clear this up, how do you line watch

[MBrown4]

so after a few years of fishing with spring bobbers and producing a fair amount, ive realized how bad i get out fished by line watchers.i personally do not like the spring bobber as ive missed many many fish.i like just the plain rod. my confusion here is how do you line watch? how do you tell whats going on down there?

[slipperybob]

There are two main places to line watch.  The first place is is looking at the line tension in between the the two line guides.  Any change in the line is indicative of a bite.  The other part is to look at the line immediately past the tip guide.  It is basically a microscope of a spring bobber.  You're looking for the changes from the line bend at the tip.  You see it move when you're not moving your rod, it's a good indication of a bite.  There are other methods too, but these are the two that I use primarily.

[iceman260]

Line watching is a way of being more productive .Some fish are very shy biters so watchjing your line for the slightest movement up or down idicates a strike. the spring bobber and colored line helps you detect those movements. I use yellow line its easier to see,set the hook at the slightest movement. Hope this helps.

[panfishman13]

the way i learned it is you watch the line between your rod and the hole, set the hook if;
it moves
it goes tight
you lower the rod tip and get slack
you suddenly get slack through nothing you did
it twitches
or it sways very slightly then stops moving

[MBrown4]

thanks for the replies guys.im also going to try this on a quicktip rod so if i cant get it down too good theres a chance the tip will help a bit.

[SPADED]

all this is very true, i use all these, all i would add is that i watch the line at the hole sometimes too, to see if it starts moving around the hole.. one jigging tech is to actually do that yourself by moving your rod around in circles around the hole slowly,i thnk its called "swimming"  and if you see the line stop moving around when your doing your rings with the rod, that is a bite. i do still like the spring bobbers tho  i have the kind that you can push in and pull it out so sometimes i just push it in to line watch

[stripernut]

The vast amount of the time I just use the line over the finger trick with very good successes most of the time. If the fish are hitting very light (many of the fish I hook are from feeling a lighting of the jig) I put a little "Fold" in the line a bit above the water. Watching the "Fold" straiten or increasing is a great indicator for light bits.
Tight Lines,
Allan

[ianripken]

the way i learned it is you watch the line between your rod and the hole, set the hook if;
it moves
it goes tight
you lower the rod tip and get slack
you suddenly get slack through nothing you did
it twitches
or it sways very slightly then stops moving

I'm guessing the OP is talking about tight-lining. If so, this is the way I tight-line using gold line.
I've been taught by some very good tight-liners and have passed along what I learned from them to others. While teaching a buddy to tight-line I glanced over at his line (he was a few feet away) and told him to set the hook. He reeled in a 24" chain pickerel.
Very few bites get past me, but this has come with a lot of practice. I was fishing with a guy on one of his lakes for perch. I was tight-lining he was using spring-bobbers. I out caught him and his son combined 2-1. I'm biased, but it's not just a fun way to catch fish, and one that requires skill to know what's going on at the other end of the line, but it is also a very good way to fish.
Good luck as you learn!

[Rebelss]

The vast amount of the time I just use the line over the finger trick with very good successes most of the time. If the fish are hitting very light (many of the fish I hook are from feeling a lighting of the jig) I put a little "Fold" in the line a bit above the water. Watching the "Fold" straiten or increasing is a great indicator for light bits.
Tight Lines,
Allan

I second this method...

[MBrown4]

i figured a twitch or slack would be obvious signs if they are aggressive but what would a fish that it just mouthing the jig quick look like?would that me a twitch or line moving

[scmelik]

what I do isn't technically tight lining but I pound, a lot like Dave Genz does, and when you do that its tough to be a true line watcher because you are constantly getting some slack in the line.  I am fishing off feel, not necessarily for feel of the bite but the feel of the jig, anytime I feel something different about the jig I set the hook, if the weight of the jig disappears I set the hook, if there is all of a sudden extra weight I set the hook.  I have tried tight lining before but I naturally have a shake in my hand that when I am holding the rod it makes my line dance just enough that its hard to get a good view of the line.

[JigginRod]

Everyone has their own techniques but allot of the time it can be difficult to explain in words. The best way to do this is with a video. In the 2nd half of this video Dave Young(one of the best tightliners on the NAIFC) shows how he tighlines and this is the method I use.
http://www.davegenz.com/Dave_Genz.com/Videos/Entries/2006/12/15_2006_North_American_Ice_Fishing_Championship.html

[ianripken]

Everyone has their own techniques but allot of the time it can be difficult to explain in words. The best way to do this is with a video. In the 2nd half of this video Dave Young(one of the best tightliners on the NAIFC) shows how he tighlines and this is the method I use.
http://www.davegenz.com/Dave_Genz.com/Videos/Entries/2006/12/15_2006_North_American_Ice_Fishing_Championship.html

Right, this is the way I fish as well. One of the guys who taught me was Dave Young's NAIFC partner, Mike. We had Mike and his brother, Dave out for pheasant and duck hunting along with my FIL, Kirk o' the Lakes. Good times.

This photo brought to you by Coca-Cola.



Dog was too concerned with grooming herself.

[Buckeye John]

Thats a good vidio for us new to ice fishing!