After A Miss; What Do You Do......

[Hunter53]

When fishing with plastics and you miss a bite; do you re-rig your bait on the hook so it is just right or immediately throw back (no matter how the plastic is on the hook) to the exact spot you missed the fish?

I throw back immediately with however the plastic is on the hook and it seems I almost always get bit again. Doesn't matter if it is a craw, creature or even a soft jerkbait. Just throw it back and let it sink until the hit; which usually is pretty much right away.

The reason I ask is it seems on the fishing shows they always re-rig the bait before throwing back. I am not going to change but it got me wondering why they take the time to re-rig when in my experience it is better not to.

[Quillback]

Well the first thing I do when I miss a fish is throw myself down on the deck, roll around, and scream: WHY ME! WHY ME! I DON'T DESERVE THIS!

But seriously, I always will fix the bait, never thought of throwing it back in as it is - I'll have to try it sometime. I can usually fix them pretty quickly BTW.

[dtrs5kprs]

Best bet is to not move the bait after the miss, especially in clear water. Instead of reeling it back to the boat, drop it back to the fish. Good chance the same fish, or another that watched it flare on the bait, will give it a go. For me, bringing the bait back to the boat lowers the likelihood of getting bit again.

Am certain the tv guys don't re-rig to expose the sponsor's product...

[Quillback]

I should have added, that if my bait is out a ways from the boat and I miss a bite, I'll let it drop and see if they'll pick it up again. I also think that quite often the next bite might come from another fish, not the one that originally bit it, spotted bass especially seem to get competitive when they see one of their buddies drop a bait. But if I get my bait back to the boat and it needs fixing, I'll fix it before casting out again.

[Hunter53]

Yes I will agree on just leaving it if it is away from the boat. I should have worded it better. I meant more so when it is close to the boat and shallow enough that you pretty much jerk the bait out of the water. That is when I throw back immediately. Can still see the swirl or the hole in the moss from the bite to aim at.

In those cases try going back in immediately and I think you will get bit more. Maybe not though. LOL

[Old plug]

Sometimes if i miss a bite i just let it drop where it is for a moment then move it a couple hopes often times they came right back and hit it again.

[abkeenan]

Whats a bite?

[Champ188]

I'm with dtrs5kprs on letting it fall back to the fish. I have caught a lot of TR fish doing that with a shaky head, especially spots. Seems like they'll come back more often than not. Of course, sometimes I have to grab the handle on my Lew's Speed Spin reel that is mounted to my St. Croix Avid rod and wind my Zoom fiinesse worm (and Bass-X Screwball head tied to 6-pound P-Line mono) back to the Mercury Pro XS-powered Ranger Z-119. Of course, before making another cast, I make sure to glance at my Humminbird 998C and make sure I'm still in position; if not, I step on the ultra-quiet Minn Kota Fortrex 101 before throwing back out there.

[countryred]

It depends.. Sometimes I have rigged another small bait such as a finesse jig or smaller texas rig and throw it back it there. But most of the time I just rerig the 1st bait an throw it back in there.

[Jerry Rapp]

I'm with dtrs5kprs on letting it fall back to the fish. I have caught a lot of TR fish doing that with a shaky head, especially spots. Seems like they'll come back more often than not. Of course, sometimes I have to grab the handle on my Lew's Speed Spin reel that is mounted to my St. Croix Avid rod and wind my Zoom fiinesse worm (and Bass-X Screwball head tied to 6-pound P-Line mono) back to the Mercury Pro XS-powered Ranger Z-119. Of course, before making another cast, I make sure to glance at my Humminbird 998C and make sure I'm still in position; if not, I step on the ultra-quiet Minn Kota Fortrex 101 before throwing back out there.

you forgot to turn on the hydro wave and forgot to douse your bait with Uncle Buck's fish smelly lotion. No wonder you didn't catch it on the follow up.