How to prevent bass from doing "The jump"?

[jakkbauer]

6 hours ago, NYWayfarer said:

Keeping the rod tip down is the best insurance against jumps. Moving it to the right or left while down helps sometimes  change the direction the Bass is swimming and prevents jumps.

 

Or you could do like the pros and YouTubers and horse them in to the point they are water skiing all the way to you.

Exactly this, ski if possible, if not use down and left or right

[cyclops2]

4 & 6 pound mono are perfect for not needing to remove a ALMOST touchable Smallmouth bass or even a big perch.

With the rod almost straight up as you reach down.

I have caught & released the same fish for years in front of my summer cottage. They are GENETICALLY PROGRAMED to close their jaws TIGHTLY until they say.      by by...…………. At least 20 % are releasing lures & baited lures at 15 feet away.

 

Dull hooks. Mine on old lures.  Help the fish escape before touching them.

 

 

[BoatSquirrel]

When I feel "the jump" coming on, thats when I really crank down on her and try to get her head coming my way.  The closer I can get the fish to the boat, the better chance I have of seeing her in the bottom of the net.  That said, I fish bigger baits and heavier line.

Thanks for a good topic.

[Deleted account]

On 7/24/2019 at 12:17 PM, pondhopperNJ said:

How to prevent bass from doing "The jump"?

Watch old episodes of Bill Dance and do the exact opposite...

 

Counterintuitive I know, but most of the time, fish are going to pull 180º opposite from where you are pulling, and they will only pull while you are pulling, so pull less, pull steadier, pull straight up and down.

[cyclops2]

That style lets me land large pike on 4 pound test in moderate weeds.    WELL STATED BassWhole.  

[Boomstick]

I don't think there's any sure way to prevent a bass from jumping. The best you can do is get a good hookset, keep your line tight and keep your rod tip down, and most important don't let them hear you playing Van Halen!

[geo g]

With lots of thick weeds, and big pad fields, keep the pressure on, never give any slack and get them in as quick as possible.

[long island basser]

I try and promote a bass TO jump, so I can’t help you.

[LonnieP]

I usually keep a lot of pressure on them to keep them from jumping but it doesn't always work. I lost a huge bass yesterday evening. She put up a good fight for a minute then went airborne with the jig flying out of her mouth. 

[Glaucus]

Rod tip down helps but nothing truly prevents it. If they're gonna jump, they're gonna jump.

[NHBull]

When fun fishing, I let the little ones go airborne.  It’s more exciting than landing them......With larger ones, I sweep low and crank like hell.  I do believe that a reel with more IPT helps move the head better

[hawgenvy]

If you just stand there opened-mouthed watching the acrobatic spectacle the fish is going to shake the hook.  I've had quite a bit of luck sweeping the rod sideways rather like a sweepset with the rod tip close to the water during the jump. I start this at the moment just before the jump, when I feel or see the fish rise to the surface. I'll start reeling fast and point the rod towards the fish right before the jump to enhance the effectiveness of the subsequent lateral sweep. As long as there is enough lateral pressure the jump is largely controlled and doesn't give the fish enough slack to shake the hook. I have aborted or attenuated so many jumps that way, or at least kept the hook pinned. A fast reel helps.

[Boomstick]

One thing not to do is what I did last night. My youngest son and I got in a fish off (we were getting large smallies just about every cast) and I hooked a large one that kept going down and then back up and jumping. So I reeled over aggressively to try to not lose it on the jump.

 

As a result, the line pulled itself tight in the reel. Next cast, my line stops and snaps and I lose my ~ $20 Megabass crankbait.

[Spankey]

On 7/24/2019 at 2:50 PM, J Francho said:

It's best to go easy on a fish that feels like a jumper.  Most of my biggest fish just dug down, and didn't try to jump at all.  It's the rats that go nuts.

I believe I found this to be true with my bigger Smallmouths. They just seem to want to dig for the bottom where they came from. They do not like the looks of a boat either and keep you moving around the deck to get the advantage sometimes. In my case I wish it would happen more.