Does splashing baits scare bass

[Bankfisher22]

I was wondering if splashing baits scares bass. I seem to make loud splashes when casting lures, does that seem to matter? If it does are there any tips to stop that or is it just something that happens?

[MN Fisher]

It's just something that happens. Sometime the splash even triggers a strike. Couple of the LMBs I caught last year hit the lure just as it splashed, never even had a chance to start retrieving it before the fish was on.

 

Don't worry the splashes.

[Glaucus]

Lower the trajectory of your bait on the cast. Sometimes a splash is in your favor, sometimes a splash is a missed opportunity. 

Like MN Fisher, I've had bass hit spinnerbaits upon impact, and then I've had bass back off on a Senko that was just too loud coming in. 

[CrankFate]

I don’t know. The advice is always a soft cast with no splash is best. But the advice is always, you have to learn how to skip your baits because it causes reaction strikes.

[WRB]

It depends on the eccosystem. A very quite clear water pond or small quarry lake the bass can be very skittish about anything above the water surface like birds and any un natural surface disturbances. Bass in reserviors that has boat traffic are use to white noise and surface splashes, often will check out the source. Flipping a heavy jig is a good example where the angler is nearly on top of the bass and the splash of the lure has no negative affect.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

Like everyone said, sometimes it helps sometimes it hurts. 

[geo g]

I think it depends on the mood of the bass.  Sometimes it will startle them and they scatter.   Then if in an aggressive feeding mood, or protective mood, it may draw a reaction bite, as a bait splashes in the water.  It really depends on the fish, conditions, and seasonal patterns.  After making a cast I usually let it settle before moving the bait at all.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

It depends on the eccosystem. A very quite clear water pond or small quarry lake the bass can be very skittish about anything above the water surface like birds and any un natural surface disturbances. Bass in reserviors that has boat traffic are use to white noise and surface splashes, often will check out the source. Flipping a heavy jig is a good example where the angler is nearly on top of the bass and the splash of the lure has no negative affect.

Tom

At a very clear water lake I spent a few years throwing nothing but nightcrawlers on a number 4 hook at cruising bass while I walked the shoreline. Many times they would start after the worm while it was still in the air and actually meet the worm as it hit the water.

Also at times I could short cast to a bass and when the worm hit water the bass would turn around, and be mine. 

And yes at times the worm hitting the water would cause the bass to scatter.

[WRB]

17 minutes ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

At a very clear water lake I spent a few years throwing nothing but nightcrawlers on a number 4 hook at cruising bass while I walked the shoreline. Many times they would start after the worm while it was still in the air and actually meet the worm as it hit the water.

Also at times I could short cast to a bass and when the worm hit water the bass would turn around, and be mine. 

And yes at times the worm hitting the water would cause the bass to scatter.

When I was teen we fished a rock quarry lake that was basically a box with steep walls on 4 sides and a road bed on 1 side where the trucks and tractors dug out the pit until they hit a spring and water filled it. The water was crystal clear, you could see the bottom at 25' and it was stocked with big bass for the owner. 

We would crawl up to the bank to watch for bass cruising around the walls and try to cast live suckers or crawdads near them. Sometimes the bass would see the movement of the bait in the air and scatter, sometime they instantly rushed and ate them. If the could see you they simple vanished. We learned to sneak into the quarry at night and brave the rattlesnakes until the owner put white fronted geese in the pond as watch dogs. My point is sometimes bass get conditioned to noise or become very wary and it depends on the eccosystem.

Tom

[Oregon Native]

Every day seems to be different.  Remember being told many years ago when I was fishing catwalks across canals back home to wiggle your rod in the water and make it splash....worked well for crappie and some bass.  I've also been snagged vertical fishing in twenty feet of water and sent a sinker down to get bait back to turn around and drop bait back down again and catch em.   Sometimes it works … sometimes not so much.

BUT...I personally like the quiet approach best.

[Smokinal]

Just to throw in some convo

 

 

[livin2fish]

Now I've seen sweeping done for northerns and muskies, but never thought about it for LM bass.  Interesting.

[the reel ess]

Depends on the bass's mood. If you see movement in a mat of vegetation, throw that frog to make some disturbance when it plops down. That bass is actively looking for prey. If you see one in open water you should probably try to be stealthy not to alert the bass to your presence. 

 

But how many times have you gotten a bite from a fish as soon as the bait hit the surface? That's pure instinctive reaction. The fish were responding to the sound and vibration. They can also respond by fleeing.

[Glaucus]

1 hour ago, Smokinal said:

Just to throw in some convo

 

 

We do that here after bringing a bait back to the yak or bank, and off of walls. Can sometimes pick off a bass you would otherwise not. 

[Deleted account]

It depends on the conditions and the size and type of splash. Most of the time a more subtle entry is desired, but there are times when a louder approach will trigger interest. I think a mostly vertical grenade going off on impact is seldom a good idea though. I have started skipping baits in open water, and at times it makes a big difference. 

[Glaucus]

Pretty much subtle entry is preferred but sometimes you can get lucky with a big splash entry. And make no mistake it is luck. Nothing about throwing a spinnerbait with a splash that instantly gets ate is intentional. 

[LonnieP]

It depends. Like others have said sometimes it will trigger a strike. I caught a 5 pounder last summer on a buzzbait the instant it hit the water and before I could start the retrieve. 

[diehardbassfishing]

Like every other RULE.

Made to be broken...

 

Karl

[J Francho]

I can't say good or bad with splashdowns, but I do notice that skipping a bait gets fish's attention.  Even if I don't need to skip a senko, I often do.  I watched Dean Rojas skipping a frog when there was no reason to.  This was an Elite tournament on Smith Mountain Lake, a decade ago.  I asked him why he skipped, and he said it was part of the presentation.  Sometimes when fishing frogs, I'll toss them on shore, and hop them into the shallows at the water's edge.  It works pretty well.

[FCPhil]

Depends on the mood of the fish and how big the splash/how close it is to them. I have caught a lot of fish in the first few seconds after my lure hits the water. 

 

Also, some lures are made to splash, like a popper. Splashing is how they catch bass. 

[Catt]

I'm a southern boy & we love to raise a little commotion!

 

My joy is fishing the dog days of summer when it's hot, humid, & dead still.

 

In our shallow water marshes I'll throw a 1/2 oz jig & let hit the surface from about 2' high. You can watch the wake coming from 5 yards away!

 

Many times when punching matted vegetation a 2 oz weight will not punch through it so ya gotta get a arch on it Shaq! 

 

[12poundbass]

6 minutes ago, Catt said:

I'm a southern boy & we love to raise a little commotion!

 

My joy is fishing the dog days of summer when it's hot, humid, & dead still.

 

In our shallow water marshes I'll throw a 1/2 oz jig & let hit the surface from about 2' high. You can watch the wake coming from 5 yards away!

 

Many times when punching matted vegetation a 2 oz weight will not punch through it so ya gotta get a arch on it Shaq! 

 

Im like you but I'm a Yankee. Especially when I'm throwing a frog I'll give it a big arc and let it hit and make a bang, to let them know it's there and come check it out. 

[the reel ess]

6 hours ago, Glaucus said:

We do that here after bringing a bait back to the yak or bank, and off of walls. Can sometimes pick off a bass you would otherwise not. 

That's cool and I'm going to give it a try. I remember reading about how old timers used to do this with a cane pole. It would likely work better if you could get the bait a little further away from you.

[Glaucus]

24 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

That's cool and I'm going to give it a try. I remember reading about how old timers used to do this with a cane pole. It would likely work better if you could get the bait a little further away from you.

Watch ndyakangler. He does it next to his yak when his top water gets retrieved back to the last couple of feet and even that close he will occasionally draw a strike. It's really cool. A buddy taught me to do it with squarbills from the banks on rivers. There's a lot of rocks and we stand on them by the dams and when the squarebill is basically back to us we'll just kind of drag it back and forth next to us and it draws strikes. It's freaking cool man. 

[the reel ess]

3 hours ago, Glaucus said:

Watch ndyakangler. He does it next to his yak when his top water gets retrieved back to the last couple of feet and even that close he will occasionally draw a strike. It's really cool. A buddy taught me to do it with squarbills from the banks on rivers. There's a lot of rocks and we stand on them by the dams and when the squarebill is basically back to us we'll just kind of drag it back and forth next to us and it draws strikes. It's freaking cool man. 

"Jigger poling" was what I remembered. Here is a vid-joe. Looks like the rat would be a good bait for it now.