Do Bass Usually Swallow Whole?

[Bankc]

I've been having an issue this year with jigs and T-rigs where I feel a good tug and go to set the hook and nothing.  Then I reel it back in to find my plastic bitten in half.  So it's like they're only biting the back half of my plastics.  At first I thought it was just bedding bass, but we're well past the spawn now, and I'm still getting this a lot.  It almost sounds like bluegill, but one of the lakes I frequent doesn't have any bluegill (but does have gizzard shad).  And a lot of these bites have a harder thump than I'd expect from panfish or gizzard shad (which don't seem to get above about 8-10" around here).  A lot of the bass I do hook are around 1-2 lbs, so I was wondering if I'm just running into a lot of even smaller bass that have trouble fitting the whole lure in their mouths.  Any ideas?

[gim]

I've had small bass nip at the end of plastics and trailers like panfish often do.  Got any pike around?  The small ones are notorious for biting plastics and/or shredding it with their teeth.  A big one will take the whole lure but more common are the smaller, aggressive ones.

[WRB]

Largemouth Bass engulf their prey whole. Smallmouth bass also swallow their prey whole but tend to bite and declaw crawdads before killing and swallowing it.

When you feel a slight tick or weight change using soft plastics drop the rod tip to add a little controlled slack before hook setting. The problem is timing as bass don’t bite soft plastic worm in half, you are pulling the plastic and breaking it without hooking the bass. The tell tale indication is the worm pulled down the hook into a ball at the hook bend.

Tom

[Bankc]

Definitely no Pike.  I really doubt there's any smallmouth too, as only one lake is even rumored to have smallmouth in it, but in 20 years I've never seen one.  And they're all man-made reservoirs, so they're not connected to any river systems.  What's in there is what was stocked at some point.  There are lots of spotted bass though.  

 

19 minutes ago, WRB said:

Largemouth Bass engulf their prey whole. Smallmouth bass also swallow their prey whole but tend to bite and declaw crawdads before killing and swallowing it.

When you feel a slight tick or weight change using soft plastics drop the rod tip to add a little controlled slack before hook setting. The problem is timing as bass don’t bite soft plastic worm in half, you are pulling the plastic and breaking it without hooking the bass. The tell tale indication is the worm pulled down the hook into a ball at the hook bend.

Tom

I am seeing that on occasion.  I primarily throw a lot of crankbaits and get into the habit of trying not to let the fish have any slack.  So I'm sure I'm not dropping the rod tip like I should.  Thanks for tip!  

[5/0]

26 minutes ago, WRB said:

The tell tale indication is the worm pulled down the hook into a ball at the hook bend.

Have had this happen many times on a shaky head. Would a solution be trying a shorter bait?

[Bird]

When I change to a more exotic color worm, Crappie and bluegill pester both me and the worm but it's a tap tap tap........ don't set hook.

[5/0]

1 minute ago, Bird said:

When I change to a more exotic color worm, Crappie and bluegill pester both me and the worm but it's a tap tap tap........ don't set hook.

Happens with weightless Senkos too! Machine gun bite.

[ironbjorn]

[Fishingmickey]

It could be small gar. I have had this happen to me and was in clear enough water to see the culprit (after I set the hook). Long nosed Gar are pretty abundant down here.

FM

[Bankc]

Doubtful it would be crappie or bluegill.  Like I said, it feels more like a bass.  And there are no gar in these particular lakes.   There is some walleye, sauger, and perhaps saugeye in the area.  But I doubt it's them.  

 

1 hour ago, 5/0 said:

Have had this happen many times on a shaky head. Would a solution be trying a shorter bait?

Me too.  I've thought about this and will occasionally go to a Ned rig.  But I don't usually get as many bites with the Ned.  

[geo g]

In south Florida we have lots of fish with real teeth.  Small bass will sometimes not get the whole bait in their mouth and may tear off the back end.  Bigger bass suck the whole thing into their mouth in a fraction of a second.  Oscars, gar, snakeheads, mudfish, Mayans, snapping turtles, soft shells will tear up a plastic bait in a heart beat.  It often happens in the jungle!

[GRiver]

1 hour ago, geo g said:

In south Florida we have lots of fish with real teeth.

I’ve had little gar come up and nip the legs of my frogs before.

Lost many of tails off my curly tailed worms to what ever was down there

[5/0]

3 hours ago, Bankc said:

Me too.  I've thought about this and will occasionally go to a Ned rig.  But I don't usually get as many bites with the Ned.

Maybe use the same rig since you were getting bit on it. It may work even if you weren’t getting any takers on the larger worm.

[Basser2021]

7 hours ago, WRB said:

Largemouth Bass engulf their prey whole. Smallmouth bass also swallow their prey whole but tend to bite and declaw crawdads before killing and swallowing it.

When you feel a slight tick or weight change using soft plastics drop the rod tip to add a little controlled slack before hook setting. The problem is timing as bass don’t bite soft plastic worm in half, you are pulling the plastic and breaking it without hooking the bass. The tell tale indication is the worm pulled down the hook into a ball at the hook bend.

Tom

what he said

[WRB]

9 hours ago, Bankc said:

Definitely no Pike.  I really doubt there's any smallmouth too, as only one lake is even rumored to have smallmouth in it, but in 20 years I've never seen one.  And they're all man-made reservoirs, so they're not connected to any river systems.  What's in there is what was stocked at some point.  There are lots of spotted bass though.  

 

I am seeing that on occasion.  I primarily throw a lot of crankbaits and get into the habit of trying not to let the fish have any slack.  So I'm sure I'm not dropping the rod tip like I should.  Thanks for tip!  

Spotted bass are similar to Smallmouth in regard to shaking crawdads to remove claws before engulfing it. Spots are also very aggressive feeders. Down sizing the soft plastic helps.

I am wired for instant hook sets and it takes a few misses to slow down a hook set. This is why the reel set and rod sweep works for me better than snap set.

Tom

[Bankc]

9 hours ago, WRB said:

Spotted bass are similar to Smallmouth in regard to shaking crawdads to remove claws before engulfing it. Spots are also very aggressive feeders. Down sizing the soft plastic helps.

I am wired for instant hook sets and it takes a few misses to slow down a hook set. This is why the reel set and rod sweep works for me better than snap set.

Tom

Good to know!  Yeah it definitely does feel like they're shaking it sometimes.  I've got some things to try anyway.  

 

16 hours ago, geo g said:

In south Florida we have lots of fish with real teeth.  Small bass will sometimes not get the whole bait in their mouth and may tear off the back end.  Bigger bass suck the whole thing into their mouth in a fraction of a second.  Oscars, gar, snakeheads, mudfish, Mayans, snapping turtles, soft shells will tear up a plastic bait in a heart beat.  It often happens in the jungle!

Luckily, I don't have to deal with teeth too often.  About the only toothy fish around are walleye and sauger.  And they're pretty rare.  I don't even own a net or fish grippers, because it's just not something I run into.  There are alligator gars out east, but I don't get out that way too often.  And while box turtles are very common, snapping turtles have become pretty rare in the last decade or so.  Kind of like our rose rocks, tarantulas and horned toads.  

 

9 times out of ten, the only toothy critters I see in the water are water snakes.  And me and common water snake are friends.  We can both fish right next to each other without bothering the other one.  But the cottonmouths and I don't get along.  

[geo g]

The snake heads are the worst.  Power strikes, lightning fast and rows of teeth.  We kill everyone we catch.  They become turtle food.  They do put up a good fight after being caught.  The FWC recommends killing them.