I feel tap-tap-tap and miss every time. What am I doing wrong?
You are striking at the test. The perch strike is two-stage: the first peck (often the first two or three) knocks the bait loose and samples it; commitment — the actual suction pull — comes after. Swinging on tap one rips the bait out of a mouth that has not closed on it. Instead, feel the tap, hold or slightly lower the rod so the fish meets no resistance, and wait for the taps to become weight or a slow, steady pull-down; then lift smoothly. Counting one-and-two after the first tap converts more fish than any lure change will.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about How it strikes
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- When exactly should I swing?
- How does a yellow perch fight once hooked, and how do I land the jumbos?
- Will perch follow a jig up off bottom — even to the ice hole?
Same topic, other species
- Why does my line go slack instead of thumping when a crappie bites? — Crappie
- Why do largemouth sometimes just "hold" the bait instead of running with it? — Largemouth Bass
- How do I convert follows into strikes? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- What is the S-strike, and why should it change how I retrieve? — Northern Pike
- Why do smallmouth slash at my moving bait and miss? — Smallmouth Bass
- What is the difference between a sipping rise and a slashing rise? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- What does a walleye bite actually feel like? — Walleye