I'll second Mooch's tip. I got that one from a guide a good while ago. He believed in it like gospel and it works. You can always see the strike before you feel it. Watch the line, not the rod tip.

Another thing you could try is a slow retrieve through the drift. You'll tick the bottom a little less, hang up less and a higher percentage of the ticks you feel will be strikes, plus the strikes feel more like strikes and less like the bottom.