Do Bass Fear Commitment?

[Big Hands]

Like many here, I have been fishing for several decades, which included a span of years where I did little or no fishing, and other years where I fished a LOT.

 

It just be circumstantial or anecdotal, but when fishing plastic worms back when pistol grip rods and reels spooled with monofilament were the weapons of choice for the majority of the masses, it seemed like when I got a bite on a plastic worm, it was imperative that I reel down and swing ASAP or risk losing the fish.

 

Now, it seems to be quite different. A texas rigged worm might be the exception here as it seems like I can still bust em quickly and still be hooked up. But with many other setups, it seem that if I set the hook sooner rather than later, I come up empty. But if I let the fish run with it, sometimes up to 20 feet(!), and then reel down and use a sweeping hookset, I get a better hookup ratio. I can even play a subtle game of tug-of-war if they are futzing around and the pressure from my end makes them clamp down and swim off more aggressively. it's like they carry it around for a bit before deciding to committing to swallowing it.

 

Or it could just be my imagination.

 

 

[T-Billy]

Depends on the day and the fishes mood. Some days they'll hold it a long time, some days they won't. Some days they choke it, some days they bite very tenetively. If they're in fairly open water, and are willing to hang onto it awhile, letting them swim with it can lead to a better hookup percentage, as they're not facing you when you swing. In heavy cover letting them swim with it is the last thing you want to do. Hit 'em HARD ASAP in heavy cover, and don't give 'em an inch.

[Big Hands]

2 hours ago, T-Billy said:

Depends on the day and the fishes mood. Some days they'll hold it a long time, some days they won't. Some days they choke it, some days they bite very tenetively. If they're in fairly open water, and are willing to hang onto it awhile, letting them swim with it can lead to a better hookup percentage, as they're not facing you when you swing. In heavy cover letting them swim with it is the last thing you want to do. Hit 'em HARD ASAP in heavy cover, and don't give 'em an inch.

Heavy cover is a relative term around here. We have some submerged trees, but not many and we have a patch here and there of very closely spaced stickups. But mostly it is what would be a twig-ish stickup or denuded bush. And lots of rocksAnd I get  bit often in the stickups as you might imagine, and I do let them run from the stickups. 

 

The attached pics give a good representation of the structure and cover I normally fish. Not exactly the stump fields you'll encounter in a lot of lakes, but if you think you can drag baits through there with impunity, you've got another thing coming.

 

One thing about letting them run with it is that with a weightless senko or a dropshot, you can usually see what direction they're heading. And with those, I don't usually let them go as far as I do with the C-rig. With a Carolina rig and a 3/4 ounce sinker, since the sinker is likely staying put and the line is running through it I really have no idea where they are headed and that can be a problem when I reel down on them to set the hook if they haven't run straight away from me. Once I reel down and sweep on em, I have an idea of how solid the hookset felt. Lots of times, it doesn't feel great even though I felt like I cranked down on them all the way.

 

I do know that my hookup ratio is much more favorable when I let them run at least 10' with it on the Carolina rig, and they only occasionally get hooked at the top of their stomach. If I was getting gut hooking a fair number of fish, I would just go ahead and take my chances with earlier hooksets, but that isn't the case.

 

I get to fish in Texas occasionally, and that is a completely different animal with regard to heavy cover and bustin em sooner rather then later. Those bruisers will tangle you up in a heartbeat if you fiddle around much. 

[T-Billy]

10-4. Heavy cover is a relative term I reckon. I was thinking of pitching into the middle of stuff like this. Gotta hit 'em quick and hard. Get 'em coming at you on the hookset and don't give 'em an inch until they're clear of cover. Braid is a must have IMO. That said, they often don't move off with the bait in this stuff. They just pick it up and sit there munching on it.

[WRB]

When I say where I fish it’s deep rocky structure with sparse cover Big Hands photo’s above clearly show what I was saying. This lake is drawn down over 150’ so you don’t normally “see” the lakes structure sparse wood cover.

I don’t intentionally let bass run with soft plastics. Using a slip-shot or finesse C-rig the often strike the worm without detection if there is in the line and by the time you feel something the bass is already moving and you need to catch up with it to hook set.

T-rigs at night is what I use along with jigs and the bass are very aggressive strike and run is common by the time you detect the strike.

Do bass fear commitment, no they are just curious or cautious. 

 

Tom

[Catt]

With Texas Rigs or Jig-n-Craws I don't let em run & I don't wait on nothing!

 

Like what old Tom @WRB mentioned quite often early strike detection is key.

[PressuredFishing]

16 hours ago, Big Hands said:

Like many here, I have been fishing for several decades, which included a span of years where I did little or no fishing, and other years where I fished a LOT.

 

It just be circumstantial or anecdotal, but when fishing plastic worms back when pistol grip rods and reels spooled with monofilament were the weapons of choice for the majority of the masses, it seemed like when I got a bite on a plastic worm, it was imperative that I reel down and swing ASAP or risk losing the fish.

 

Now, it seems to be quite different. A texas rigged worm might be the exception here as it seems like I can still bust em quickly and still be hooked up. But with many other setups, it seem that if I set the hook sooner rather than later, I come up empty. But if I let the fish run with it, sometimes up to 20 feet(!), and then reel down and use a sweeping hookset, I get a better hookup ratio. I can even play a subtle game of tug-of-war if they are futzing around and the pressure from my end makes them clamp down and swim off more aggressively. it's like they carry it around for a bit before deciding to committing to swallowing it.

 

Or it could just be my imagination.

 

 

90% of my fishing I set the hook as soon as I feel it but reeling down to set the hook gives the fish an extra second or two to get it fully, I usually wait for two reasons, First is flipping with weight. unless im flipping a beaver or compact jig, I find when I am flipping light-medium cover with a bigger worm you need to give them a second because sense the bait is falling fast with a weight they may only bite the tail head etc and they need an extra second to fully suck it in compared to it being dragged on bottom or twitched and they suck it all in at once because its a slower moving bait. The second reason is when the fish just simply doesnt have it and drops it, so why set the hook yknow.

 

 

[rtwvumtneer6]

If you check them with the rod tip and reel down to them until you feel weight you'll confirm they have the bait and get a crisper hook set as you've eliminated any extra slack.  

 

The more line you have out the longer this might take.  Likewise, if you're pitching or punching it can happen quick in close quarters combat.  

 

Do what works for you, but this has been successful for me.

[ironbjorn]

When I feel the bass or see the line move, I rarely RARELY ever miss a fish. When I miss fish it's because I'm not feeling them or seeing the line move. Since my results are average I have to assume I fail to feel the bite A LOT. 

[RenzokukenFisher]

Personally the second I stopped taking time feeling the fish and just set the hook imediately is when my hook up percentage jumped. Waiting and reeling down to the fish and whatnot just didnt work for my style of fishing I guess. The second there is a thump, a tug, a tension go straight back and hook em.

I think bass commitment just comes from the conditions of the day. If the bass can feel advantageous in their feeding they will hit more consistently. If the conditions dont suit their feeding they may be a bit more cautious.

[Big Hands]

39 minutes ago, RenzokukenFisher said:

Personally the second I stopped taking time feeling the fish and just set the hook imediately is when my hook up percentage jumped. Waiting and reeling down to the fish and whatnot just didnt work for my style of fishing I guess. The second there is a thump, a tug, a tension go straight back and hook em.

I think bass commitment just comes from the conditions of the day. If the bass can feel advantageous in their feeding they will hit more consistently. If the conditions dont suit their feeding they may be a bit more cautious.

I have had success with doing just that for most of my fishing life since starting to use plastic worms back in the early 80's. It's how I often start my day by hitting them soon after I feel them because that's what comes naturally to me. After I miss four or five on what I thought were good hits, then I'll start letting them chew and swim off, and then I start actually landing them more consistently.

 

I could be using the wrong hooks for the baits I am using and maybe they need to take the bait in further to get them stuck with that type of hook, and that is why I am trying to gauge whether or not others find this happening to them too so I can possibly eliminate some variables and home in on what is truly happening.

 

It's getting to be c-rig season for me here. The bass are deeper and a littler less anxious to chow down these days. What I am hoping for this winter is:

 

• to get more consistent at landing c-rig fish
• drastically improve (that's a low bar for me) my jig game
• still throw some deep diving cranks, slabs and swimbaits just to see if there are some willing takers here and there

Once I figure out the bite, I enjoy trying little variations to see what happens and possibly get better. Figuring out what is actually happening will be the first effective step in doing that. Believe me when I say that I would prefer to get them pinned sooner rather than later.

 

3 hours ago, WRB said:

When I say where I fish it’s deep rocky structure with sparse cover Big Hands photo’s above clearly show what I was saying. This lake is drawn down over 150’ so you don’t normally “see” the lakes structure sparse wood cover.

I don’t intentionally let bass run with soft plastics. Using a slip-shot or finesse C-rig the often strike the worm without detection if there is in the line and by the time you feel something the bass is already moving and you need to catch up with it to hook set.

That's why this is odd to me. The slipshot was my rig of choice for a long, long time. And that's where I would would hit them as soon as I felt weight or a bite. The mojo slipshot sinker (as opposed to a 3/4 to 1 ounce egg sinker) does allow for more slack in the line, and I wasn't using anything other than 6 lb mono with a tiny rubber band tied onto the line as a sinker stop. 

 

3 hours ago, WRB said:

T-rigs at night is what I use along with jigs and the bass are very aggressive strike and run is common by the time you detect the strike.

Yea, if I feel something, I'm swinging. Even with 10" worms, a 3 lb bass will inhale the whole thing at night and it's on.

3 hours ago, WRB said:

Do bass fear commitment, no they are just curious or cautious. 

 

Tom

Perhaps that's a better way to frame it rather then fearing commitment. They are after all, simple creatures. Back to the laboratory!

8 hours ago, T-Billy said:

10-4. Heavy cover is a relative term I reckon. I was thinking of pitching into the middle of stuff like this. Gotta hit 'em quick and hard. Get 'em coming at you on the hookset and don't give 'em an inch until they're clear of cover. Braid is a must have IMO. That said, they often don't move off with the bait in this stuff. They just pick it up and sit there munching on it.

That reminds me of crappie fishing with Charlie Pack on Lake Waco. We were sticking those 11' rods back in there and dropping tiny jigs through any little pocket we could find. And there would be some ridiculous snakes wrapped around that stuff with stunning regularity. I saw more snakes in one day that I may have seen in my entire life, and I have seen more snakes than the average person.

[WRB]

I never had good success with the traditional ball & chain C-Rig using heavy egg sinkers. Changed to using Top Brass black Pro Jo weight from 1/8 to 1/2 oz, glass faceted bead with Carolina Keeper Stopper. This combo clicks going through rocks, the brass weight is larger size with bigger hole then lead, very littler line drag. Also use mono/ Copolymer line to help keep the line off the bottom top reduce snags.

Tom

[T-Billy]

1 hour ago, Big Hands said:

That reminds me of crappie fishing with Charlie Pack on Lake Waco. We were sticking those 11' rods back in there and dropping tiny jigs through any little pocket we could find. And there would be some ridiculous snakes wrapped around that stuff with stunning regularity. I saw more snakes in one day that I may have seen in my entire life, and I have seen more snakes than the average person.

LOL. Water snakes do love the shoreline brush. So do the bass, especially when they're green. They love that overhead cover. This is the first year I really went DEEP into that stuff after them. I don't know what took so long for that lightbulb to come on. Making the switch to braid and straight shank flippin hooks gave me the confidence, and frankly the ability to fish it efficiently. Jigs and skin hooked EWG's hang up too much in that brushy stuff, but a straight shank with the point buried in the plastic can be fished cleanly through dang near anything. A stout flippin stick with braid will get 'em out, and the hookup percentage is really good.

I'm pitching into those little holes in the brush like you guys were dipping for crappie through, and it's paid off big time. This has been my best year ever for both numbers and average size, and as a bonus, it's my favorite way to catch'em.