I finally got some fishtraps so I went out to the bay today. I started out with the fastrac and got nothing. It was pretty cloudy and I normally do better when the sun is shining, so I decided to try the fishtraps. I threw the 5" sardine (not green sardine) and got some bites, few and far between. Then I tied on a 5" black back chovie, they were nailing this thing. The only problem is that I couldn't keep em on. I realize I should downsize, but that was the only size that(west coast light tackle) had. I got him to order some 4" green sardines, those should hopefully solve the missed bites. With that aside I have a question. What do you do when you feel a bite? Do you let em take it or set the hook? -Phil

LAST EDITED ON Jul-25-01 AT 08:44 PM (PST)

I don't know about everyone else, but when I feel any kind of tick on the plastic, I whack em and try to cross their eyes! Especially a finicky butt, maybe if you had some scent on the bait they would mouth it, but I think the quicker the better on plastics. What do you guys think?
An extra sharp leadhead, Owner or Gami, is a must- makes a lot of difference.

I generally set the hook on the second tap. Sometimes you'll just feel a tick and then nothing, and that can be frustrating. The only way to stick those fish is to swing right away, but even then, it's tough. When they're biting like they're supposed to, I'll usually wait for that second tap. Sometimes they'll just lay on it and you'll think it's kelp. Whenever you feel like you have kelp on your bait, or you think you're snagged, slowly pull on it. If it's coming up off the bottom, set the hook. Half the time it's a flatty that just sucked it down and didn't move. As soon as it comes up off the bottom set the hook, cause if you wait till you feel a headshake it's usually too late. I learned that lesson at Goleta last week...
-Brian

This is what I do. Feel the tap, slowly crank on 'em and load up the rod (supposedly this is when they are climbing on the bait), then once the rod is loaded set the hook.

I have found that halibut will hold on to a plastic for quite a long time and in some cases the more you pull against it the tighter they hang on. Also, if they drop it slowly work it in the area and/or recast to the same spot as they will most likely pick it up again if they see it/find it.

I wouldn't worry too much about downsizing. I got most of my fish last weekend on a 6 inch Fishtrap. Downsize because you want to try something different or because they're not hitting what you have but I'm too sure I would downsize because you're missing strikes. Not at first anyway. A 5" inch bait is definetely not too big in most circumstances.

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You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

Alright, sounds good guys. I'm gonna try to get back on them this weekend. That was true about them hitting it again after you miss one. I got a bite on 3 consecutive casts to the same spot. Talk about frustrating! The reason I thought I should downsize was because all the tooth marks were back on the tail. I was thinking they could suck a smaller bait in easier. I'll experiment around and see what happens. Thanks guys -Phil

LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-01 AT 03:05 PM (PST)

Hey Phil, one thing you might look at is what lead head you are using. The chrome colored hooks are just terrible. You absolutely have to be using the fischo heads with the black hooks (mustad needlepoints I believe).
I fish my swimbaits with short hops and find that almost all bites come on the drop. Watch your line as you let the bait sink on slack line (I only hop about 1 foot off the bottom so you are just watching it in that short period). If it jumps, set the hook. Or if it hits bottom and the line looks "mushy" set the hook also (those are the bigger fish generally). You'll start to pick up on the difference between the swimbait hitting the bottom vs getting picked up by a fish. It's more of a feel thing than anything else. You'll get the hang of it and start hooking up.
Looking forward to your next report!

-Rob