strike 1st bite or 2nd ?

[nuts about fishing]

hi, just wondering what you guys do, or what the proper way is ? strike on the 1st bite or second? i personly strike 1st time if its a good knock:punk:

[pout-king]

if its a small bite then i wait until the fish manages to hook itself usually small pout and whiting

[chris grace]

what if you don't get a second bite?
I strike as soon as I get a positive bite,sometimes you will get a fish play with the bait,then you have to wait for a good pull then strike.
If you wait for the second good pull how long do you wait before you decide it's not coming?

[BirdyBoy]

unless i have the rod in my hands(not very often) then its 2nd or 3rd for me.

[FishingGuernsey]

Depends what you're fishing for. If it's mullet and the float goes, you don't often get a second chance to strike, same with Bass, if it doesn't hook itself you will not likely get another hit from that fish. Things like bream will continue to hammer a bit til it's gone or til you hook them.

[nuts about fishing]

I cant control myself when i get a bite, my reactions are just to grab it, when i use to go fishing with a mate and his grandad, his grandad use to always strike on the 1st bite the set it down again to see if its on or not.

[son_of_it]

like said previsously it depends what your fishing for. If say you fishing for wrasse and your touch ledgering you usually strike when it first hits. but if you fishing at range (and fishing with mono) on a beach or somewhere then you get so much stretch ,and fishing with grippers, you wont actually hit the fi**** just pulls. so if i fish to range i like to let the fish hook itsself it really all depends on what you fishing for, how your fishing and where

hope it helps a little

[F1F3R]

this is what i tend too do, (dunno if its correct or incorrect ? but always have done it this way :D )

if a fish bites, i pick up rod and hold it , if it continues too bite or any movement while im holding the rod i strike into it. ( strike / try set the hook securely )

however once i pick up the rod and if i cant feel nowt , i will lay the rod back into the rest and leave it for few minutes too see if the fish returns ,

if no more activity after a couple off minutes i will reel it in and check and rebait.

[crazyplums]

strike? eh? wassat then?


lol, if fishing for wrasse, gar, etc on float or holding the rod with tiny bullet leads on, then yes, i might strike,

but at range? i watch the rod rattle, i watch it rattle again, and then, just to be certain, i either wander over to my mate for a chat, or i'll roll another fag and have a coffee while i decide whether it's hooked yet or not!!

clearly if the rod is going over, then it's worth jumping up, but for the usual stuff under a couple of pound, where's the hurry?

[skippy]

i dont strike just wind into it if it was a good bite and most fish over here even the dabs give a good indication they are there:boxing:

[whopper]

I don't strike really to be honest. Lower rod tip, whilst winding down the pull up a bit quicker than normal. not a strike as such, more a fluid movement upwards. Even float fishing i dont strike. The float goes under...count to 2 then pull up again. Never had a problem.

[John Mason]

A good fish moving off with your bait will hook itself so long as the bait's well presented.

Imagine fishing a 3-hook flapper at range. A striking motion will first and foremost tension-up your line to your Breakaway half buried in the sand. The force required to extract that will be in excess of that required to drive a hook home, and whilst doing this you will not be tensioned to small fish like 6oz whiting mouthing the baits. Decent whiting, codling, rays, bass etc will hook themselves as they grab the bait and dart away - they will tension the snood against the lead primarily whilst giving the knock at the rod end too.

Use good and sharp hooks, keep your bait presentation tidy and anything worth hooking will mostly get hooked!

Cheers - John

[wriggitt]

strike? eh? wassat then?
but at range? i watch the rod rattle, i watch it rattle again, and then, just to be certain, i either wander over to my mate for a chat, or i'll roll another fag and have a coffee while i decide whether it's hooked yet or not!!

Very similar to what I do. I always find that having a fag in one hand and a coffee in the other encourages a more positive bite!

[son_of_it]

strike? eh? wassat then?



but at range? i watch the rod rattle, i watch it rattle again, and then, just to be certain, i either wander over to my mate for a chat, or i'll roll another fag and have a coffee while i decide whether it's hooked yet or not!!




usually wot i do apart from the roll a fag. but sometimes if i am fishing for flatties i dont leave it too long as i have found that i get alot of deep hooked fish so i dont leave long if i get a bite i wait and if it persists i will bring it in

[bouyarken]

this is what i tend too do, (dunno if its correct or incorrect ? but always have done it this way :D )

if a fish bites, i pick up rod and hold it , if it continues too bite or any movement while im holding the rod i strike into it. ( strike / try set the hook securely )

however once i pick up the rod and if i cant feel nowt , i will lay the rod back into the rest and leave it for few minutes too see if the fish returns ,

if no more activity after a couple off minutes i will reel it in and check and rebait.

I do the same, although i occasionally wind in on bites rather than strike :happy:

[georgem]

Bite? eh? wassat then?

[1colin]

most fish i have caught hook themselfs but if i have to strike i just reel down the slack in the line then lift bit faster than normal

[rocket]

When fishing for cod it depends what the bite was like, but as I only really fish for cod from shore I reel in until it goes heavy then a gentle pull up the rod from 45 degree to 90 degree angle normally hooks the fish.

[shetjan]

dont strike - just use circle hooks and let the fish bang away for a while, then just pick up and wind in steadily - fish hooked in the corner of the jaw virtually every time.

[SmellyFerret]

Since fish seem to only bite whilst I am either:
Off to the loo.
Eating.
Baiting the spare trace.
Firing the kelly kettle up.

I'd say 2nd or 3rd!

Except those nights where the doggies are going crazy - in which case just cast and reel in :)

[Cambs John]

Depends what i'm targeting or what you feel is biting. Mostly on the East Coast Whiting etc will hook themselves so let it rattle a bit, flatties sometimes mouth it a bit. With a slack liner wind down into it and strike.

If you aren't holding the rod but can't help yourself, when you see the first bite, gently tacke the rod from the rest keeping the pressure on and wait for the next twitch, on the downward pull strike back and wait, if it pulls again quickly then you've probably got it.

[hallsy]

i tend to hold the rod when the action arrives, as soon as i feel or see the first real strong bend a try to set the hook.........it really depends on how many lagers ive had.:drunk:

[greys-fanboy]

I remember some ********s once on this forum trying to argue against my point that if you're using mono and fishing at any distance beyond 30 yards or so, a strike makes almost no impact.

For small fish, they nearly always hook themselves. Hang fished for a long time - the only times I might consider striking are float fishing for mackerel/gars and bream fishing, or if the rod is headed seaward in which case a strike is a waste anyway because the fish is already hooked.

[roryking]

heya i just wondering if any codling are still about and how far do u have to cast to maybe get one if u can let me know most grateful

[nuts about fishing]

heya i just wondering if any codling are still about and how far do u have to cast to maybe get one if u can let me know most grateful

depends were u are m8.....along the east coast their are loads of small ones sort of 30cm, as far as i know their is the odd nice one being produced.....:):fishing1:

[gazthelad]

i tend to hold the rod when the action arrives, as soon as i feel or see the first real strong bend a try to set the hook.........it really depends on how many lagers ive had.:drunk:

lol hallsy mate, i fish for congers and spurdogs, wen targeting them its dark so i wait for my ratchet clicker to go as these fish tend to hook themselves wen they run off with the baits and you know theyre on i still lift into them to set the hook.:thumbs:

[Codhead Bob]

[QUOTE=greys-fanboy;1105638]I remember some ********s once on this forum trying to argue against my point that if you're using mono and fishing at any distance beyond 30 yards or so, a strike makes almost no impact.

[QUOTE]


How does a bite from a small fish show up on your rod then at distance?

[OHTer]

[QUOTE=greys-fanboy;1105638]I remember some ********s once on this forum trying to argue against my point that if you're using mono and fishing at any distance beyond 30 yards or so, a strike makes almost no impact.

[QUOTE]


How does a bite from a small fish show up on your rod then at distance?

Good point there Bob, I was thinking similar. I too dont believe in the "dont bother striking at range because the elasticity of mono will abosorb the strike" brigade. Thats like saying "dont bother to pull the rod up swiftly to spring your griplead out", as if it doesnt work! I do believe in striking at fish. I agree, alot of fish hook themselves, but striking it gives you more chance. You'll know within a turn or two of the handle whether you hooked the fish (well, thats what I have found), and if I miss it, I just leave it there and wait for the fish to come back. You wont have moved it far on the sea bed, and it will be found by the fish agani. Just my opinions, but I do catch my fair share of fish this way :thumbs:

[Codhead Bob]

Because there seems to be two quite seperate views on this,it might be soley down to the type of fish you're targeting and also the type of ground you're fishing on.I can see the point of a strike not making much difference if your griplead is sunk into sand,but that depends on a)fishing on sand,and b) using grip leads.Likewise lifting into a fish will also only work if you are fishing on ground that will not snag you if you start moving the trace towards you. Where we fish up here the ground is bouldery,and they're kelp covered.Gripleads are pointless because your weight won't drag anyway,a slow lift will just pull you forward until you hook into the kelp,so a strike is necessary to get your hook set,and get your fish moving as quickly as possible.

When this was discussed before,I may well have been one of the


********s

stating this point,so I took one end of line 100 metres down the pier and the bloke holding the rod 'struck' and of course yanked the line out of my hand no problem.Each to their own opinion though.

[OHTer]

Because there seems to be two quite seperate views on this,it might be soley down to the type of fish you're targeting and also the type of ground you're fishing on.I can see the point of a strike not making much difference if your griplead is sunk into sand,but that depends on a)fishing on sand,and b) using grip leads.Likewise lifting into a fish will also only work if you are fishing on ground that will not snag you if you start moving the trace towards you. Where we fish up here the ground is bouldery,and they're kelp covered.Gripleads are pointless because your weight won't drag anyway,a slow lift will just pull you forward until you hook into the kelp,so a strike is necessary to get your hook set,and get your fish moving as quickly as possible.

When this was discussed before,I may well have been one of the



stating this point,so I took one end of line 100 metres down the pier and the bloke holding the rod 'struck' and of course yanked the line out of my hand no problem.Each to their own opinion though.
aint it great when you prove yourself right, even if only to yourself? lol