"fishing Slow"

[Clint C.]

Glad you got some!

[HeavyDluxe]

This was my first full season of targeting bass... After reading RoadWarrior's post that guaranteed I'd catch fish (linky), I decided to focus on slowly fishing soft plastics at the start of the season. Whether it's t-rigged or weightless, this has become the most productive technique for me.

I'm sure some of that has to do with confidence now, but I think there's some logic there as well. For one thing, I've learned to be a far more patient, methodical fisherman and - as another posted mentioned - that has benefits for me regardless of technique.

In addition, I think that active/feeding fish may be keying on one particular bait sometimes. But, more often, I would think that they are actively feeding and will strike almost anything that looks like food and enters the strike zone. But, when fish are passive, you need to keep a bait in the zone and tease or provoke them into biting. By fishing more slowly in general, I think you increase the likelihood that you will get bit all around.

I'm sure I've missed fish on days when I 'should have' thrown one thing or the other. But I have rarely smelled the skunk this year *and* I've caught both numbers and quality fish.

Patience, as they say, is a virtue.

[SirSnookalot]

It's just my own priority, I prefer fishing moving baits, I have a hard time keeping my interest up fishing slow for bass. I don't have as much problem fishing a little slow in saltwater, but sill prefer moving baits there too.

[HeavyDluxe]

It's just my own priority, I prefer fishing moving baits, I have a hard time keeping my interest up fishing slow for bass. I don't have as much problem fishing a little slow in saltwater, but sill prefer moving baits there too.

Worthwhile clarification... To me, fishing is either done for food or for fun. I'm not fishing competitively, so there's just expenses in the hobby - no profits.

Therefore, like any hobby, do what you enjoy. My grandfather used to fish a worm-and-bobber only because it reminded him of being a kid in the mountains of NC. Likewise, if anyone just enjoys fishing [insert bait or tactic here], have at it! However, if what you enjoy is catching fish, odds are you will have to learn to vary your presentations and setups in order to produce more consistently.

Bottom line: Have fun. If you're not having fun, change it up!

[Bluebasser86]

I'm glad it's fall so I can finally stop fishing so slow! Now is the time to get out the cranks, spinnerbaits, traps, and chatterbaits now that we have water temps around 60 instead of the high 80's like we had a couple months ago. Once the water gets down in the low 50's I'll start slowing it down. I'm with Deep on this one, I can do it but I have to have confidence in the area I'm in.

[Curved]

Been trying a Roboworm straight tail in Margarita Mutilator (neon blue) on a dropshot and caught some decent fish Saturday. Deadsticking is easy mode fishing. Just have to find the fish and they'll be catches. Finding them is the hard part.

[WRB]

I tend to fish slow year around, however it's where you fish that counts, not how you fish. Most bass anglers fishing from a bass boat have a sonar unti and a trolling motor, they do not use their sonar unit effectively to locate where the bait is, what depth, and where the active bass are located....before they start fishing!

It's easy to fish slow if you know the bass are in the area you are fishing. Find the bass, then catch the bass with lures and presentations that the bass will strike.

If you prefer to fish faster moving lures and like to move around a lot, then do this very early in the morning when active bass tend to be up near shoreline cover. If you catch bass your day is already good, if not than it is time to locate the bass. My ritual is locating the depth of baitfish and bass when I launch my boat, before I start fishing to eliminate as much unproductive water as possible. Look for baitfish around the launch ramp and docks, with your eyes and your sonar unit. I have had some exceptional days and never left the marina!

My next ritual is metering the first major point near the marina, between the 2 areas you should have a good idea what depth the bait and bass are located.

Tom

[craww]

I'll slow up and slowly finesse a plastic or jig along if I'm confident a fish could be looking at it or is nearby. Definetly not my favorite way to fish.

Deadsticking works, no doubt about it. I think its one of the most underutilized techniques in bass fishing. Probably due to the tournament mindset everyone has. I've caught alot of bass while working out a professional overun lol. Ive also had GREAT results working 8", 3oz topwater plugs and dead sticking for minutes at a time. Its HARD though.

Anyone whos ever watched a gill hooked fish dieing after release has noticed that they're usually still more than struggling.

[Darren.]

Went out today for about 3 hours, but I picked up a bag of 5" Senkos before hand. T-rigged them weightless and just let them do there thing, AND I finally caught a few bass though they were only dinks. Tried a few other lures, but only the Senkos produced. Now I can sleep a little better tonight with high hopes of better fish in the future.

There ya go! Hey, a dink is a fish and not a skunk!

Given I fish soft plastics most of the time, I consider myself fairly proficient at "slow" fishing. The bite has been quite good this fall using soft baits. I haven't thrown any cranks or spinnerbaits, but I s'pose I'll have to take a rod for those techniques just to try it out again. I just can't seem to get into that stuff though. Fairly one-sided fisherman by those standards, I guess. But it works for me, so I keep doing it. Don't fish tourneys, just for fun.

[RB 77]

In some instances you can never fish to slow. Slow down, just when you think you have slowed down enough, slow down even more. A soft plastics cast fished slowly can last anywhere from 5-10 minutes, maybe even more. Dead stickin’ can be one of the most effective presentations on a lake any given day. My go to technique for this would be a “fly lined” stik bait or t-rigged straight tail worm for cover and a c-rigged lizard or creature for open water.

[haydenf96]

Fish at different speeds

Let the fish tell you what speed to fish <-- Probably the number one mistake by all anglers.

I do have trouble fishing slow, I am a run and gun fisherman. I fish fast, its just my style but I have taught myself how to fish slow. It just takes patience.

Trust me it is hard!

[merc1997]

one thing that i noticed several times in this thread is that several people have mentioned that their catching has slowed down going into fall. next, they are wondering if they need to slow down their presentations. my first thoughts about not catching fish right now would be that you might be dealing with turnover. once you get through turnover and the water o2 levels stabilize back out, you should see the bite pick back up. also, remember that as bass break up their summer schools, they tend to be scattered for a period of time until they settle back into their fall patterns.

tom gave some very good advice about seeing at what depths the bait fish are holding. remember it is not very often that you will find bass without food. there are times that you can find bait and not any fish, but very seldom will you find bass without food nearby.

bo

[geo g]

I try for figure out what the fish want by fishing different weights and different speeds until I get something going. Livivng in south Florida our bass are effected by drops in water temp more then northern bass. Its December now so I down size baits and slow down. It has been very productive recently especially when bank fishing. With heavy vegitation and shallow water your stuck fishing plastics from the bank. I will dead stick it on the fall and then jerk and stop back to shore. Zoom centepedes in watermelon red have worked very well with many fish in the 4 to 8 pound range. Also trick worms fished slow have been productive. When you think your fishing slow, slow down even more. We are starting to see signs of bedding fish south of Orlando. Fishing slow will save many a nonproductive day. Good luck.

[Gangley]

Here in south east Texas, water temps are still in the mid 60's. There is no reason to slow down unless the fish have lockjaw because of a pressure system or some other external factor. We wont slow down until the water drops another 10 degrees so it's rattletrap,crank,spinner bait time right now for the most part. Jigs and worms get it done as well right now, but they aren't worked with a slow presentation. Each cast of a worm or jig takes about 1-2 minutes to complete which is average for me. A slow presentation may take up to 5 minutes.

If your a football fan and listen to the game on the radio while you fish, a good way to go about moving your worm or jig as the water temps drop into the low 50's is to cast and let it sit during the game and move it slightly at the start of the radio commercials. That way your mind doesnt focus on the fact that your lure is just sitting there, and the time is enjoyable and passes quickly. That is unless your a Cowgirls fan.........GO TEXANS!

[Deleted account]

I find I catch more fish if I don't fish slow, also in cold water fish tend to stack up, so once you find them, you can catch a few. Once they won't hit a spinnerbait and crankbait consistently, I'll switch to lipless, finesse jig, chatter, jerk, and blade in that order. I'm sure you could dig a hole in the ice and catch them with a blade. I find a swift but short jerk works best, most bites occur as the lure stops, or begins to flutter down.

[tnriverluver]

Water temps are around 49-51 here in W. Tn right now and fishing slow is the name of the game. With 15-30 mph wind blowing here nearly everyday this year for some reason, fishing slow is sometimes very difficult