Line watching 2024

BassBeat101 reply :

Being somewhat new to the fishing game, each spring I try and really focus on a basic discipline that I want to work on for the year. Unfortunately I've never really been a strong line watcher, and since I usually fish plastics this is uhhhh... not good. My question is for you fellow plastic freaks, how many of your strikes are strikes that you see, not feel? I'm hoping I'm not new to having to learn this, so was it a bit of a surprise how many more fish you caught? Or just marginal improvement? (And by marginal I mean an extra fish a week would be awesome - but still).

Daryl

VAbacklash reply :

Line watching is a skill that I can't seem to master. I'm more of a feel type fisherman. I know for a fact that a good line watcher will hook a lot more fish than me, without a doubt. I just can't seem to concentrate on boat control and all the other factors involved plus line watch. I have fished with line watchers and they leave me in awe! Now, if I'm on the back seat, I do much better and boat more fish than I do from the front.

Catt reply :

I've night fish 7 months of the years for the last 35 years so I'm accustom to not watching my line; night fishing has heighten my since of feel far beyond normal anglers. Even when I do fish during day light hours my partners accuse me of not paying attention to my line. Yet while they are chewing me out about my lack of line watching I'm setting hook; they usually just shake the head in disgust.

I probably watch my line 10% of the time and most of this occurs on the initial drop.

clipper reply :

I try to watch my line closely. If I'm fishing a finesse worm it will likely be a Slider head and 4" worm and often the fish will just swim off with the bait to one side or the other. When I see my line going sideways I know I have a fish on. Sometimes they will swim toward the boat and you notice slack in the line. I always try to stay in constant "touch" with the bait as well. I don't fish a jig much, but I think it is really important to watch for line jumps when jig fishing. A Senko or any bait you dead stick requires close line watching since most strikes happen on the fall. I will admit it is a challenge to run the trolling motor and watch your line. There are times, like when you are about to hit a boat dock(lol), that you just have to watch where you are going.

guest reply :

Line watching is probably the most important thing you can do after make a cast.

Unless you are using a surface bait, or a fast moving bait, you should be focused on the line.

I use some of the most sensative equipment available and yet I do not like to feel the bass. I would much rather see the line do something unnatural, no matter how subtle to tell me I have a bite.

Remember, if you can feel the bass, he can probably feel you.

It's a game he will win more often than not.

llPa1nll reply :

It took me awhile to learn how to jig fish, so I thought. I didnt know what a subtle strike felt like. Until 45mins with a very experienced Jig fishermen fishing from shore turned the light on, and helped me out. Watching your line is important but also being experienced in how your line reacts in the water is as well. My friends jokingly call the line I use "Piano Wire" I use PLine CXX Strong 17-20lb. I know how that line sinks how it feels in the cover I fish. All important factors I think.

Another thing is know your surroundings. If your fishing in 6ft of water and you cast towards the shore, and your lure falls upwards of 8ft, set the hook, odds are something is swimming away with it. As Denny Brauer once said "Know what your lure is doing at all times, if at any time you cant feel it or it feels funny Set the Hook!"

justfishin reply :

I always have a finger on the line for feel and always watch my line. I am a big time jig fisherman and if I am in ten foot of water or so and pitch a jig you really have to watch your line as the bass hit it on the fall a lot and your line will just stop before hitting bottom. Also, a bass will sometimes just inhale your jig or tube and sit on it. You will see some slack all of a sudden or see that "tick " in your line.

bocabasser reply :

when i use a wacky rigged ace, 99% of my fish come when i watch my line. the aces fall so slow, that you have to watch your line. any slight movement or bump in the line, start reeling.

Siebert Outdoors reply :

I'm a huge line watcher. like others have stated its very important when jig/worm fishing. With practice you can tell the differences in the slightest movements. Sometimes the fish will sit on a jig and not move or he might be 15ft from where you casted. On extremely light bite days line watching and keeping a finger below the line in front of the reel is crucial imo

Catt reply :

Not to steal a topic but out of curiosity how many of you line watchers night fish and what do you do when you can't see your line?

jomatty reply :

i think line watching is crucial when fishing soft plastics. i had a very difficult time with senkos and fat ikas until i realized how imperative it was to watch the line. i also watch the line closely when fishing jigs, although the feel factor is much more important there and it is not as important for me. with other baits i find it less important.

Bankbeater reply :

I will watch the line after I feel something different. Sometimes when bass take the jig you feel a slight bump and nothing else. After the bump it will feel like the line has broken off, but it will be moving around or off to the side.

.ghoti. reply :

Bassbeat, I'm not going to far out on limb by saying that if you don't watch your line, while fishing jigs or plastics, you're missing at least half of your fish. Maybe more. And that's pretty much the end of the story. Focus, and practice.

Cheers,

Turtle. reply :

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Not to steal a topic but out of curiosity how many of you line watchers night fish and what do you do when you can't see your line?

I night fish on a regular basis a Blacklight works real well.IMO I need to see my line as well as feel it. Ya'know somtimes that tap you feel is a bass spittin out your worm.

Raul reply :

Quote
My question is for you fellow plastic freaks, how many of your strikes are strikes that you see, not feel? I'm hoping I'm not new to having to learn this, so was it a bit of a surprise how many more fish you caught? Or just marginal improvement? (And by marginal I mean an extra fish a week would be awesome - but still).
Daryl

Half of the fish I catch with soft plastics is because I watch the line before I can feel the fish.

bocabasser reply :

hey catt--when i night fish, 90% of the time i am throwing topwater. i simply listen for the explosion. i keep my rod at 12o'clock wait until the fish pulls my rod to 9 o'clock then i whack 'em.

Garnet reply :

It's a must to watch your line or be aware of it and to react without hesitation.

To really get it all you need a softer tip rod than most bass fishermen use. And you need to watch your rod bend and your line and the area out infront of you, the same way a race car driver views a track. So you are not focused on any one thing you just see the whole picture.

It's very easy with practice.

Garnet

skillet reply :

I think it is a really important skill to learn and USE. Where it is most important is with Senko style or Fat Ika style baits where it is more of a semi controled drop as opposed to where you kind of feel it all the way down. Hope that made more sense than it sounded like....

As Ever,

Skillet

Siebert Outdoors reply :

Quote
Not to steal a topic but out of curiosity how many of you line watchers night fish and what do you do when you can't see your line?

Its like fishing in the dark. LOL sorry thats a real bad joke. Actually when I do night fish I dont use a black light or anything. I just fish by feel or sound. All I use is the boat light and fish. Your probably wondering how I cast to the bank? The answer is by color contrast from available light from the boat light.

BassBeat101 reply :

I figured I have been missing a lot of fish. I had an epiphony late last fall while fishing a small jig - what made it more amazing was the fact that I had just said to myself "I should probably start watching my line a bit more" - as soon as the thought was out of my brain, I saw my line move about 1/4" to the left - felt nothing, set the hook - felt weight, saw the fish jump and throw my jig - hence my curiousity.

Thanks for all the replies, it has really motivated me even more to focus on my line.

Daryl

jahill reply :

You are wondering if it is a skill worth the while to learn. I think back to fish I have caught by line watching and I have to say it is well worth your time. Tournament fishing proves that just one bite misssed or boated can make all the difference.

Jeremy

guest reply :

when I night fish with a worm or jig, I use a heavy weight. It seems to transmit the sensation better and I can set the hook faster. Remember to drop your rods trip quickly after moving the baitl

justfishin reply :

On a local 56,000 acre lake in my area there are a lot of night tournaments in July and August. Typically I go a little heavier on wt. Also, most of us use florescent blue line and a fishing black light. Your #8 test looks like 1/4" rope while using this technique. I also go more by " feel " than line watching while night fishing. I have caught some of my biggest bass while fishing at night on this lake. The bats hitting your line at night will drive you to drinking they are so plentiful and tend to hit your line all night. All of us around here look forward to these night fishing trips, as its usually takes at least 16 or 18 lbs to even cash a check in these night tournaments most of the time with a mixed bag of brown and green bass.

Sam reply :

I always watch my line.

And when you least expect it, the line will just start moving, slowly, to either the right or left.

It may take a second or two to realize what is happening, but once you do you set the hook.

Remember, a bass can suck up your lure by opening its mouth and then just hold it in their mouth as they slowly swim away.

So please watch your line while you keep a finger on it as well so you can double your chances of a successful cast and put a fish in your boat.

CJ reply :

Quote
Not to steal a topic but out of curiosity how many of you line watchers night fish and what do you do when you can't see your line?

I agree night fishing will help your ability to detect a strike.

You are referring it as "line watching".I call it "line detection".Sometimes you feel it before you see it,sometimes you see it before you feel it.

FIN-S-R reply :

Im gonna say i dont catch many fish on non-hard baits by feeling anymore. Maybe less than 10% of the fish I catch draggin a jig or drop shot or shakin a worm are from feel. Most of the time it is a result of watching. I figure you may get 3 seconds to set the hook by watchin, and maybe half that if your just feeling. I dont really set the hook hard anymore unless there is heavy cover involved. Watching the line makes it where you can give it a more carolina rig sweep set. You dont risk poppin a fishes mouth open or snappin florocarbon or braid with the less jerky set. I have also recently found that line watching is way more important for hard jerkbaits than even for plastics. It seems like the fish will bump the jerk but not hit it. If you can watch your line closely enough and see when this happens, you twitch the bait ever so slightly, and BAM. Or at least that the way it has worked for me. Oh and I dont night fish...figure there are other things that need tending after dark!!! ;D

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Line watching 2024

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