Slowly pull the tip up out of the water, and take the tip up line in 1 hand, try to feel the fish biting...if it stops biting, jig the bait with your hand a little... when you feel pressure and are ready to set the hook, pull the line as hard and as far as u can and if the fish is still on pull it in hand over hand. Then get ready cause u can never be sure what you're gonna catch. If the fish is still strong u can let him run a few times, and a gaff might be a good idea if you plan on keepin them, because they can be tricky to get out of the hole.

Also remember to check your bait and make sure everything is working properly. One time I went with my friends and didn't get any bites all day until we went to pick up our traps, one of them was broken so the flag didnt go up when a fish was on it. We started to jig in the hole where the broken trap was and caught 10-12 good size perch out of that one hole in about 20 minutes