watch when the conditions are conducive for it, and typically in an 8 hr day i would say 2-5 fish are cought when line watching and not feeling it. now does this mean that i wouldn't caught these fish without line watching? hmmm... no not really, all it tells me that with this technique i did successfully catch the fish. i do think it does account for extra fish caught though.
Mitch
Virtuoso reply :
Line watching is what I call "Using Braid Syndrome". When the line is slack, its the only way to know if a fish is took a swipe. Many people don't even know how many hits they've missed because of ZERO sensitivity in slack line with braid. Then they claim "great hookup ratio". Yeah, except you didn't count the ones you didn't even know that bit.
A sensitive rod with fluorocarbon, and you will not need to watch your line.
Catt reply :
Y'all need to night fish for a year straight & then we'll have this talk again.
I'm not talking just the full moon but every phase including the dark moon.
Night fishing will completely change how you "feel" bites.
Many times when flipping, pitching, or punching you will not see or feel line movement. The bass will inhale your bait & not move!
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 11/16/2013 at 9:41 AM, WRB said:If the line doesn't move, you will not feel it. You feel line movement, line isn't a living nerve!
No rod ever made will be as sensitive to line movement than your finger/ thumb tips, they have living nerves to transmit the movement to your brain. Believing that your rod can transmit line movement better than a finger tip touching kine is naive.
Being aware of what the line is doing requires that you feel and watch the line. Watching line for movement takes practice and becomes as natural as feeling line move. Strike indicators can be obvious or subtle, the obvious take care of themselves, detecting subtle strikes requires practice. The best spot to watch line move is where it enters the water. The other area of the line to watch is the controlled slack, if you are not moving the lure and the line tightens slight more, something has added resistance to the lures movement, usually that slight change in slack line is a strike.
Don't for a moment believe that only bass anglers should be line watchers, this applies all types of fish. I have watched live bait tuna anglers on a drift miss the fact a that a tuna had their bait and swam back toward the boat, sometimes under the boat and out the other side without them detecting line movement of feeling the fish until their rods starting to bend.
Tom
I actually learned how to watch my line while bluegill fishing. I used to cast a small baitholder hook with a piece of nightcrawler and no weight or bobber to likely areas and let it sink slowly. Whenever I saw that telltale twitch of my line, I'd set the hook.
Virtuoso reply :
On 11/16/2013 at 8:55 PM, Catt said:Y'all need to night fish for a year straight & then we'll have this talk again.
I'm not talking just the full moon but every phase including the dark moon.
Night fishing will completely change how you "feel" bites.
Many times when flipping, pitching, or punching you will not see or feel line movement. The bass will inhale your bait & not move!
You make an excellent point for using fine equipment. Those light pickups are d**n near impossible without a quality rod and line. Ive fished blindfolded before as a sensitivity test. I know what its like.
People lose more fish than they think because they don't ever know the bass picked up their bait. Its not a big deal unless your competing
Catt reply :
The art of feeling a bite is a fine combination of watching your line and feeling for unnatural sensations of what your lure shouldn't feel like.
Some times you will feel that classic "tap".
Some times you'll only see line movement
Some times your line will simply go slack
But, some times there will only be a feeling of heaviness that is almost like your will not move.
What helps is keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amout of slackness in your line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but to the seasoned it makes total sense.
Watch your line? Yes
But it's way more than that 
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