Reaction Bites

[OldManLure]

I’m still not convinced that this term is meaningful.  What value does it have?  Does anyone plan a trip to the river or lake and say to themselves  “today I am going after the reaction bite”?  Does a ‘reaction’ bite cause you to rethink your choice of lure?  Does it change your strategy?  Does it matter if a fish hits your lure because it doesn’t like the way it looks rather than because it looks like food?  In reality, aren’t all bites a reaction bite?  
 

 

[Bluebasser86]

A reaction bite is a strike out of instinct or pure reaction instead of hunger or curiosity, normally associated with a faster moving bait. 

 

I believe it holds a lot of validity and there are conditions that I go out and search for that reaction strike with a fast moving bait. You can look for a reaction strike from a fast falling bait also. A heavy jig crashing down next to cover or a punch rig shooting down in front of a fish's face hiding under a mat can bring a reaction strike. 

 

Bass are predators that rely on their ability to catch food to survive. If something resembling food flashes by quickly, catching it in their mouth and then deciding if it is in fact food, is how I imagine a reaction strike typically working. That, or when a quickly fleeing bait that looks like a lost baitfish looking for it's school could represent an easy meal that a fish could strike even though it may not be hungry. 

 

When a slow moving jig or shakyhead is crawling along the bottom and a fish has time to creep up behind it and investigate it before picking it up off the bottom, that is more a hunger or curiosity strike imo. 

[Sphynx]

Absolutely it changes the way I fish, if I'm after a feeding bite, I do everything in my power to imitate a realistic food source, if I'm doing something like a reaction cranking technique, I'll burn one in as fast as I can and then kill it suddenly, any fish chasing/tailing is going to end up with a decision to make, either open up and chow down, or quit, and I have had it work enough times that I'm sold, jerkbaits are another reaction bait that can seemingly compel a fish to bite, I am not saying that anyone else has to be convinced by my personal experiences, but I sure do fish differently based on what seems to be working, and I freely admit that at least to this point the fish have declined my offer for an intellectual conversation about why it works, so I could be wrong about all of it.

[Spankey]

I river fish Smallies various ways. But yes crankbait fishing, reaction strike, is a pretty high percentage of my fishing. Nothing pre thought out or big deal as to what I tie one. Have tons of them that equally work. Doesn’t mean my whole time out that day I’m fishing crankbaits but they will get used. Tube, grub and worm fishing is great fishing but at a slower pace. This I believe gives a fish a longer time to process what he sees. I don’t care if it’s hungry or is looking to kill it. I’m just looking to get bit. I’ll put him back and he can go on his merry way the rest of his day. 

[GaryH]

I’ll keep it simple. Yes. 

[Spankey]

I look at it like this. The post starts if a reaction strike is meaningful or have any value. Is crankbait fishing meaningful or carry any value to your fishing approach?

 

Admittedly, over the years river fishing for Smallie I had days where it was tough to get a hit or a bite. Days that seemed like dang near everything in the boat you tried. I don’t like getting skunked and I try to take that never give up approach. 
 

I don’t know if a Rat-L-Trap means anything to y’all but it does to me. And the reaction strike that bait is meant to produce is just that. 
 

On many of those tough days I’d tie one on. Almost like fishing it in desperation and it would produce that bite to keep from getting a skunking. Chrome w/ black back and gold w/ black back are about all I use and need. Meaningful enough I guess. Value, kept from a skunking. Better than going home skunked. 
 

A Rat-L-Trap is a good way to start your day off with by throwing. 

[gim]

I prefer to target bass (and other species) with reaction strikes and moving lures.  Its just how I prefer to fish.  There are times when they don't work though.

 

Anglers targeting species while trolling are looking for reaction strikes because their lures are always moving, often at a fast rate.

[cyclops2]

I read ALL of the posts on this Thread of reaction bites.  Will give you my  take on REACTION bite.  Almost every fish of ALL TYPES this spring / summer / fall in upstate N Y are............. REACTION ....... bites.  Why can I make such a BOLD statement about every fish ?  Simple  ALL are ONLY hooked in the 1/8" of the outer upper & lower lips.  I and others have done Catch & Release on these fish for DECADES.     That has been imprinted into their GENES about how to bite anything.  BITE VERY CAREFULLY.   ALL THE TIME.  The whole lure is outside the mouth every time.  Or other hooks around the outside of the  mouth.

 

Even 3" fish on the 1.5"  Rapala have just the tail treble in their WIDE OPEN MOUT. The hook points are just in the lip ring.  Catch & Release has WORKED WITH RAPALS style lures at all depths.   Reason why the 4# test Mono has such low hook ups. Plenty of bites.  Barely felt.

 

The big SMB can and do CLAMP DOWN TIGHTLY for a while. Then Laugh at us by quickly opening their mouths and MOST TIMES there is no hookup............. I catch MANY MORE FISH with the 40 & 60 pound BRAIDED lines.

 

Almost forgot the proof of all the above information.  

I have NOT HAD a  FULL ON  SIDE  ATTACK on a lure with it .....SIDEWAYS...... in a fish mouth.  At least 5 years. 

[Tatsu Dave]

On 9/22/2021 at 9:26 AM, gimruis said:

Anglers targeting species while trolling are looking for reaction strikes because their lures are always moving, often at a fast rate.

Thats for sure, at a steady pace they have to decide quickly and react. Actually I fish reaction style with stickbaits, not slow crawl on the bottom or a hop every couple seconds. When people see me fishing they think I'm using a jerkbait the rapid and quick jerking retrieve. Actually its why I only use ochos and senkos anymore, they have that great dying shad left/right twitch that fish don't wait with they hit. I learned it with sluggos years ago and could follow another fisherman using worms or grubs and catch fish that ignored their baits.

 

You also need to target your casts where you think the fish are,near cover or right on the edge of weedlines. Yesterday I dropped a stickbait right on a big fish that was holding close to cover, could tell by the quick swirl and instant hit when it hit the water.

[cyclops2]

I guess bass like short fat  smooth cigars.   Kind of I like breakfast sausage links.  ?

[Bdnoble84]

I almost always start reaction. This means burning spinnerbaits, fast twitching jerkbaits, ramming frankbaits into rocks, even using a jig or texas craw to steadily bump rocky bottom, only stopping if the jig hangs up to pop it free. Its the most efficient way to cover water. And its a great way to pick off the most active fish quickly. If those dont work. Thats when I slow down, and fish a feeding reaction with wacky worms, finesse jigs, neko rigs, plastics, hair. 

[Mat_ski]

You all bit the bait.
Op tries to argue semantics, not techniques.

[Bdnoble84]

So you are saying we were all reaction strikes. We weren’t hungry. We weren't looking to feed. But we were triggered by something and coaxed into reacting aggressively. That is a reaction. Hmmmmm. ?

[Mat_ski]

10 minutes ago, Bdnoble84 said:

So you are saying we were all reaction strikes. We weren’t hungry. We weren't looking to feed. But we were triggered by something and coaxed into reacting aggressively. That is a reaction. Hmmmmm. ?

Well done sir 

[TOXIC]

Easiest way to remember a reaction strike is to compare it to a  fly buzzing by your face.  You instinctively swat at it without thinking.  That is a reaction strike.  

[WRB]

Rich Tauber is credited for using the term reaction bite when interviewed after winning the US Open at Lake Mead decades ago. He said I caught my bass using top water lures to create a reaction bite.

Very active feeding bass will go a long distance to strike a lure. I believe to put in context Tauber was talking about very active bass reacting to a fast moving lure ie reaction strike.

Tom

[J Francho]

Every bite is a reaction.  

[Dwight Hottle]

2 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Every bite is a reaction.  

 

Thank you J. 

[Mike L]

39 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Every bite is a reaction.  

If more anglers understood and accepted this, a lot of our discussions wouldn’t last as long. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Bdnoble84]

Why do the semantics matter. Yes, literally everything we do is a reaction to something no matter how infintesimal the causation. Me blinking my eyes is a reaction to a chemical change in the brain. 
 

however, in this instance reaction is used to describe impulsive action by a fish just as the example earlier of reacting to the fly is impulsive. A feeding bite, such as when a bass inspects a wacky rig and decides it is hungry and eats it is deliberate. It is thought out, calculated. It is deliberate. I mean if it really bothers you that much we can change it to impulsive bite versus deliberate bit. I just want credit for the terms lol.

[J Francho]

Nothing a bass does is thought out, everything is impulsive.  They lack the part of the brain that could even think something through.  We give them WAYYYYY too much credit.  We are the ones that outsmart ourselves.  We also give ourselves WAYYYYY too much credit for "figuring it out."  

[MN Fisher]

As stated, no fish 'thinks' about things...everything is a reaction.

 

Spinner buzzes through - startled reaction "How dare you disturb me!"

Something passes through the nest - protective reaction "Out...out I say!"

Drop-shot plastic jiggling - hunger reaction "Is it tasty? Will we likes it?"

Crankbait/Jerkbait - flee reaction "It's running away, might be something tasty."

 

Etc

Etc

Etc

[Bdnoble84]

Yes but is it an impulsive reaction or deliberate reaction.

[MN Fisher]

35 minutes ago, Bdnoble84 said:

Yes but is it an impulsive reaction or deliberate reaction.

The only possible 'deliberate' reaction would be hunger.

 

"I'm hungry...what looks like it's possibly edible?"

 

"That looks like it might be edible...(CHOMP)"

[gim]

1 hour ago, Bdnoble84 said:

A feeding bite, such as when a bass inspects a wacky rig and decides it is hungry and eats it is deliberate. It is thought out, calculated. It is deliberate. I mean if it really bothers you that much we can change it to impulsive bite versus deliberate bit. I just want credit for the terms

I’ll give you credit for it. I understand what you are getting at. It’s a faster moving lure versus a slower finesse presentation in my view.

 

However, for purposes of this thread and what @J Francho is saying, every time a bass eats it is a reaction bite whether it is hungry or not.