Set the hook.....Fast!

[OCdockskipper]

On 12/12/2017 at 9:35 AM, WRB said:

...My eye to hand reflexes as a teen were extremely fast and help me as a gymnasts and drag racing...

The image of Tom in a singlet, doing handsprings & cartwheels as he jumps into a 1969 Dodge Hemi Challenger and tears down the quarter mile are now seared into my brain...

[OCdockskipper]

19 hours ago, WRB said:

...Bass don't use different strike technique for different lures other then to check something or kill something...

 

I have seen a bass in a Koi pond use different strike techniques depending on what he is eating.  For Goldfish or other prey that could quickly get away, the attack is quick & savage.  Even if he misses, he tends to knock the prey around & stun it, so he can nail it on the rebound.  However, when he eats nightcrawlers or steals the meal worms intended for the resident bluegill, it is a very slow slurp (both as they sink or if they are floating on the surface).  No rush, he just takes his time and glides over to eat it. 

 

Sometimes when the koi food pellets are bunched up on the surface, he will hammer those, causing them to break apart.  He usually will suck one or two of those in, mouth it for a few seconds and then spit it out.  I think these are a case of mistaken identity.

 

Another surface prey he is aggressive towards are dragonflies.  When they are dipping into the water, he will follow after them, and crash through the surface.  He may have bad aim, I have never seen him catch one.

 

I don't know if this behavior translates to truly wild bass, but this pond boss has a few different techniques up his sleeve (well, if he wore a shirt...).

[WRB]

How adult size bass approaches prey depends on the prey. Crawdads a lone bass has no issue getting close enough to engulf it, the bass may move slowly to get close but once it strikes it's the same quick gill flare and engulfed prey. Largemouth, Smallmouth and spotted bass all have different strike techniques. I believe smallmouth and spots have smaller mouths so their strike with crawdads are often to grab the bug by it's claws instead of engulfing it,then the crawdad drops the claw arm to escape, the bass engulfs it quickly. 

Watching bass attack larger fish like trout that are faster then bass is interesting. Often big bass group up to successfully catch trout they heard against the surface or structure. You don't see lone bass feeding on trout very often. The bass attack trout with a fast rush and strike it at the head, clamping down to kill it, then engulfs it.

Never noticed any bass strike slowly, they may move close slowly but the strike appears to be fast every time, blink and you miss it.

Good thread and hope everyone improves the strike to hook up ratio.

Tom

[Ratherbfishing]

A decent argument, perhaps, for getting a more sensitive rod but I'm not sure if it changes anything for me otherwise.  If I don't think I've gotten a hit, I'm not not going to set the hook.  There's a lot going on down there in the water and not everything is a bite so I don't want to jerk a bait out of the strike zone prematurely.

 

Short of setting the hook more often (which I'm unlikely to do) the best thing to do is to be better positioned so that when I DO feel a bite, the time required for a proper hookset is minimized.  And buy a better rod.

 

[saamyb]

I do know one thing for a fact , you can't reel a bait fast enuff to get it away from one who want's it . Found that out trolling redfins for stripers in 46 degree water and caught more bass than stripers.

[ClackerBuzz]

I can't tell you the quality or quantity of bass I've lost by not setting the hook fast enough.  I can however tell you endless stories about losing bass every season b/c I was too fast on setting the hook.  Watch enough pro seminars and you'll hear them all tell stories of trying to shake fish off a lure during practice b/c they want to come back and catch them during the tourny.  They all are amazing how long a bass will hold on and swim around with a lure in its mouth even while they're trying to shake it off (try it sometime).  Greg Hackney went into detail about how his hook up percentage was amazing during practice but went way down on game day. He admitted it was b/c he's so much faster and full of adrenaline during tournaments  that bass never has time to fully take/commit to the lure.  Compared to being relaxed and consciencience of the fish/specific bite during practice.  He slowed way down during tournaments and his percentages went back up. I've since become more aware of different types of bites, which seem to change daily.  For me not setting the hook fast enough is rarely a problem vs setting it too fast usually is. 

[Dwight Hottle]

On 12/14/2017 at 7:10 PM, saamyb said:

I do know one thing for a fact , you can't reel a bait fast enuff to get it away from one who want's it . Found that out trolling redfins for stripers in 46 degree water and caught more bass than stripers.

Good observation. Welcome to bass resource.

[lonnie g]

rattiling rouge those 4 set of treble hooks are hard to miss! i'm with a jay  pick on the old slow girls.