Top Three Things You Should Avoid That Turn Off Bass Strikes?

[livemusic]

In my youth, on into fishing as a young man, my buddy and I played a portable radio in our boat, on the pop music station. We caught the heck out of them for years, never seemed to matter. I dunno how much sound matters.

 

I always worry about smearing sunscreen on me that contains DEET, fearing it is not a good thing for handling my lures! I need another solution. I wonder if that stuff you spray in a fine mist needs to be smeared with your hand to get adequate coverage!

[gr8outdoorz]

1) jet skiers

2) jet skiers

3) jet skiers

[Ozark_Basser]

1. Lack of confidence/patience in what you're throwing

2. Not throwing tight enough to cover

3. Not paying attention/knowing what's going on around you and underwater

[Oregon Native]

Biggie for me ... especially when cranking is when the lure is close to the boat to hit the trolling motor.  Have seen many fish in clear water following bait and do a 180 when they hear that sudden noise.

[Mr Q]

I highly doubt blood in the water would be a deterrent to bass since bass will eat smaller bass. A blood trail in the water means dinner time. If had to worry about human scent on my bait I wold never be able to tie a bait to my line. Noise on the water depends on what kind of noise I suppose. Every time I cast a bait into he water there is a noise and a splash. Bass are curious and will check out what made that splash and noise. 

 

   I don't mean to prove your idea wrong but many magazines and books on the subject state the need for avoiding fish blood in the water you are fishing. True, what you said does make sense but since all (?) bass swallow their prey whole head first in one great suck-in lunge, there is (I would think) very little , if any, bleeding of the prey. Since bass and other similar species feed this way, blood from the prey/predator is rare, Following this idea, the experts say not to release any fish blood into the area water because it signals other fish that a predator of theirs is in the area and they scatter for safety.

 

  I may be wrong but I think your deductions may come from shark feeding - the blood of their prey attracts other sharks for a long distance. But with bass (and other fresh water fish) , the opposite is true. When I first heard of the blood problem, I too thought it wrong but after years of releasing slightly wounded bass that would easily survive, the strikes in the area stop cold in a matter of minuets. Blood from other fish species in the area? I can't say since I only fish for LM bass.

[RyanFishing]

Bananas and bug spray. I read a bass biology book for a school project and it said DEET which is the main ingredient in bug spray also repels bass. It's the scent that they have been seen to hate the most and they can detect it up to 1 ppm.

[K_Mac]

I agree with J Franco that the real mistake is not going. As far as noise is concerned there are times when it may matter, but in my experience it matters more to fishermen than the fish. If fishing behind others ruined my chances of catching fish on many of the lakes I fish I would not catch much. The idea that a little fish blood will stop the bite is not supported by my experience.

My point is don't sweat the small stuff, and it is almost all small stuff.

[RoLo]

I read a bass biology book for a school project and it said DEET the main ingredient in bug spray also repels bass. 

 

OH NO, I've been using DEET as a fish attractant!

That does it, this weekend it's back to Carolina Lunker Sauce   

 

Roger

[CJ]

I'll share something that has happened twice during post spawn to a former partner and myself. We were fishing a spot that I nicknamed the dinner table. It is a flat that is 12' on top and drops off into 16-18'. We were fishing that spot during a tournament one day and had been there for about 15 minutes when I broke off a smaller fish (maybe 14-16 in.). That little fish kept coming to the top trying to throw that big crankbait over and over again. All of a sudden, we started catching fish nearly every cast...good fish, while the little fish kept coming to the top jumping and rattling the lure like crazy. Maybe it was a coincidence but it didn't seem to scare any fish off. This happened again a couple years later on a different spot while jig fishing.

 

I will say one thing I hate to see and that's when I catch a fish on deeper structure and the school follows the caught fish up to the boat. It's neat to see the other fish but for some reason the bite seems to always die once that happens.

[scaleface]

1  Dont let the trolling motor blow water on the spot you are fishing.

2  No dropping anything on the bottom .

3  Dont let momentum and wind push you on top the fish .

[fishfinderct]

retrieving to fast (although speed can be the key on occasion)

not pausing (or not pausing long enough)

throwing bait directly at fish (landing baits practically on top of fish, rather than casting beyond the fish and retrieving your bait past the fish)

hope this helps

[the reel ess]

In my youth, on into fishing as a young man, my buddy and I played a portable radio in our boat, on the pop music station. We caught the heck out of them for years, never seemed to matter. I dunno how much sound matters.

 

I always worry about smearing sunscreen on me that contains DEET, fearing it is not a good thing for handling my lures! I need another solution. I wonder if that stuff you spray in a fine mist needs to be smeared with your hand to get adequate coverage!

 

I guess there are times when noise matters and times when it doesn't. Ever see Ike after he catches a good bass? He goes bananas...screams. I've seen Dean Rojas whispering when he's sight fishing. I think there are times when it wouldn't turn them off if you fell in. But I'm not taking chances.

[SirSnookalot]

Not worried about bass being turned off, there to relax and enjoy myself.

 

1. Won't stay home.

2. Won't over complicate having the right rod, reel, line, lure, etc etc, the fish don't care, why should I.

3. Given enough time the odds usually turn in my favor, getting skunked is rarer than catching fish.

[Mr Q]

Well, it seems what works at one pond does not work at another pond(in different regions). Since I learned most of my tactics from bass fishing books and magazines, I assumed these "turn offs" are present universally throughout the country. Seems they are not! I guess whatever conditions prevail at one pond may not at another, depending how the pond is fished.

With that in mind, my OP question now seems irrelevant from all the responses here. So if the Mods want to shut down the thread, that's OK with me since I think we all learned some things from the thread.

[rybobassmaster]

  I don't get to talk to many bassers so I'll ask here since its my gateway to others who enjoy the hobby.

 

  What are the 3 most  effective things to do (to avoid at all costs) that will suddenly turn off bass strikes?  Of coarse there are many but what 3 do you consider the most important?

 

   For me, sudden noise above/along the water, fish blood into the water and human scent getting on lures/bait.

 

What are the 3 most important things to avoid for you?

 

  I don't get to talk to many bassers so I'll ask here since its my gateway to others who enjoy the hobby.

 

  What are the 3 most  effective things to do (to avoid at all costs) that will suddenly turn off bass strikes?  Of coarse there are many but what 3 do you consider the most important?

 

   For me, sudden noise above/along the water, fish blood into the water and human scent getting on lures/bait.

 

What are the 3 most important things to avoid for you?

Noise,noise,noise. presentation is huge, and sight .

[wuchr20]

1.Not going

2.Not packing your gear

3.Dropping your rod in the water and watch it sink