OK so your driftin your pink worm from your Calcutta and you mind is tuned to that Tic ..Tic from the lead on the rocks,how often do you want to feel the tic.tic.tic? or tic............tic?
And how do you distinguish the tic of a rock from that subtle tic of a soft taking steelie.
I believe that some people have a seventh sense for fish. I`ve watched the experts suddenly tighten the line on a fish when there was no sign of any kind that they had been touched by a fish ;yet they knew instinctively that there was a fish there.
I watched an old waman fishing in Fiji and she held the line just between the ball of her thumb and first finger with hardly any pressure but when a fish touched her bait she whipped that line in so fast it was a blur.
So you experts who do you nail those ghost fish.

keep it simple. all ya need is a 3in. long stick, 40ft. of 15# u.g. a small chunk of lead and a 3/0 hook. pick a nice sunny afternoon in mid may, stroll up to the chain link fence at the cowlitz fish ladder and look around like a tourist. hold the stick(rod) in your left hand. now with your right hand put a small egg cluster on the hook and start to strip line from between the middle fingers on your left hand (this is your rod hand). once the lead hits bottom take up 3 wraps on your rod. you will now feel 3 sharp tugs. set the hook now. start here and work your way up to an IMX. Oh yea. I got a 1082c I can let go for 250.00. It also comes with a G.Loomis hat.

It's tic...tic..tic.tic......tic..longline...longline. As for that fish bite, it becomes pretty noticable over time..
Keith

Very very sharp hooks so the fish hooks itself

don't think I "felt" a steele nibble until I got my GL3.. I had fished crappy rods for years and then I took a guided trip on the Wilson.. Bought a my 1025 GL3 about a week later.. I will never fish a 2x4 again.. (well mebee for halibut)

I was fishing with my GFs dad in Alaska last summer and he is a firm beliver that a rod souldn't cost more than $40... so we were fishing side by side, him with a fiberglass Diawa Black Widow (with 6" of the tip busted off) and I'm fishig my Loomis. He hooked 2 kings.. I hooked 15.. ( still can't convince him to give a good rod a shot...)

Snig, your g/f dad and i would get along great!! for some reason i get sick when i think of the Loomis lifestyle. But i bet there nice and i'd like to have one. I have a 8.5ft Browning Syntec IM7 with an Okuma Epix EF40 Spin on it(i feel belittled now). Slow taper rod, good backbone, but the top 3 feet is unbelievably sensative, so much so i fish this rod for lake rainbows and they bend the hell out of it. Similar to a noodle rod. So when you drift this pole you can pretty much map the bottom into your memory cuz you can feel everything, and filter out that drag+tap+freefall feeling from all the normal tapin and dragin going on. The nibblers have no where to hide. Sharpen those hooks too.

Besides the tic'ing, i'll also watch the line speed. This is half visual, half 'feel'. You 'sense' the line pause, diffent from the tic on a rock, and set the hook. The really tough ones are the ones that come from behind, pick up the bait and swim with it for a few seconds. The lead still tics, and unless your sharp hook finds a good place, it'll be spit out and you never know it happened... This is where you hope the yarn gets tangle in the teeth, or that he really likes the taste or texture of your bait and holds on a little longer.
I apply this to drifting a (usually weighted) fly and even to spoon\spinner fishing.

Here's the deal. You want to feel the tic every 8-10 ft. or so. If it bounces frequently, it doesn't look natural. You'll catch way more fish this way.
Cuthroat

FFF, wasn't trying to belittle you or any one who isn't part of the "loomis" culture... I'm not really into the "loomis" culture.. personally I think you should fish with whatever the hell you wanna fish with.. I own own 2 loomis rods.. they were purchased b4 I even knew Rainshadow evisted.. I will never buy another new (full priced) loomis again.. What I was tryin to point out in my post was that you'll probibly have a better chance of feeling the "bite" with a decent Graphite rod compaired to a fiberglass trollin rod.

I love your question Coot, dumb or not. I get all tingly just thinking about that tic......tic...tic....... I'm far from being an expert steelhead drift fisherman but I manage to catch a fish now and then. I'm sure that I miss detecting far more bites than I pick up on. Not to diminish the place for skill, but I agree with your theory that some fishermen (and fisherwomen) have a strong 'sixth sense'. I've experienced it several times myself. A few seconds before the take I'll get particularly energetic and somehow know that I'm about to get a bite and, sure enough, "there's one!" There's alot of magic in that for me. Wish that I could bottle it, then again, maybe not.

Ron

I personaly am in awe of all acomplished drift fisherman!That feel thing,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,tic,thats all I feel!

i read 3 to 4 times a drift
tyler

You guys are giving really brilliant reasons to hang a bobber above your drift rigs. Join the 21st century! Bobber goes down. Fish on. No need for a $300 rod. Use a broomstick if you like. Life is grand!

How dare you suggest that! No more tic.....tic?

Would it were so Thumper but Mr.Steelhead has a different program.Many ,maybe most steelhead dont grab the bait or fly on the way past;they drift back downstream eyeing it ;finally they may take hold softly and turn back for their lie. when they do the float merely tips sideways .Long before they pull the float under they will have let go and you strike air. You have to watch that float like a hawk and if it tips, tighten up. It helps to put an airial on your float it shows that slight tip faster than the float itself.

Oh great so instead of tic,tic,tic,tic,tic, I would get to stare thinking bob,bob,bob,bob,bob,

What's up with tic tic tic ?? If your using a good (Canadian) bobber, and not one 3 inches around, it'll go under when the fish grabs it. Even drift fishing you don't need to feel tic tic tic, as the Mighty Zog taught me one day on the river. NO TICS, but we caught Head.

I don't know about myself as fishon just seems to happen....friends well "Hey Joe set the HOOK MAN!"

gooose

I personally like to feel 3 - 5 tics throughout a drift which equals about 8 - 10 feet a tic. I use to be a tic every 1 - 2 feet kinda guy but one day I got lazy and didn't want to put on a heavier piece of lead the result was I caught 3 nice steelys and that rig lasted me most of the day because it was just above the snaggy rocks.

I think with every tic the rod handle seems to give me a "thick" feel. There are other times I get the "thick" feel when there is no tic....that's when I set the hook.....it's usually, fish on. Can't explain it any other way.