07-04-2015, 05:13 PM
[quote ratnest] Several Pop and drops. My theory is that the pop and drops are smaller fish such as WB or crappie, taking a bite out of the bait, sometimes swimming with it. Multiple times one day I had my bobber swimming away, set the hood with a tight line only to end up with nothing.
Any one else have theories on the pop and drop.[/quote]
[#0000FF]Since you mentioned white bass, I am assuming you were fishing in Utah Lake. And it is common for white bass to be pesky like that. Even very small whities will pick up a pretty good size chunk of carp meat or white bass and carry it around a bit. I have had them holding on to white bass their own size or larger when I reel in slowly to try to see what is tweaking my bait. And I have caught more than a few white bass on some pretty large baits.
But bullheads (mud cats) are often the guilty parties in pop and drop too. They don't just "gulp and go" like channels usually do. So if I suspect I am playing games with a mudder I just try to guess when it might have the hook inside its mouth and then POP it good. They have hard jaws and unless they have the hook inside and you have a sharp hook...and whack them good...you will miss a lot of them.
If you are using small to medium sized whole minnows you might get a crappie on occasion. But that is rare. They usually stay up in the water column and don't forage on the bottom as much.
On the other hand, both bluegills and perch will play "keep away" with you at times. But their bites are more "rattle rattle" than solid whacks.
Always interesting to try to guess what tricky denizens are down there pecking at your offerings. And sometimes it can even be crawdads.
Can't even guess how many times I have been fooled...setting the hook hard on a "mudder" and having it turn into a big channel. Or vice versa...hooking a bullhead or white bass I was sure was a channel cat. Just about the time I think I got the game figured out they change the players or the rules again.
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Any one else have theories on the pop and drop.[/quote]
[#0000FF]Since you mentioned white bass, I am assuming you were fishing in Utah Lake. And it is common for white bass to be pesky like that. Even very small whities will pick up a pretty good size chunk of carp meat or white bass and carry it around a bit. I have had them holding on to white bass their own size or larger when I reel in slowly to try to see what is tweaking my bait. And I have caught more than a few white bass on some pretty large baits.
But bullheads (mud cats) are often the guilty parties in pop and drop too. They don't just "gulp and go" like channels usually do. So if I suspect I am playing games with a mudder I just try to guess when it might have the hook inside its mouth and then POP it good. They have hard jaws and unless they have the hook inside and you have a sharp hook...and whack them good...you will miss a lot of them.
If you are using small to medium sized whole minnows you might get a crappie on occasion. But that is rare. They usually stay up in the water column and don't forage on the bottom as much.
On the other hand, both bluegills and perch will play "keep away" with you at times. But their bites are more "rattle rattle" than solid whacks.
Always interesting to try to guess what tricky denizens are down there pecking at your offerings. And sometimes it can even be crawdads.
Can't even guess how many times I have been fooled...setting the hook hard on a "mudder" and having it turn into a big channel. Or vice versa...hooking a bullhead or white bass I was sure was a channel cat. Just about the time I think I got the game figured out they change the players or the rules again.
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