Do You Agree With This Statement?

[B@ssCrzy]

I was reading an article on summer fishing and the article made the following statement...."Remember, during hot weather, a rapidly-fished lure is always vastly more productive than one presented slowly." I thought I read somewhere else that during the dog days of summer fish actually can revert more to winter behavior when it comes to strikes and so slowing down was the ticket. What has been your experience?

[bassh8er]

Both.

[fishking247]

it depends, i don't think there is a general rule as to when to fish a lure fast or slow. i've had days in the winter when water temps were in the 30's and the fish were smashing a spinnerbait like crazy burned just below the surface. most say when water is that cold you should fish as slow as possible. let the fish tell you what they want, not the guy sitting behind a desk writing articles lol

[clayton86]

My last trip out when I was home I was having a hell of a day trying to get a bite till I decided why not try slow dead slow and boom it was like magic one fish after another basicly dead sticking a jig. 2 days before that they smashed it soon as it touched the water. Like said previously listen to the fish.

[buzzfrog]

let the fish, i was board dragging jigs last Feb, i put a frog on a boom a few dinks. so anything is possible. The above fast for summer and slow for winter, is theories that prove to be accecpted but remember the exception to every rule..

[Darren.]

Well, personally I don't fish many reaction baits. I have in the past, had some success, but not nearly the success I have with soft plastics. Not even close, which is why I fish soft plastics almost exclusively now.

So during dog days of summer I usually throw Zoom finesse worms, wacky rigged. I throw them at laydowns, various hiding spots, etc.

None of this is to say a reaction bait specialist won't have great success fishing dog days. This is my M.O. based on my experiences.

[rb56]

lately for me when it hits the water BAM! they grab it, or when i start working it. problem is they're all small bass.

[ClackerBuzz]

all great advice. i use the process of elimination technique. reaction w/ blades and noise are fun to burn along. but if their not hitting i try a silent reaction (swimjig, silent crank etc). if no takers i slow down to finesse. thats how i like to fish. the trick is knowing how fast to change lures. if i known i threw a spinnerbait in two awesome locations (along a great weed line, along a tree know to produce, etc) and it netted me nothing, i know to change quickly....no matter what season it is

I'd be less likely to tie a spinnerbait on in the middle of august in a small farm pond w/ 88 deg water temp. but more likely to tie it on in a 1000+ acre reservoir w/ a tree w/ 20ft of water near by.

Edited August 30, 2012 by ClackerBuzz

[Lake Forest Bassin]

I've been fishing slow moving bait's: shakey head's, senko's, stand up jigs,etc. I wasn't getting bit. I tied on a rattle trap and BAM caught 6 fish from shore within a 2 hour period. Needless to say, I've got a lipless crank on one of my rods now.

[Nitrofreak]

all great advice. i use the process of elimination technique. reaction w/ blades and noise are fun to burn along. but if their not hitting i try a silent reaction (swimjig, silent crank etc). if no takers i slow down to finesse. thats how i like to fish. the trick is knowing how fast to change lures. if i known i threw a spinnerbait in two awesome locations (along a great weed line, along a tree know to produce, etc) and it netted me nothing, i know to change quickly....no matter what season it is

I'd be less likely to tie a spinnerbait on in the middle of august in a small farm pond w/ 88 deg water temp. but more likely to tie it on in a 1000+ acre reservoir w/ a tree w/ 20ft of water near by.

Very, very good statement, I like it !!

X2

[Bluebasser86]

If I followed that advice I wouldn't catch half the fish I do during the summer. You can't make blanket statements like that about fish. They don't know the rules that we set for them. Both fast and slow moving baits have their moments during the summer.

[Michael DiNardo]

A bass is a cold-blooded creature therefore the surrounding temps affect the biological processes of the fish. Basically this means that the fish digests slower and does not need to eat as much when the water is cold. When the water is in the high 70's and low 80's the fish will need to eat more to maintain body mass because the fish's metabolism is moving faster. With this in mind, I think people mix this up by saying bass want fast moving baits when it is hot. It does not necessarily mean this. If you equate a slow moving lure as food, the bass only needs to eat the lure once per day when the water is in the 40's, but will have to eat the lure maybe five times when the water is in the 80's. I do not think it dictates whether a bass will prefer a faster or slower lure, only how many times it will have to eat a slow or fast moving lure during the day.

Mike

[papajoe222]

The article was likely about that topic and didn't give you any options if that style of fishing didn't produce. Fish are normally in one of three catagories when it comes to their activity level. If they're in the first, active, fast moving baits are the way to go and sometimes you can trigger a school of fish into activity with a fast moving bait. If they're in what I call an inbetween mood, they're likely holding close to bottom or cover and will strike at a lure presented close to them. Sometimes a fast moving presentation will work then. When they're in a neutral mood, they're likely suspended near structure or burried in some form of cover. Their strike zone is small their activity level is low and they're not looking to eat. A fast moving bait is only going to get a response if it bangs into whatever cover they're burried in, or it runs into the suspended school. This is what is often refered to as a reaction strike.

The tough part isn't figuring out which mood they're in, their location will give that away, it's figuring out how to trigger them into taking your offering. You can, and often do, get a reaction strike fishing a jig or soft plastic, but I guarantee a fast drop will outproduce a slow one with the same jig in the summertime. If for no other reason than the fact that you can cover more targets with it.

In that context, I'd have to agree with the author that a fast retrieve will outproduce a slow one in the summer.

The only thing I'd add is that if the fished are stressed from high water temps combined with low water levels or low oxygen/high PH levels, You could knock them on the head with a lure and not get a reaction strike. Covering water with a fast moving or fast falling bait is NOT going to put many, if any, fish in your livewell.

[WRB]

Bass, like almost all fish are cold blooded animals and the water they live in dictates their metabolic rate, the amount of food they need to consume to grow and thrive. Warmer water within the basses comfort zone, the bass will be more active and their prey more available. Life is easier for bass during the summer than during the winter and they eat more. The logic that bass are bass are more active during the summer is true. If you can locate active bass, then use lures that will appeal to active feeding bass. The problem is bass are only actively feeding about 10 to 20% of the time during a 24 hour period. That means the bass are inactive more time than they are active, year around. Inactive bass may not react to the prey around them or your lure. It's during the transition period from being inactive to becoming active, that bass may prefer slower moving lures that look like an easy meal and strike when not feeding and this occurs about far more often, then bass chasing faster moving lures or prey.

Tom

[LgMouthGambler]

it depends, i don't think there is a general rule as to when to fish a lure fast or slow. i've had days in the winter when water temps were in the 30's and the fish were smashing a spinnerbait like crazy burned just below the surface. most say when water is that cold you should fish as slow as possible. let the fish tell you what they want, not the guy sitting behind a desk writing articles lol

Yup

[bassfisherjk]

Try both.

[Raul]

Bass don´t pay attention to statements.