The method is a slow bottom crawl and hits seem to depend upon the speed. While one fish will mouth the worm so softly that you can barely detect it, another will seem to pounce upon it. Good, solid, hard pulls are less common. Popping plugs are less common. Popping plugs in the deep night are fished slowly Gurgles, causing most hits to come in the long interlude between.
Strikes come like a cinder block hitting the water.
Live hiners are a classic lesson in predation. Weed height depending, most use a brightly colored float which tells the whole story. Shiners tend to panic when a bass is moving close by, pulling on the float in jerks because it is too heavy for the baitfish to tow. The angler is warned of impending action because the shiner is screaming for help in this way. After an initial run, the line will stop moving and this is the time when the bass is turning the bait around to swallow it in such a way that gill covers and fins will fold.