[jab0106]

anyone else having any trouble with this?? the past 3-4 times ive been out, all the bass have been hammering my bait just to miss, short strike, or spit it out too quickly to have the hook set in them....ive had many worm tails bitten off. what to do? they'll only bite soft plastic, and the bottom is nasty. last time out, had 10 bites, hooked 3, landed 1. the two came off due to bad hook sets because they hit and tried to let go so quickly. havent had any trouble this year before the past 2 weeks, and it cant be the worms.
guess ill figure em out soon enough.

 

[sundrop]

Well, It may be that the size of the bait is too big. It may be the fish are actually smaller or panfish not bass. It may be the brand of worm your using isnt "realistic" feeling enough. Are you rigging 1 or 2 hooks?
Try adding a scented spray to the bait. You can rig a real nightcrawler like a soft plastic and see if they grab better/longer.
Either they aren't the fish you think they are or something isnt "real" enough about the baits...

 

[fishcrazy]

We were fishing for Pike up north and were loosing a lot of fish like that and upon someones suggestion added a stinger hook or trailer as it were and the missed fish joined the count. That works.

 

[Stew-Rat]

Sounds like the bottom is gonna rule out any trailers or exposed hooks. I`m gonna give jab0106 the benefit of knowing a bream bite from a bass. I`ll go with the smaller bait / bigger hook (longer) idea.I like yums wooly hawgtail (creature bait) like a brush hog. Something without a tail. Love carolina lunker sauce(as long as it`s not on my hands).Probably too early, and don`t know the depth, but could they be moving it rather than hitting it? Good luck with it. Figuring things out is part of the challenge. If fishing was easy most of us probably wouldn`t do it.-stu

 

[Scott Hobbs]

Are these fire tail worms you are using?????

What size worm and hook are you using????

May have to scale down a size or two to get em to put the bait in there mouth. Maybe try another color, sometimes the short strike is because they are just not wanting that particular bait.

If you were using spinnerbaits or such I would recommed a stinger hook but not with a plastic worm.

tight lines <*)))))>{

 

[jab0106]

i like the soft plastic w/o tail idea. im gonna try that, although i did fish a worm with a bit off tail for a while with no bites, and when i replaced it with a fresh worm w/ tail the bite resumed. the fish are definitely bass tho, and ive tried different color combinations, although im thinking i may not quite have it right just yet. and fyi, its shallow water <5 ft. stu's suggestion that the fish are only moving the bait also sounds quite likely, although i don't really know just what that would imply. to that end however, i tried to catch a few crappie today and had a few of them hit and miss, and move bait. i actually caught one on a small spinnerbait that wasn't hooked at all--only pinned between the arms of the spinnerbait, with the hook wrapped underbelly and stuck in a scale on the other side. craziest thing. anyhow, i'll let you guys know what i find out.

@ scott, worms im using are mainly same head to tail colorwise, and 6-7". hooks between 3 and 5. actually had one take my jig 3 ft left and drop it w/i a half-second last time out. i never had a chance

 

[Robert Liles]

jabO,what you are describing is typical of the behavior of pre spawn and bedding bass.They may be hitting it w/ a closed mouth or just grabbing it to move out of a bed or potential bed.All the advice abour shortening your worm and using scent are good.If you can get in a position to see the strike you must react instantly.Sight fishing can be tough but it has it's own rewards.I have spent 20 to 30 minutes w/ a good fish before I stuck it.

 

[Stew-Rat]

I carry a bag of white trick worms in spring just to sight fish. Some times you can just barely make out the worm and you don`t really even see the fish inhale it. Just set the hook as soon as the white blur dissapears. One disadvantage of kayak fishing is not having the height of a bass deck to get an angle to sight fish quite as easily.

 

[jab0106]

i like that answer also, robert liles. i had actually been wondering about that. i actually caught the one in my avatar sight fishing the same spot a month or so ago in a sandy trough. appreciate the info. ill see whats up with them soon.

and white worm, good idea.

 

[Scott Hobbs]

That was my next answer there Robert Liles, good deal

I asked about the color of the worm because bream are notorious for pecking and eating the red fire tails off of worms. About like a pinfish on jig tails in the ICW. had lots of em nawed off by bream. I then just change to Tequila Sunrise, my favorite color.

tight lines <*)))))>{