Posted this on the main forum, but wanted to get some input from the MS single polers too.

I have messed around with this some over the past few years, but have tried to get serious with it this year. Some days they "thump" it pretty good and it is not hard to detect a strike. Other days, only the line will "twitch" or the bait doesn't fall as far as I know it could. Most of the big fish I have caught this year were near the bottom and I never got any indication of a bite. I would pic up to move it or twitch it some for action. Then and only then would I notice it felt "heavy" and set the hook. Sometimes they would feel me before I had time to set the hook. I have noticed that the whites seem to be closer to the bottom and the blacks seem to be holding higher up. The blacks seem to always thump it. The whites seem to be more likely to just suck in the bait. I have tried 1/32, 1/24, 1/16, and 1/8 oz heads in many different bait types.

Questions to ya'll is: What helps you detect a strike? What set up helps you feel the bite better. What baits have you found the fish hit harder than others.

Any other tips you want to post or send me in a PM are welcome.