Odd Strikes

[TRRANGER]

I was fishing Saturday night after 900pm and had an odd kinda strike. I was fishing a salt craw and had at 6 or 8 times a really hard

definate single strike. Not the rapid fire perch type bite just a solid hard thump. I would lower my rod and set the hook and haul water. What could I have tried to get them to commit? It happend a few times on the jig bite also. I was fishing 15-22 ft of water on channel swing it happened with a parallel presentation and a pependicular presentation, in relationship to the bank. Any thoughts would be nice. I was fishing a 6" salt craw and a 3/8 oz jig n craw.

Thanks In advance TR

[fishinwrench]

I had an experience like that while night fishing once. Turned out to be bats biting my line. Seriously.

[glennL]

gar???

[Paola Cat]

gar???

That's what I was thinking. They hit hard but you never seem to hook-up.

[jigfisherx]

I used to fish a lot at nite. At the using a blacklite fluoro line and a similar rig. Bats would fly into the line and was easy to see the point where the hit the line. That would give a strike like you are discribing.

[denjac]

I had an experience like that while night fishing once. Turned out to be bats biting my line. Seriously.

I agree. I have had it happen many a time.

[T-RockJaws]

Dang bats!!! They can sure full you into thinking you get a bite if you are not paying close attention. Happens to me just about every time I am out at night.

[rps]

First time I had a bat strike my line I was in a float tube - you know, the tire inner tube inside a canvas cover with a sling seat. Creeped me out something fierce.

You know, I was really dumb in those days. I would no more go out in a pond after dark in tube now days than I would jump from an airplane - with or without a chute.

[Quillback]

I was out before daylight last week a couple of mornings, had the backlight turned on on the depthfinder, which attracted bugs, which brought in a few bats, which were sometimes flying into my line, and it does feel like a bite, but I could see the bats so I knew what it was. Had one fly into the garage one morning as I was hooking up the boat, had to chase it out with a broom.

[Jason Essary]

TRanger, Im with ya, cept it happened to us 4 weeks ago. Fishing a friday niter out of Millcreek, Partner and I had almost a dozen of them on two banks. One HARD smack (one actually rattled the 17lb line in my guides) and nothing. First couple, we as u stated "hauled water" . After that we started trying to feed it to them, shaking the bait, dead sticking it, I even tried to make it seem like it was running away hoping they would hit it again.

Never had the fish come back one time, not one. These were not bats, have that happen all the time and yes ive ripped more than one time on a bat strike. These were fish, something big.

Still to this day dont know what it was, still think it might have been carp or maybe even walleye as a friend thinks that was what it was. Anyone have any better ideas?