Deadsticking?

[Josh Smith]

Hi Folks,

 

This isn't a question about any particular lure type but rather technique.  It almost went into General Bassing, but I figured maybe it belonged here better.

 

The question is, why does deadsticking work?  I grew up to make a lure look alive and so fishing an artificial like live bait goes against my grain.

 

Still, winter fishing still seems to call for it at times.

 

Why does it work, though?  Why does, say, a deadsticked black or green Jelly Worm get strikes any better than surrounding vegetation waving in the current?

 

Or does it?

 

How about deadsticking jerkbaits?  Does the lure pass a bass's visual scrutiny, look enough like a real baitfish, and get eaten?

 

Similarly, if you deadstick for a few minutes after twitching -- how long, exactly, is a bass's attention span?  A twitch might get its attention, right?  But why does it strike after several seconds to several minutes?

 

Thanks!

 

Josh

[Fishes in trees]

All good questions.  The easy answer is that sometimes dead sticking works and sometimes it don't.   Don't really know why.   Dead sticking works best on "inactive fish"   Why is that?    Could it be that if you try it around active/hungry fish it doesn't stay put long enough to call it dead sticking?  I don't know.   For me, about the only time I " deadstick" is when I've cast out a bait and then have to do something,  take a leak, answer the phone, get an adult beverage, something.

Secure the rod in the rod holder and sometimes when you come back to it there is a fish on.

[Montanaro]

A dying fish on lake floor wont move much.

There are times in spring when bass have 'attention spans' but dead sticking is more likely to attract a cruising bass after the bait has sat a while. He knows something is different and he is gonna see if its edible.

Kind of like walking down the street and finding a dollar on the sidewalk.

[WRB]

The belief that bass are teased into strikes like a cat playing with yard is a myth, probably supported by male bed bass guarding it's nest.

Most of the food bass eat end up falling onto the surface or injured and falling down through the water column to rest on the bottom or bottom critters like crawdads hiding on the bottom. All these are moving very slowing or not at all; i.e., the dead stick lure.

The most popular lure of this class is the Senko,cast it out and let it sink to the bottom on slack line.

Ever made a cast and had a backlash and while you are working getting the tangle out a bass grabs the still lure being dead sticked? Bass have very keen eye sight and a lateral line that feels everything near them. When you lure hits the surface the bass knows it there and often is curious what the lure is, maybe a easy meal and checks it out, sometime striking it even if it's not moving.

Tom

[ClackerBuzz]

A dying fish on lake floor wont move much.

There are times in spring when bass have 'attention spans' but dead sticking is more likely to attract a cruising bass after the bait has sat a while. He knows something is different and he is gonna see if its edible.

Kind of like walking down the street and finding a dollar on the sidewalk.

x2

Praying mantis on a tree branch has a heart attack and falls to the bottom of the lake, dead..sticking..and a bass pounces on it.

$20 bill dead.. bubblegum sticking on the sidewalk and Montanaro pounces on it

[Bankbeater]

I have caught some nice catfish while deadsticking.  Bass aren't the only fish looking for an easy meal.

[bigbill]

I have a hot spot I drop a rapala jointed blue back yellow belly in the exact same spot let it hit the bottom, bring it up 6"/12" and deadstick it or jig it. Every time I pull out a nice bass.

[Catt]

Deadsticking is a presentation that can be use with topwater lures, suspending lures, or bottom lures.

Why does it work?

Curiosity!

When bass become hungry its prey knows it & either flees or hides. When something does neither but simply sits there in the open curiosity takes over.

How long to let it rest?

Best I've ever do was 4-5 minutes, I either moved it or got bit.

[Bluebasser86]

I've caught some good fish deadsticking a jerkbait in very cold water. It's difficult to do unless I'm positive there's fish in the area.

 

Deadsticking a topwater can be a killer. My biggest swimbait fish ever was caught deadsticking a Slammer about a month ago. I cast it out under an overhanging tree, let the ripples die off and gave it a little twitch and just sit there. After a solid minute had passed, I was just about to twitch it again when she plowed it.

[soflabasser]

Deadsticking jigs is a good technique to use on big bass.

[bigbill]

I think deadsticking is a overlooked presentation.

[Raul]

My first 10 lber was caught deadsticking a Rapala Original Floating Minnow size 9 Rainbow Trout pattern.

[desmobob]

My first 10 lber was caught deadsticking a Rapala Original Floating Minnow size 9 Rainbow Trout pattern.

 

It sure seems that deadsticking topwater baits makes bass crazy!

 

I brought a buddy from work out fishing one evening last summer and drove HIM crazy by casting a frog and then deadsticking it.  I think I caught a fish on almost every cast while he was churning the water to a froth and not catching a thing.  

 

Dead sticking on the bottom is good, too.

I just watched some underwater ice fishing video a while ago that showed about a dozen nice walleyes examining and ignoring a real minnow being jigged.  The fisherman later lowered the minnow to the bottom and deadsticked it.  The walleyes hammered it.

 

Tight lines,

Bob