Reaction Bite?

[BassAddict1911]

Hey guys,

 

I was just curious ... what would yall say are the best conditions to go for a reaction strike vs. non-reaction strike?

 

 

[Jig Man]

Right now that is all that I am getting.  It is on soft sticks tossed close to and in bushes.  The fish hammer them on the initial fall otherwise they won't take them at all.

[BassAddict1911]

I gotcha ... any weight on the soft stick?

[Bluebasser86]

When the fish are not actively feeding is a good time to try reaction baits. I like a squarebill crankbait or a heavy jig to trigger reaction strikes. 

[Hogsticker]

Post spawn, warmer water (not hot) when the fish are shallow. Mornings and evenings.

[Hooligan]

I don't like the term reaction strike. Primarily because of the fact that all bass strikes are reactive. They're reacting to their instinct to feed, plain and simple. Regardless of moving bait or bottom contact, their instinct tells them that they can't afford to pass up an easy meal.

Ralph Manns wrote a great piece about it in In Fisherman a while back.

I don't subscribe to the theory that there is any difference in any feeding behavior other than in a competitive situation or in a situation that the fish has more time to inspect the bait.

I guess the way I look at it is like this. The theory of a reaction strike is that even if that fish is not interested in feeding, by putting a bait in front of them, you can get them to eat it. You can't. You simply can't force feed fish.

By defining a difference between conditions you define the correct timing for use of a moving bait versus a bottom contact or stationary bait. There is no singular defining factor, either. You have to let the fish tell you what they're after. You have to experiment with presentations based on an educated guess to make a decision on what you will have the most success with.

Moving bait- generally more active fish; those willing to move to chase down a meal. Many times in dirty water a moving bait can be more successful simply because of the ability to cover greater area. Put a bait in front of more fish and you are simply upping the ratio in your favor. A jig, for instance, is generally a little more methodical and allows you to pick apart a given area. Often not putting the bait in front of as many fish, but giving those fish present greater opportunity to find and inspect that bait. Primary forage is as much a consideration to make as anything.

There are many that will argue this point, but far too many biologists point the other direction, in terms of a reaction strike. When you read information from those whom have studied it closely, they agree on one thing, and that is that the term isn't entirely correct.

[skeletor6]

Great post ^^^

[Mike L]

I don't like the term reaction strike. Primarily because of the fact that all bass strikes are reactive. They're reacting to their instinct to feed, plain and simple. Regardless of moving bait or bottom contact, their instinct tells them that they can't afford to pass up an easy meal.

Ralph Manns wrote a great piece about it in In Fisherman a while back.

I don't subscribe to the theory that there is any difference in any feeding behavior other than in a competitive situation or in a situation that the fish has more time to inspect the bait.

I guess the way I look at it is like this. The theory of a reaction strike is that even if that fish is not interested in feeding, by putting a bait in front of them, you can get them to eat it. You can't. You simply can't force feed fish.

By defining a difference between conditions you define the correct timing for use of a moving bait versus a bottom contact or stationary bait. There is no singular defining factor, either. You have to let the fish tell you what they're after. You have to experiment with presentations based on an educated guess to make a decision on what you will have the most success with.

Moving bait- generally more active fish; those willing to move to chase down a meal. Many times in dirty water a moving bait can be more successful simply because of the ability to cover greater area. Put a bait in front of more fish and you are simply upping the ratio in your favor. A jig, for instance, is generally a little more methodical and allows you to pick apart a given area. Often not putting the bait in front of as many fish, but giving those fish present greater opportunity to find and inspect that bait. Primary forage is as much a consideration to make as anything.

There are many that will argue this point, but far too many biologists point the other direction, in terms of a reaction strike. When you read information from those whom have studied it closely, they agree on one thing, and that is that the term isn't entirely correct.

 

There Ya go...

 

To me a reaction bite was just that...

They may or may not be hungry, they are full after gorging themselves and just hanging out, thier metabolism is slowed way done in winter and won't chase anything more than a few feet away...

 

BUT if a bait that resembles what they feed on is continualy put in front of them, long enough, in different ways, or coming at them from different angles, as the big dog predator in thier environment they get ticked off enough and hit it just for general purposes!

 

I learned something to day, Thanks Hooligan

 

 

Mike

[Jig Man]

I gotcha ... any weight on the soft stick?

 

I have tried it with no weight and is seems to settle too slowly into the bushes.  1/4 oz will get some fish but not as many as the 1/8 oz.  I haven't pegged it yet so that may be even better.  They don't seem to have a color preference.

[ripinthem]

There is a reaction strike. They made be in recovery mode, and not active, but on that 10th cast;  if you hit that Cyprus knee just right with that square bill, and they see an easy,stunned meal, they will eat it....

[Hooligan]

There is a reaction strike. They made be in recovery mode, and not active, but on that 10th cast; if you hit that Cyprus knee just right with that square bill, and they see an easy,stunned meal, they will eat it....

If you hit that cypress knee just right on the 10th cast, one could argue that they failed to see it the first nine times.

I maintain that you can't force feed fish, regardless of how many times you put it in front of them. I also think that a lot of times they swipe in anger with a closed mouth, which is how you end up with foul hooked fish.

[WRB]

The term reaction bite was coined by Rich Tauber during 1982 US Open at lake Mead when told the audience how he caught his winning bass; it was a reaction bite. Tauber was fishing a Spook in gin clear deep water and the bass would come up 25-30 feet to strike the Spook and knowone else was on that pattern.

The term has since been redefine many ways, Rich meaning was getting active bass to react to his Spook by calling them up from deep water.

To me a reaction bite is just that; getting active bass to react to the lure. Trying to tease an inactive bass into striking isn't what I would define as a reaction bite. What you are doing under those conditions, when bass are inactive, or not actively hunting and feeding prey is working different angles to get the lure to approach the bass from a direction the bass believes is normal for the prey type your lure represents.

Tom