How Bass Bite Jigs

[WRB]

When you look at largemouth bass closely you see their mouth is not only big, it's hinges at the bottom of their face and closes at the top like a trap door. When their mouth is fully open it's like the opening of a cave nearly equaling the size of it's head. The mouth opening tapers smaller towards the back of it's throat, like a funnel and that is how it functions. Bass don't bite and grip prey with their teeth, lip teeth are tiny and used to act like sand paper to provide a non slip gripping surface.

Bass swim near to it's prey and pop open their mouth creating a hydraulic pump forcing water out their gills and engulf the prey as it is sucked into the big mouth and funneled back into it's throat area, then the mouth clamps shut. If the prey is longer than the mouth depth the prey is captured by the gripping lips. Inside the basses mouth is their tongue which is a strong mussel attached to the lower jaw and two rolls of gripping catledge crunchers with teeth similar ti the lips that also grip the prey as the basses tongue presses against the closed mouth roof.

Engulf, crunch to kill and swallow, that how bas bite prey. Sometimes a bass will bite with their lips when they do not want to eat it, just give it a warning nip or to pick it up to move it. This is common for spawning bass that are not eating nest intruders. It's also a common practice for smallmouth and spotted bass to grab crawdads with big pitchers to disarm, remove the claw arm, before engulfing the crawdad to eat it. Largemouth bass rarely disarm a crawdad, they just engulf it and kill it.

When a LMB sees your jig, it swims close and engulfs it. Jigs are small and fit inside the basses mouth. The bass then crunches down and makes a split second decision; reject it or eat it and most of the time they reject it. When you feel that little tick, that is the jig hitting the back of the basses mouth, set the hook! If you feel like the jig isn't there or becomes weightless, set the hook! If you feel several ticks, it could be any fish biting the trailer or shirt materials, don't set the hook, just give a little line pressure, if you feel any weight, then set the hook.

If the basses mouth is open when you set the hook, you miss, unless the line pull direction is vertical.

Good luck.

Tom

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[fowlskies]

Excellent read and gives good insight to whats going on at the other end of your line that we can use to boat more fish.  Thank you. 

[Teal]

Good stuff Tom. Thanks.

[GaBankFisher]

That was awesome! Thanks.

[mnbassman23]

Great read! 

[BassnChris]

Thanks.............that was very interesting......and helpful.

[Big Bassman]

Nice job Tom!

[loodkop]

Good insight. Thanks

[rangerboy]

well put.

[gripnrip]

Tom, 

 

Another member mentioned today on another post to pay attention to what you say and how you say it.  Well I have to bust out a note pad now! Thanks for the great insight! 

[Bankbeater]

Cool post. Thanks for the info.

[whitwolf]

This type of post Is the reason Bassresource Is the finest fishing  board In the land. This Is one of the biggest reasons I come here! Thanks WRB!

[shootermcbob]

Thanks Tom. Very informative.

[roadwarrior]

Great post!