Timing A Bass

[Mobasser]

Over the summer, I fished a dropoff about 15 ft off a bank using plastic worms.              As an experiment, when a fish picked up the worm, I dropped the rod and waited with slack in the line.                         The longest time a fish held the plastic worm was 40 seconds. They would strike the worm, then just sit there and not move. After 40 seconds, I took up slack line and set the hook. I believe they would have sat there with the bait even longer, if I had not hooked them.                     These were not big fish, and most were around 14" to 16"  in length. I'm not sure if large bass will do this also, and I don't have an explanation for this?                          The best explanation I have is competition among these fish for food. When they get the bait, they sit there and hold it in one spot, making sure another bass can't get it. Some will swim off slowly after a period of time.  Others start to swim off as soon as they pick up the plastic worm.I think it's one of those things, that only the fish know the reason they do this. We'll probably never know exactly why?                            Have you had this experience also? 

[A-Jay]

I have never actually timed how long a bass will hold on to any presentation.  I'm usually trying to come tight on them as soon as I realize I'm bit.  That particular time frame does vary a little but it's never 40 seconds.  At least not by design. I suppose the closest I come may happen while I'm  picking out the occasional mid cast professional over run.  A few times upon completion,  which again that time can vary, there's been life on the end of the line as I reel it in.

Bonus !

A-Jay

 

[scaleface]

I was Texas rigging  around 15 foot deep and detected a strike . Very slowly I reeled   a two lber to the surface then set the hook on it . I recall the  bait had Riverside real Claw applied to it .. 

[Columbia Craw]

Yes. I was fishing a 10 inch worm at Clear Lake and was distracted by another boater and turned to move the worm. The worm was picked up and the bass had moved off over 25 feet to my right. That was well over 30 seconds.

 

I have has fish immediately swim towards deeper water when picking up a lure. I’m convinced it’s a natural reaction to protecting the meal from being taken by a competitor.  It reminds me of when I throw peanuts in the shell to blue jays and they grab and move to a secure location to break the shell and eat the nut.

[Log Catcher]

I have never timed a bass to see how long they would hold a bait. I remember many years ago I was fishing with a worm and it just didn't feel quite right. I got it back to the boat and a bass was holding on to it just behind the hook. It let go as soon as it got to the boat.

[Team9nine]

I’ve suggested everyone try doing this a couple times before on this site. As you saw, bass will often hold and not let go for a minute or more. As to moving or not, just speculation, but I’ve often thought the ones that take off with the bait are in the company of others, and it’s a natural reaction to be first to the bait and then run away from the others so they can’t take it away. Right or wrong, I always slow down and make more casts into the same spot under the assumption there is a good chance of another bite or two. I also suspect depth might play a role, but who knows.

[WRB]

When I 1st started to use a sliding bullet weight weight Texas rig soft plastic worm in the 60’s standard procedure was to let the bass swim off with the worm and stop moving before setting the hook. The  option was let the bass sit still and count to 10 before setting the hook.

The problem with letting a bass hold onto a soft plastic worm too long is they swallow it.

Fishing crystal clear quarry ponds You can watch the bigger bass enfold the soft plastic worm and eat it without moving away.

Smaller bass nearly always strike the worm and immediately swim off with it.

When a big bass is up in shallow water near deeper what they  often swim to deeper water or into close by cover, hopefully they go to deeper water in lieu of cover.

Learned a long time ago to keep fishing in the same area where catching big bass and continue to catch more bass.

Tom

[roadwarrior]

I  ALWAYS assume there are more bass on a given spot unless it's a monster!

[gim]

The problem with allowing a fish to eat a plastic for so long is the result is often a deep hooked fish, which therefore results in higher mortality. Perfectly fine if you don’t care about delayed mortality, but if you intend to release the fish you would be much better off not doing that.

[NorthernBasser]

On 10/15/2022 at 5:03 PM, A-Jay said:

  I'm usually trying to come tight on them as soon as I realize I'm bit. 

A-Jay

 

Same here. Even frog fishing. People says wait a few seconds before setting the hook. Not me. They blow up, I reel up any slack that may be in the line (maybe 1/2 handle turn) and let em have it. My hookup ratio is quite good.

[bowhunter63]

If i catch one i will set on em a while usually you can pick more up 

[TnRiver46]

I swing for the fence every time I feel anything , don’t want to be messing around and it be a 10 lber 

[Catt]

On some bodies of water I fish you have to give em one thousand one, one thousand two, & that's your A$$ but never 40 seconds. 

 

I doesn't susprise me they will hold on that long. When prefishing a tournament I never stick em with worms or jigs. I'll shake em off & sometimes that requires reeling em to the boat to get em to let go..

[Mobasser]

52 minutes ago, Catt said:

On some bodies of water I fish you have to give em one thousand one, one thousand two, & that's your A$$ but never 40 seconds. 

 

I doesn't susprise me they will hold on that long. When prefishing a tournament I never stick em with worms or jigs. I'll shake em off & sometimes that requires reeling em to the boat to get em to let go..

Catt, I did this as an experiment on a slow hot day. I caught five fish this way, but don't ever do this normally. No fish were harmed. I was curious how long they would hold on to a plastic bait. When I fish worms, I always take up slack and set the hook quickly.

[Catt]

@Mobasser I understood that from the beginning, some didn't grasp it.