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