Slowing Down

[Mobasser]

A Tackle shop owner, and friend told me 40yrs ago that he thought one of the main reasons that many fisherman can't catch bass consistently is that they're fishing too fast.                                     Looking back on my own experience, I've caught far more fish by working an area slowly, as opposed to a fast retrieve.                                       Even in the summer, when bass are most active, I've had better luck by forcing myself to slow down,.                                               It's easy, after you've caught a fish or two to get keyed up and excited, and make your next retrieve faster without even realizing it. Most successful trophy hunters, who focus on catching the largest bass have trained themselves to slowly fish a soft plastic bait or jig through prime spots, sometimes dead sticking the lure for a few seconds during the retrieve.                                                      The concept is simple, and one that many successful fisherman are well aware of. If your working a good shoreline, or a deep water spot, by slowing down, you'll present your bait to more fish, and make your bait a much easier target for the bass.                  It's always fun when the fish are hitting fast moving baits, regardless if it's a spinnerbait, lipless, or topwater lure.                                          In my own experience, this fast retrieve fishing doesn't usually last long, and takes place only at certain times of the season, and on an average summer day, for a short period of time.                                         I know many will disagree with all this, but for me this was probably the best advice I've ever recieved. Slow down, and you'll catch more, and larger bass.                                                          In your own experience, have you found that fishing slowly has caught more fish overall, as opposed to fast retrieves?                                                                                                                                              

[Dens228]

I would consider myself an impatient fisherman.  I hate finesse, not because it doesn't work, but because it doesn't fit my personality.  The funny part of that is I love fishing jigs, which while I wouldn't consider it finesse, it isn't really a fast paced way to fish. I've also caught my biggest bass by far on jigs, probably eight of my top ten.

What I really hate is dropshot, or weightless wacky, things like that.  

Thursday I was fishing an online tourney.  No wind, no clouds, strip quarry with 15+ feet of water visibility.  I started off with my dreaded wacky worm setup.  I started catching bass right away but they were all 12-14 inch bass.  After I had my 5 I needed to cull and switched to a jig to hopefully catch bigger bass, the next three I caught, all on a jig, the biggest was a 10" whopper.. LOL

I tried frogs, cranks, chatterbaits, walking baits, didn't catch a thing.  Back to the wacky rig, back to catching bass.  Like I said, not my favorite but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.  

 

[Tennessee Boy]

Is it better to cover more water quickly or less water slowly?

 

It’s one of the greatest philosophical questions mankind has ever faced.

 

[Catt]

Ef·fi·cient·ly: in a way that achieves maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.

 

Covering water quickly & covering water efficiently ain't the same thing.

 

To consistently catch bass is a process of elimination & duplication. Eliminate patterns & waters that are non-productive and duplicate patterns & waters that are productive.

[Mobasser]

6 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Is it better to cover more water quickly or less water slowly?

 

It’s one of the greatest philosophical questions mankind has ever faced.

 

If your setup on a really good spot, I say less water slowly

[DitchPanda]

53 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

A Tackle shop owner, and friend told me 40yrs ago that he thought one of the main reasons that many fisherman can't catch bass consistently is that they're fishing too fast.                                     Looking back on my own experience, I've caught far more fish by working an area slowly, as opposed to a fast retrieve.                                       Even in the summer, when bass are most active, I've had better luck by forcing myself to slow down,.                                               It's easy, after you've caught a fish or two to get keyed up and excited, and make your next retrieve faster without even realizing it. Most successful trophy hunters, who focus on catching the largest bass have trained themselves to slowly fish a soft plastic bait or jig through prime spots, sometimes dead sticking the lure for a few seconds during the retrieve.                                                      The concept is simple, and one that many successful fisherman are well aware of. If your working a good shoreline, or a deep water spot, by slowing down, you'll present your bait to more fish, and make your bait a much easier target for the bass.                  It's always fun when the fish are hitting fast moving baits, regardless if it's a spinnerbait, lipless, or topwater lure.                                          In my own experience, this fast retrieve fishing doesn't usually last long, and takes place only at certain times of the season, and on an average summer day, for a short period of time.                                         I know many will disagree with all this, but for me this was probably the best advice I've ever recieved. Slow down, and you'll catch more, and larger bass.                                                          In your own experience, have you found that fishing slowly has caught more fish overall, as opposed to fast retrieves?                                                                                                                                              

100% yes! I think more fish on a given day are in a neutral to negative mood so a slow retrieve gives you more time in the zone to coax a bite. I find myself fishing slower than basically everybody probably 90% of the time. And I bass fish with several people who are varying levels of experience from novice to well experienced...the one thing I tell them most is slow down when they struggle. I think the two times of year when a fast retrieve works is prespawn for a week or two and then postspawn when bluegill and or shad are spawning.

 

There is a reason so many guys say stuff like I love a walking bait because it can sit in place...or when I throw a buzzbait I like a big blade and a toad to give lift so I can creep it along slowly. Also a reason the two most successful lures of all time are probably an arky jig and a Texas rigged worm.

 

 

2 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

If your setup on a really good spot, I say less water slowly

This is another caveat to this whole deal...what I said originally applies in an area where you know you are around fish. If you don't know where they are then it's best to tie on a search bait and cover water.

[BrianMDTX]

Dens, when I fish a wacky rig Senko, I think it’s more semi-finesse. I used to cast, let it sink, if no strikes flick the rod tip to raise the stick bait, let it sink and repeat until back to the rod. I don’t do that anymore. At least for me, I’ve discovered that if I don’t get a strike on the initial cast (which is 95% of my catches), I’ll work it once and then reel it in and recast. 
 

I'm no genius and still relatively new at this game, but I think the Senko hitting the water followed by it sinking triggers way more strikes than simply working it up and down once it has sank. I’ve caught way more bass on a weightless TR Senko working it after the initial cast than I have wacky style. Heck, most of the time if it sinks on the cast with no takers, I reel it in and recast. So I’m working it relatively quick. 

[Captain Phil]

Excellent advice.   I agree 100%. 

 

We had a local man that fished our tournaments for years.  He always fished the gator hole in Lake Eustis.  He was also a chain smoker.  His technique was always the same.  He would anchor his boat , cast out a Zoom Mag II worm, put his rod down and light up a cigarette.  He never moved the worm until he finished his smoke.  He brought more 10 pound bass to the scales than anyone else.  You could always count on him catching a huge bass.  I told a friend that I was going to try this for myself.  He told me my head would explode if I fished that slow. :>)

 

There is a difference between searching for fish and catching fish.  Searching requires covering water.  Catching requires working the fish you found. 

 

 

[scaleface]

Its kind of hard to fish deeply in a brush pile fast . 

[Dens228]

1 hour ago, BrianMDTX said:

Dens, when I fish a wacky rig Senko, I think it’s more semi-finesse. I used to cast, let it sink, if no strikes flick the rod tip to raise the stick bait, let it sink and repeat until back to the rod. I don’t do that anymore. At least for me, I’ve discovered that if I don’t get a strike on the initial cast (which is 95% of my catches), I’ll work it once and then reel it in and recast. 
 

I'm no genius and still relatively new at this game, but I think the Senko hitting the water followed by it sinking triggers way more strikes than simply working it up and down once it has sank. I’ve caught way more bass on a weightless TR Senko working it after the initial cast than I have wacky style. Heck, most of the time if it sinks on the cast with no takers, I reel it in and recast. So I’m working it relatively quick. 

I would estimate that the other day half my catches were on the fall, have were after a couple twitches or so on the bottom, kind of hopping it like a jig.  

[BrianMDTX]

3 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

I would estimate that the other day half my catches were on the fall, have were after a couple twitches or so on the bottom, kind of hopping it like a jig.  

Yeah, I’ve caught some hopping it, but not too much after the first or second twitch. Working it all the way back doesn’t seem to be very productive. That first cast is normally the deal-winner. 

[Mike L]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Ef·fi·cient·ly: in a way that achieves maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.

 

Covering water quickly & covering water efficiently ain't the same thing.

 

To consistently catch bass is a process of elimination & duplication. Eliminate patterns & waters that are non-productive and duplicate patterns & waters that are productive.

Well Said..

Chapter 1 Verse 1 of the Bass fishing Bible!
 

 

 

Mike

[jimmyjoe]

   Sit quietly and watch the forage fish - even bluegill - that are the target of the predatory bass. Do they move far? No. Do they move fast? No. They don't even move consistently.

   Mimic them and you have the natural action that bass aim for.     jj

 

   p.s.  Shameless plug: try twitching a small flutter spoon in the shallows instead of the depths.   ?

[scaleface]

When I'm fishing cover I keep hopping a worm until its clear of the cover , then give it a couple more hops . I dont know where the bass are going to be . Lots of hits come close to the boat . I found some brush piles last week and picked them apart . There were areas that the brush was spread way out from what was visible . I caught 35 bass doing that with about ten over 15 inches .

[king fisher]

I never have any luck fishing slow.  Because I have a hard time making myself slow down.   Catching fish burning crankbaits only makes may problem worse, while not catching on soft plastics reinforces the problem. I don't know which came first, chicken or the egg.  The Bait Monkey is helping me with this problem, but just buying the baits doesn't solve it.  I'm going to have to actually start slowing down and using them.

[Catt]

Many anglers say KVD fishes really fast covering a lot of water & making a lot of cast.

 

While this appears to be true it really ain't!

 

KVD waste little time in unproductive water & is making multiple cast to high precentage targets.

 

KVD fishes efficiently ?

[jimmyjoe]

16 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I never have any luck fishing slow.

 

   If your hands are big enough to hold it (it does NOT have a palming side plate) get an Ambassadeur 5000 or 5000c in good used condition off the auction site. The originals had a 3.7:1 retrieve ratio. If you get it cheap enough, you can afford to have it rebuilt. I had one; they are smoooooth, powerful and reliable. They don't cast very far, but they cast far enough.

   If that doesn't slow you down, nothing will.  ??    ??    jj

[scaleface]

37 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I don't know which came first, chicken or the egg.

I better delete my original reply  before getting slapped with an infraction .

[Mobasser]

6 minutes ago, Catt said:

Many anglers say KVD fishes really fast covering a lot of water & making a lot of cast.

 

While this appears to be true it really ain't!

 

KVD waste little time in unproductive water & is making multiple cast to high precentage targets.

 

KVD fishes efficiently ?

Good point Catt. KVD fishes to eliminate areas, then slows down to fish the best areas. He's keeping his baits in front of more fish this way. As you've stated, it's about putting together a pattern then duplicating it. What throws a lot of guys is they can't adjust to what's going on. An example could be, just because it's a hot summer day doesn't always mean fishing super slow is best. If it's overcast, with a little wind, the bass might hit faster moving lures. For us, once we locate some bass, we usually catch the most by fishing slower through the cover, especially after the sun gets up and is beating down.

[scaleface]

I fish an electric motor lake a lot . I fish my way from spot to spot . I'm only going to slow down when I get to a place that calls for it,  otherwise I'm covering water as efficiently as I know how , with lots of parallel casting

[Mobasser]

5 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I fish an electric motor lake a lot . I fish my way from spot to spot . I'm only going to slow down when I get to a place that calls for it,  otherwise I'm covering water as efficiently as I know how , with lots of parallel casting

I do much of the same. Slow trolling, then, when I get to a point, blowdown, or good weedy area, slow way down with multiple cast from different angles. I'm always looking for something slightly different from the rest of the area.

[scaleface]

Slowing down equals fast action a lot of times . Cousin and I limited out in 12 cast once . Two six fish, 15 inch limits .

 

On Texas rigged Lizards .

[OkobojiEagle]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

 I fish my way from spot to spot . I'm only going to slow down when I get to a place that calls for it,  otherwise I'm covering water as efficiently as I know how , with lots of parallel casting

... I call it "hop-scotching" down a shoreline, not really covering the water well.

 

oe

[Catt]

1 hour ago, jimmyjoe said:

If your hands are big enough to hold it (it does NOT have a palming side plate) get an Ambassadeur 5000 or 5000c

 

My first tournament combo ?

 

 

[RoLo]

 

How nice it would be if one speed was the Holy Grail, but bass fishing is a little more complex. 

Guido Hibdon, Charley Brewer and Ned Kehde have all shown us the magic

of a slow finesse delivery. In stark contrast, Kevin VanDam demonstrated the productivity

of running & gunning. A slow meticulous delivery is more effective for cherry-picking individual 

fish, but power fishing provides more area coverage & interacts with a higher number of fish.

 

Finding the best speed of the moment has a couple hitches: 

1) The best speed isn't determined by the angler, it's determined by the fish.

2) The best speed is subject to change, it's a 'moving target' 

 

Roger