Goofy Strikes On The Rod Tip?

No less than three times this year, when I’ve had a flat chomp on my bully, the rod tip has gone from left to right…like a tuning fork. In fact my first fish this year did that and I was so amazed at the action of the rod…I fogot about the fish for amoment and just watched the rod tip! Once it started bending and taking out line…I came back to my senses (although that could be argued) and landed the flat.

I could understand this…if the rod was in a side rod holder and the line would pull the rod to one side…but this happened on rods that were in back rod holders and a strike would bend the rod down…towards the fish…not left to right…

Any thoughts?

DID YOU HAVE ANY BATS FLYING AROUND?? THEY ARE KNOWN TO HIT LINES IN THE DARK

Good point there G. and that does happen frequently…but this was an actual bite…unless the bat hitting the line triggered a strike! If that’s the case…I need to know where I can buy some bats from!

i am not a big catfisherman, but could the flat be shaking his head at this point with the bait in his mouth? I would think that that would cause the rod to go side to side instead of down

IT’S THE BATS???
HAD THE SAME THING HAPPENED LAST WEEK WITH FISHER DAVES CREW.

Brain knows what the rod looks like when the bats hit.. I dont think he is getting coincidental bat strikes just before every hit.

It might be just the way your rods sit in the holders, and the direction the line is going out.. you get a quick strike which loads the rod moentarily.. then the rod unloads and *quivers* in the rod holder momentarily not under load.. probably just happens that your rod holder is more prone to allow side to side play(horizontal) vs. verticle… and vertical play would stress line line further putting a damper on the rod flex.. if the rod is flexing side to side. the would be steady tension, not inadvertant(sp?).

You on any medication that states on the bottle, “Do not take before catting?”

Or how about was there a lightning storm approaching each time this happened?

Is it happening while the rod is loaded slightly or after the the initial hit?

If its after the initial hit its just the rod “rocking in the holder. I have Cabelas or Scotty holders on my cheap river boat and they do the same thing.

I have also seen a slow back and forth action on the rod when under load from a cat comming upstream. I can only assume its the line moving back and forth in the current. With a bow in the line , especialy with braids that may tend to flatten a little , the line can move farther distance from side to side in the current. Of coure this is only a guess.

Its fairly common and something I watch for to indicate a cat has picked up the bait and started moving upstream, but it is weird!

Makes sense to me.

To be honest…all three times I just happened to glance at the rod and twanggggg…so I really don’t know it they were loaded before.

You know it’s a fish…without a doubt…just a really odd.

Drugs of the 70’s might be another good reason…

I have seen that usually happens when a good cat rips your bait from the hook. Bout that time your rod is guitar instead of rod.